L&R RPL-05

[erhunter]

I would like to get some ideas as to browning, blueing or just polishing my new lock. I do use it for hunting so would you just let it go with the factory cast finish? By the way, the install was pretty easy and straight forward. Tim and Bill were great to work with!

 

[forty_caliber]

I put an RPL 5 on my GPR. I used Oxpho Blue Cream to closely match the color of the barrel. It's pretty easy to use and durable. Available on Amazon and Brownells.

I disassembled the lock and blued each part separately, filed to clean up parting lines before hand. Acetone to remove any grease or oil. Q-tip was pretty handy to get in the hard to reach areas. I also used masking tape to keep it off the frizzen face.

.40

 

[Eric Krewson]

Start with getting rid of the orange peel finish, needle files, files wrapped with sand paper, various grits of sand paper and a lot of elbow grease and you can to it.

I stopped at 220 or 400 grit sand paper, I can't remember which, then grayed it with rubbed back cold blue.

 

[Pete G]

Disassemble and polish away any evidence of casting, then paint with phosphoic acid. Gives an antique gray that is somewhat rust resistant. Leave the springs blue.

 

[Musketeer]

I'd leave it as is, but I'm weird that way... Seeing as how where you live is way more humid than where I live, I'd say throw some cold bluing on it. You should get a nice dark matte black finish when done. You can certainly polish it up if you want, but I think castings that are finished to the bare degree necessary to be functional look cool, either raw or blued, etc.

 

[erhunter]

Thanks guys for all of the replies. Eric, that lock looks great! Eric, did you polish the internals also?

 

[Eric Krewson]

I used a very fine polishing compound and a Dremel buffing wheel to polish the tumbler shaft, the tumbler hole in the lockplate and the lock plate on the inside anywhere something was moving, I made everything look like a mirror. I didn't get agressive and no tolerances were changed.