Barrels Left Unfinished?

[N.Y. Yankee]

How often or how common was it in 18th and 19th centuries for guns to be built with barrels that had been left "in the white", maybe just greased and left for the elements to provide the finish for them?

 

[stikshooter]

How often or how common was it in 18th and 19th centuries for guns to be built with barrels that had been left "in the white", maybe just greased and left for the elements to provide the finish for them?

OFTEN for sure as bear grease or (SUBS) were often used (barrels/bores )-and donuts!!!/Ed

 

[Tumbledown]

Based on what I've learned on this forum and on the American Long Rifles site: Typical pre-1800 American finishes were white or French gray, with polished bright being an option. Bluing was expensive and generally only found on high-end English guns. Browning was not done on American guns in this period (what looks like a browned finish is actually just natural aging.)

 

[Grenadier1758]

Quite common. My Derringer replica rifle was deliberately left in the white. It's a nice even gray now.