how to age metal

[tg]

Good points Rich, I don't know that one needs to boil things in bleach I have a gun I bought that was done thusly and I am not so sure I would have gone to tha point, I have a civil war mucket that looks like $#@* and sold one for my cousins wife that looed better than some 5 year old guns it is al a mater of perscption and personall tate and interpretation EACH INDIVIDUALS.....here is a 279 year of Fusil, click for slide show


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[Mike R]

Any trip to a junk shop, flea market or scrap yard in the east, south, or midwest will readily educate folks on what aged metal looks like.  Your mileage may vary in the desert.  When we speculate on how arms "wore" or "aged" during their useful lifetime, ordinary tools found in a barn or toolshed may be instructive, noting, of course, that some tools are subjected to more corrosive materials than others.  Manure, for example, on a shovel versus grain on a metal scoop.

But perhaps more informative are lamentations by George Washington and other army generals of the Revolutionary War about the sad state of repair and integrity of militia muskets brought by troops early in that war.  It's unlikely that many of those militia guns had experienced more than 50 years of use at the time.

(maybe not an informative illustration) My father in law bought a 94 Winchester new in 1948 and by the time I first saw it in 1969, it looked like it had won (or maybe lost) the West.  It was carried around in pickups, on tractors, and stood up in corners in the barn and sheds in good and bad weather for just over 20 years, and most of the bluing was gone and the wood was dried out and the finish worn off in wear places.  Pitting was concentrated around the sights, joints, etc that would collect and hold moisture.  If he'd been shooting black powder or spent many nights outdoors it may have been much worse.

alot depends on how and where a gun was used. I have a 1884 Trapdoor that looks brand new and shoots like it too--it came out of a Nat'l Guard Armory in PA--I got it in 1967.  I have a 1921 LC Smith in excellent shape with original bluing and case hardening colors.  I have my grandad's model 11, heavily used in the duck swamps and quail fields of Arkansas in the 20s-30s, then abused by my uncle for years, and it looks a bit worn, but not pitted or rusted--most of the finish is worn thin--yet my dad's twin to it, same age, has alot of original finish on it despite many years of [loving] use.  I own other guns that date from the early 1900s that look almost new--because they were kept that way by loving owners--despite being used alot in the hunting fields--of course many have better steel and were serviced with more modern oils, etc., than the old longguns.  My 1974 .30-30 Win was tossed around in the back of a ranchers pickup for years before I got it [for $100]--its finish is still good, although the wood was dinged pretty badly--the bore was perfect and it apparently was shot little as the loading gate has 100% blue.  My buddy has an original Hawken his gr-uncle took to Arizona in the later 1800s and it looks pretty darn good--dry climate and good care I expect.  My Dad's little Rem .22 pump got rusted by being stored next to a water heater in a small damp closet for years...

[Acer Saccharum]

Rich, what you said reminds me: I have seen many new guns with aged metal and pristine wood. The barrel is pitted, the lock is 'worn', but the carving is crisp and clean, there are no dings, scratches or dents. This is a contradiction, and whether you are conscious of it or not, when you view such a gun, your mind is telling you that something is off. If you are going to age the metal, you must also age the wood appropriately.

It's almost as if the builder says, well, I didn't makethe lock or barrel, so I can scratch and rust them, but I'll be !@*%&@ if I'll rough up my own hard won and beautiful stockwork!

[JTR]

I’ve seen, handled and owned probably more than my fair share of original rifles, and for the most part original flintlock guns don’t have the Cloroxed look on the metal surfaces. The touch hole might be a 1/8” in diameter, but that’s just from being shot a lot. Generally, the barrel isn’t pitted to extreme, nor is the lock. A lot of guns will have some pinprick pitting on the breech or the barrels, and some with burning in the pans.
Percussion guns, or flinters that have been converted to percussion, can and sometimes do have a lot of pitting, even to serious eroding on the barrel around the nipple drum area, and on the hammer and lock plate, but this was caused by the fulminate of mercury or whatever the heck it was that was in the percussion cap.
Now, that’s not to say that some old gun left out in the barn for a hundred years or stored in a hot damp closet won’t be all rusted to $#*!, because it probably will be. But guns that were given ‘normal’ care generally look much better. I’d post some pictures, but I’m out on the ship and don’t have any suitable examples on this computer.
John

[hawknknife]

The cloroxed/acid treatment on metal has the characteristic acid swirl pattern that can be spoted 50 tables away at a gun show.  I've had the pleasure of owning some of the finest and authentic Confederate swords in the country and the fakers still attempt to give it the acid swirl age job because 99.9% of the C.S. blades in collections, and some in advanced collections, have been whizzed.  Heck, you can get a better aged color by painting fleibings leather dye on metal, let it dry two hours, wipe it off and that will start the fine rusting process.  After a week, wool off lightly and there is an aged, not pocked metal surface...hawknknife in Mississippi

[rich pierce]

Good points made in several recent posts.  I have an original percussion double barrel shotgun that still had good bluing on the standing breech, the locks (back action) weren't bad, and the barrels were fine.  Heck the stock was good too but I restocked it to fit me better.

[t.caster]

Maybe I missed the point, but I etch the steel to give it a hand forged feel or look, not to make it look like a 200 yr. old wreck! It kills the factory machined surface or cast steel look! There is clearly a divided camp over this I see. I first saw this type etching applied by Cotton Volrath 30 yrs ago to create what looked like a damascus twist steel barrel and hand forged furniture. It was all the rage, but he kept his method secret for years.
Maybe it is just a passing fad, but that is what customers are asking for on Pre-Rev rifles...they like the look whether it is PC or not. How many of you carry "Cheap Charlie", "MP" or "DP" knives made with the etched surface, I see them EVERYWHERE!

[tg]

They are very common as you say so are the guns that have the "new" knocked down a bit with mustard or jelly, but as soon as the topic comes up someone starts a rant about boiling cauldrons of bleach full of barrels and gun parts and that is not what most are talking about when the want a bit of wear/age on a gun,I would not loose any sleep over it.

[LynnC]

To make a nice even gray on steel, Polish down to about 400 grit, cold blue it and then paint it with iodine.  Let it sit over night and polish off all the crud with 4/0 steel wool.  Leaves a nice smooth shiney gray surface.......................Lynn