Aging an original vaquero

[resident]

I can see it now... a new gun, artificially "aged" to look old.... then, after a short bit of use, put away in the gun-safe, properly oiled and cared-for.
Then, two generations later, the grandson's son inherits it..and spends a wallet-full of chineese dollars to re-finish it ....to look NEW! :lol:

 

[rugerguy]

I can see it now... a new gun, artificially "aged" to look old.... then, after a short bit of use, put away in the gun-safe, properly oiled and cared-for.
Then, two generations later, the grandson's son inherits it..and spends a wallet-full of chineese dollars to re-finish it ....to look NEW! :lol:

BINGO. we have a winner.......and thats the gospel truth folks!!


we made lots of money refinishing guns for folks over the past 45 years, too bad I never kept any of it............

 

[DanChamberlain]

So you are saying that if I put my guns away uncleaned, before I have soaked them in oil, during the hot humid summer, I will get lots of rust?

Sorry, as I said before, I do it all the time. BP fouling is just not as corrosive as most people think.

Did a little experiment some years back. Shot a cheapie Lyman 1858 from the early 70s about three cylinders worth with black powder. Didn't clean it for a week. No rust. I recall the gun had a lot of animal fat Crisco shortening on the surface from that which I dabbed over the chambers. It was pretty gooey.

Since that time, I always clean quickly, but I recall that little experiment clearly.

Dan

 

[resident]

So you are saying that if I put my guns away uncleaned, before I have soaked them in oil, during the hot humid summer, I will get lots of rust?

Sorry, as I said before, I do it all the time. BP fouling is just not as corrosive as most people think.

Did a little experiment some years back. Shot a cheapie Lyman 1858 from the early 70s about three cylinders worth with black powder. Didn't clean it for a week. No rust. I recall the gun had a lot of animal fat Crisco shortening on the surface from that which I dabbed over the chambers. It was pretty gooey.

Since that time, I always clean quickly, but I recall that little experiment clearly.

Dan

What is usually not documented to support various beliefs is..... the humidity-levels of the storage environment.
I promise... BP residues will absorb a lot more moisture than smokeless. Just because one person's experiences is different than another's....is the direct result of differences in storage environments....which all-by-itself can cause one to rust and the other not....regardless of whether BP or smokeless was used. (Hint: Scientific method requires control groups.)

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

I promise... BP residues will absorb a lot more moisture than smokeless. Just because one person's experiences is different than another's....is the direct result of differences in storage environments....

I really don't mean to hijack this thread, but why is it so difficult to understand that Black Powder fouling is nowhere near as corrosive as it was when corrosive primers and caps were being used? Haven't you heard all the horror stories of military Smokeless rounds that were primed with corrosive primers and how they would corrode a bore unless the gun was cleaned promptly? Doesn't that make you wonder if maybe the corrosive primers had something to do with it?

Yes, I do understand all about how a hygroscopic substance like Black Powder fouling will suck water vapor out of the air and hold it against the steel. I can only assure you that my basement gets just as hot and humid as any body else's in the summer, yet when I get around to cleaning my revolvers, rifles, and shotguns that have been shot with Black Powder, there is never any rust.

Five years of doing this with almost twenty pounds of powder a year is a pretty fair bit of experience. Not to mention the fact that I started shooting Cap & Ball revolvers in 1968. Do you have that much experience with Black Powder?

 

[caryc]

Going by the amount of elbow grease it took me to get rid of the pits (not rust, pits) in that old army I'd say whatever he shot in it was pretty corrosive.

This was not online on some computer, it was sitting in front of me.