Fire damaged Hawken

[kansas_volunteer]

I belong to an e-mail group on which one of the members recently reported a friend had a house fire and the fire department, to save the guns, sprayed foam on them. One of the guns is supposed to be an original Hawken rifle.

Who would be a good person to do the cleaning and restoration on the Hawken? I'm afraid it may get a good rub down with steel wool and a coat of cold blue.

I'd like some information on preservation to pass along.

 

[J.D.]

I'm sure Don Stith can do it right, or knows someone who can.
[url] http://donstith.com[/url]/

 

[Desert Ratxx]

Work on getting it to someone fairly soon. There are things (not sure what) in a house that when they burn the smoke will etch metals over time. Some things will etch faster than others. At least give it a good cleaning to get any smoke residue off until you can get it to a pro. Basic cleaning stuff and oil will help prevent further damage from occuring.

I work in the fire/water restoration field and have had to replace far to many things because guys haven't cleaned them when they should have after a fire.

 

[davy]

Depending upon the condition of the rifle and if you intend to shoot it I think fire heat temp may well change the metallurgy of the barrel as well depending on how close it was to the heat .. so I would have that checked too! :hmm: If no shooting involved then no issue there at least!

Davy

 

[54ball]

Those guns must be cleaned ASAP. The foam used by the fire dept.,probably Class A, is mildly corrosive.
If it was AFFF or the old protein foam, made from animal by products, its more than mildly corrosive.
In any case the guns will need to be completely stripped down and cleaned.
The action of foam that makes it such a great extinguishing agent also lets it soak completely around and under the bbl, lock, and all furniture of a rifle.
Most guns can be salvaged from a fire. Especially if they did not burn directly. A little scorching and even some alligator on the stock is OK but a pile of metal parts where the rifle once was is a different matter.
Even then for a muzzleloading gun the bbl,furniture and lock plate could be salvaged if it was a rare piece and if it is not warped.
The greatest threat after a fire is rust.