Metal care on in the white barrels?

[pepperbelly]

I picked up a Pedersoli 1777 musket today. The barrel is in the white. There are a lot of darker areas where it's obvious people have handled it without wiping the metal after.
I was thinking of using #0000 steel wool and light oil to remove the discoloration and polish the steel. Does that sound right or is there a better way?

Jim

 

I use brick dust and tallow on my muskets. It keeps them white without looking like chrome. My Lt. Col. taught me that little trick when I was in the 8th Penna.

 

[sniper68]

:hmm: Gotta ask. Where to you get brick dust?

 

[Birddog6]

:hmm: Just hand your wife 2 bricks when ya leave for work & tell her when you get home you better see a big pile of dust......... :shocked2:

And if you are lucky enought to make it to the car, who knows.......... maybe you will have dust when ya get back ? :hmm: :rotf:

 

[sniper68]

:hmm: Just hand your wife 2 bricks when ya leave for work & tell her when you get home you better see a big pile of dust......... :shocked2:

Forget that! I just replaced a broken water pipe in the concrete and carpeted "finished" basement floor, cutting a 3" trench with a diamond blade. :cursing: :hmm: I guess I could tell her brick dust is different. :grin:

 

[DougMPhoto]

:hmm: Just hand your wife 2 bricks when ya leave for work & tell her when you get home you better see a big pile of dust......... :shocked2:

And if you are lucky enought to make it to the car, who knows.......... maybe you will have dust when ya get back ? :hmm: :rotf:

You WON'T make it to the car...but you will have dust...falling from the back of your head :rotf:

 

[Many Klatch]

The brick dust is historically accurate, but steel wool is a little easier to use. I use steel wool occasionally on my in the white barrels. To keep it from rusting I use my 1/2 two stroke motor oil and 1/2 kerosene mix that I use inside the barrel.

The troops in the military that carried the musket that you have kept it bright and shiny and had to polish it all the time to keep their sergeants happy. I like the duller look of the steel if it is allowed to oxidize some with the oil finish. After a few years you will have a nice steel gray finish that is hard to replicate any other way.

Many Klatch

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you are going for historical accuracy, buy some " Rottenstone " at your paint store. Then use an old rag, dipped in oil to act as a " Glue " to hold the powder to the rag, and use that to rub down the barrel. The rottenstone has been put through a screening process to make it an even fine dust, much finer than you see with most sand papers.

If you have obvious rust, take the rust off with steel wool and oil, either dipping the wool in the oil or putting oil on the rust spots. The oil keeps you from taking much of the finish off the rest of the barrel, whatever is there. I use this when removing spot rusting from a blued barrel.

Once you have the obvious rust removed, then you can inspect the finish to see how deep the rust went, and then decide how to proceed. If you are going to remove a fine " patina", then using the rottenstone is ideal to return the barrel to " White " metal. A small bag of rottenstone will last you years. This stuff was used to polish the oil and varnish finishes on furniture, and musical instruments, long before abrasive paper, and cloths were invented.

 

[white_tail]

Brick dust is very common around baseball diamonds. Go to your local high school diamond and get a hand full.

 

[Coot]

Paul is right about the rottenstone. Bricks in the 18th century were fired by wood fires in open kilns and were softer (easier to rub for dust & a less abrasive dust) than todays bricks.

 

:hmm: Gotta ask. Where to you get brick dust?

From Lt. Col. in the BAR. That's what they said they used for polishing musket barrels in the american army. It's very fine gound and is literally dust. They never said anything about rottenstone. I know rottenstone is good for knocking a high gloss off of a stock when yer finishing it. Another Ol' Colonel told me about that little trick.

 

[Steve Blancard]

Avalon Forge sells brick dust as well as other musket goodies.

Avalon Forge

A couple other good sources of supplies for your new musket are:

G. Gedney

and

Roy Najecki

 

[Harddog]

I picked up a Pedersoli 1777 musket today. The barrel is in the white. There are a lot of darker areas where it's obvious people have handled it without wiping the metal after.
I was thinking of using #0000 steel wool and light oil to remove the discoloration and polish the steel. Does that sound right or is there a better way?

Jim

Jim,

Brick dust was what was used on military muskets, but there just doesn't seem to be any info about using brick dust on civilian firles and fowlers. Most shooters today who have a rifle with a barrel in the white just allow it to "self patina". If you just care for an in the white barrel like you would do with a browned or blued barrel it will slowly take on a patina or color that indicates use. It will turn a mellow grey color with a somewhat uneven coloring on the barrel.

Randy Hedden