In the Bright

[dcriner]

I have a replica Kentucky flintlock pistol - the barrel and Siler lock are finished in the bright. Smoothed and polished.

I'm trying to decide whether to brown, blue, or leave it in the bright. What would make the most sense?

If I leave it in the bright, is wiping it with, say, Rem Oil enough to protect it before putting it away or should I use something else?

 

[rafterob]

1) Leave them bright. 2) Oil them.

 

[1911nutjob]

My vote is to nicely brown it. I intended to do that with my pedersoli howdah kit, only to find that the barrels were already finished. I really love a good charcoal blue, but I'm not sure it would be period correct with your pistol, and holster wear adds up pretty quick. Cash value of this opinion is 1/20 of one cent. (Offer void in TN, other restrictions and exclusions may apply.)

 

[Zonie]

IMO, you are the only person who can really know what your pistol should look like.

As near as folks can tell, the originals were finished in all of the colors you mentioned.

If you leave it polished it should stay that way for a long time with just an occasional wiping and oiling. Any discoloration can be considered to be its own natural aging that happens to all guns.

If you decide to blue it with a cold bluing solution I suggest that you use a good one and thoroughly degrease all of the metal surfaces with denatured alcohol, MEK, Disk Brake Cleaner, Acetone or Lacquer Thinner before you apply the bluing.
If I'm going to use a cold bluing solution, I like Birchwood Casey Perma Blue. The BC Super Blue is made for modern steels and usually produces a more mottled/streaked look.

If you choose to rust brown it or, after browning it you choose to boil the parts in distilled water to make it black you should disassemble the lock first.
You really don't want the browning solution to get down into the tumbler bearing or on any of the internal parts.

Rem Oil or Birchwood Casey Barricade will keep the "in the white" looking good for years.