Guns left in the

[Nathan Ripley]

Are there any downsides to leaving the metal in the white? Is it purely a cosmetic thing? I prefer the plain jane poor boys with iron hardware. The next one I get will be in the white. I think I need to take baby steps before diving head first into a full blown kit.

 

[Ivan]

I have a mowrey 32 that I left the metal in the white and lightly charred the maple stock to bring out the stripes, then oiled with dark walnut stain. Looks really sharp, but you gotta oil it or it will rust easy. Just sitting in my safe it rusts when the browned and blued barrels hold up easy. On the brite side, a little scotchbrite pad scrubbing and you are good as new, instead of scarred and pitted bluing. Try it and see if you like it. You can always finish it later if you dont like it.

 

[bwhoffman]

I picked up an older cva mt rifle with the douglas barrel, was built from a kit inthe late 70s or very early 80s. Barrel was never touhedand left inthe white. It has some mottleing on it but is pretty much raw steel. I wipe it heavily with bore butter or one of my bees wax concoctions and get zero rust, sheds water like a duck!
I like the look and am planning on redoing the stock to get the appearance similar to the GPR known here on the forum as "Old Friend". Scott did an admirable job on it and I'm thinking my barrel in the white and his methods on the stock are going to look great.

you should have no great issues leaving one inthe white with a proper"oiling" on it.

Brett

 

[Many Klatch]

My big smoothbore, 4' barrel, was left in the white when I built it. I only oil it when I clean the gun. In the last 20 years it has picked up an interesting mottled steel gray color that is difficult to duplicate any other way. If it ever does get a spot of rust at a rendezvous, I just wipe it down with an oily rag and it seems to come out OK.

I think a lot of people put too much work into browning the barrels. Time and weather will do it for you a lot easier. :haha:

Many Klatch

 

[MSW]

you might want to look at some stuff called Renaissance Wax. It was originally worked up as a preservative for swords and anything else you might want to keep from oxidization. according to the label, it has a mix of carnuba wax and some other preservatives. One of my kids got a can for her fencing gear, and i tried it on a barrel which my wife wanted in the white. she doesn't shoot it much, but the stuff has kept everything off of the barrel, and it's really easy to apply. if you don't like it, youy can take it off with any inorganic solvent (acetone, etc.) and then finish your piece any way you want.

just a thought.

good luck!

msw

 

[dlpowell]

If it's a hunting gun. The sun will reflect off off that shiny metal like a mirror. Age the metal with mustard or cold blue.

 

[Vaino]

I'm confused, which isn't anything new, but if a bbl is left in the "white", why would rust or ageing be a concern? I brown all the bbls and then more or less forget about any future rust, wear or ageing {patina}and in fact, welcome anything that makes the bbl look "older". Seems that a bbl in the white, w/ some, requires a whole lot of attention in an attempt to maintain a new look....Fred

 

[paulvallandigham]

Barrel left in the white will gradually get a gray patina, which is a slow oxidation process, just as surely as rusting is a much faster oxidation process. Patina even occurs under oil used to protect the barrel from rust. That is how these guns get that dull gray patina tht looks so authentic and old.

 

[Nathan Ripley]

Thanks for all the good advice. Have to scrounge up some green and find the gun now!

 

[silverfox]

One of my oldest rifles, not originals is a CVA Mountain rifle one of the first they made in the 70's and after browning the barrel while it was still hot I rubbed it with a white candle until it wouldn't take any more wax. That gun has aged well and sheds water and never has shown any sign of rust. If you did that to a gun in the white I think you could forget about rust for a long time. You would still have to oil it once in a while.
Fox :thumbsup:

 

[renovato]

There are many ways to protect your bare steel. CorrosionX is pretty amazing stuff. Wipe it on and no more rust. Also, Blue Magic makes a wax that is supposed to be a great rust preventer. I have some but I haven't really tested it enough to know how well it works. The problem with waxes is that they're a hard film. Anything that scratches that film, opens the scratched area up to rusting. Whereas oils are somewhat "self healing" in that they flow into areas where the film is broken.

 

[bwhoffman]

Stumpy's Moose Snot, recipe found on this site, should work well also.