Big Ol Gobbler
32 Cal.
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- Oct 31, 2007
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I just purchased a Trapper kit and am thinking about keeping the barrel white. It's my first kit. What do I do to seal it to keep it from rusting? Thanks for your help.
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Keeping the barrel white
- Thread starter Big Ol Gobbler
- Start date
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Most folks don't really mind the rust that won't wipe off with a rough cloth. They say it gives the barrel a Patina that looks natural.
That said, the more polished the metal is the less prone to rusting it will be. If it is a mirror finish and coated with a good paste or car wax it will remain that way for a long time.
It is believed that most of the original guns that were left "in the white" were not highly polished to a mirror finish. They were just finished to a very smooth but not mirror condition and then waxed.
Of course, you can do whatever you like, but if it were mine I would finish it down to a 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper finish the then wax it with Johnsons Paste Wax or a good Natural colored paste Shoe Polish.
One of the nice things about a "in the white" finish is if it does start to discolor or rust you can always just re-sand it.
That said, the more polished the metal is the less prone to rusting it will be. If it is a mirror finish and coated with a good paste or car wax it will remain that way for a long time.
It is believed that most of the original guns that were left "in the white" were not highly polished to a mirror finish. They were just finished to a very smooth but not mirror condition and then waxed.
Of course, you can do whatever you like, but if it were mine I would finish it down to a 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper finish the then wax it with Johnsons Paste Wax or a good Natural colored paste Shoe Polish.
One of the nice things about a "in the white" finish is if it does start to discolor or rust you can always just re-sand it.
coehornboy
40 Cal.
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Zonie: I like to wrap my sand paper or crocus cloth around a flat peice of wood as to not round the barrel flats. Do you recommend this, or have most of the originals you see in the white suffer from rounded edges?
Many Klatch
69 Cal.
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- May 19, 2006
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I built a smoothbore and left the barrel in the white about 20 years ago. All I do to care for the finish is rub off any rust with an oily rag. I keep the barrel oiled when it is stored. It has turned a "steel gray" color that is hard to fake. Occasionally if it looks really funky, I might clean it up a little with an oiled 0000 steel wool. But then I often use the 0000 steel wool to clean the inside of the barrel as well.
Many Klatch
Many Klatch
Guest
Interesting. One of the reasons I have not taken on a build is the prospect of bluing or browning. Anyhow, maybe just leaving it in the white is the answer to my self imposed "problem".
Big Ol Gobbler
32 Cal.
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Thanks a lot guys. I appreciate the advise.
"Interesting. One of the reasons I have not taken on a build is the prospect of bluing or browning"
in the white would work for you, keep in mind that you cannot mess up a browning/bluing job, if you don't like it just take it off with naval jelly and try again,I stripped the blue of a CVA and liked the greyish color that resulted and left it that way.
in the white would work for you, keep in mind that you cannot mess up a browning/bluing job, if you don't like it just take it off with naval jelly and try again,I stripped the blue of a CVA and liked the greyish color that resulted and left it that way.
I built my first this year and wanted the barrel to stay in the white also. After a lot of discussion and questions on this site, I decided to try Naval Jelly. I totally covered the barrel with Naval Jelly and re coated every 10 minutes or so for about 45 minutes. The barel came out a gray that just took off the shine. Kind of like a head start on the aging process.
If you do a search on my handle you should find pictures of the rifle. Just another thought....
If you do a search on my handle you should find pictures of the rifle. Just another thought....
Whenever a builder is sanding on barrel flats or any other part which is supposed to have sharp well defined corners they should use a wooden block to "back up" the sandpaper.
IMO, rounded corners on the barrel flats is the mark of an amateur.
This might also be extended to the sharp edges where the flats of the lock or lock plate panels stop.
My general rule is to use a backer block when ever the builder is working on a surface that is supposed to be flat and avoid using a backer block when the surfaces are supposed to be curved, rounded blending contours.
IMO, rounded corners on the barrel flats is the mark of an amateur.
This might also be extended to the sharp edges where the flats of the lock or lock plate panels stop.
My general rule is to use a backer block when ever the builder is working on a surface that is supposed to be flat and avoid using a backer block when the surfaces are supposed to be curved, rounded blending contours.
