I am wondering about an old graded fox action that has lost virtually all of its color and has a fairly shiny but I think very nice silvered color, and trying to match a new piece of metal (a buttplate) to this? What are the options and what's the best way to do this?

Is this a skeleton butt plate?

If it is polish it with 320 grit abrasive, color case harden it and "age" it on the high points and edges using 600 or 800 grit wet dry paper.

Yes.

I assumed it would get case hardened and then polished with steel wool or something--but I would have thought grit paper would take the case right off in addition to the color?

David,...if you case harden it first just use your fingers and a bit of "Brasso" Or "Flitz" if you have some----NO GRIT PAPER---- your fingers dipped in the Brasso are strong enough to remove as much of the colour as you need to, in time it will develop a nice dull shine

CJ

Thanks very much Claudio--is that a job that to do right needs to be a full-on case-hardening, or is that a Kasenit job? Seems like it would be hard to get a relatively even temp. without going "all the way"?

If the new plate is case cl`d/blue, to begin,a fadeout with flitz/oil and fine steel wool would be okay ,imho.
Otherwise ,if bare metal,
a quick application of naval jelly to tone down the shine`ness,
and 4/0 wool to taste.
Or cold blue the PP out of it,then naval jelly it back again.

You cant fool any but a fool,so put it up and let it "meld" in its own.

Thank you. Could you explain this a bit, I'm not quite sure how to interpret it. I understand matching an older finish is just about impossible, but I don't know if you are referring to the endeavor in general or one of the methods you mentioned.

David think about how the how an original finish would have naturally worn. The reason that you use the paper (lightly)is to knock down the colors on the edges and high spots but not get into the case hardening and to leave finish in the low protected area as opposed to removing the colors uniformly as you would with steel wool or liquid abrasive on a rag.

Wait a minute. It sounds as if your receiver is already shiny and virtually all the colors are gone. Why would you want to color case harden the buttplate and then remove virtually all of the colors you just paid for, and risk warpage, however slight, that would affect the fit to your wood? Is this an original Fox skeleton buttplate? If so, it is probably already hardened. The fact that the colors are gone does not mean the thin carburized case is gone. If you are not going to re-case color all of the parts that originally had case color, I would be inclined to just polish the buttplate and let it naturally discolor slightly as polished carbon sttel will do.

I have had at least one buttplate warp in the process.

Thanks all--it's a brandy-new buttplate from Glenn Fewless, so soft metal that's polished to what looks like about 320 grit--so based on how it feels it's pretty soft right now, no case whatsoever.

Glenn also gave me some tips, and mentioned the possible (likely?) warpage of a thin part like this. He also mentioned that some people have rust blued the part, then partially stripped the rust in order to get a "patina" on the metal--but he said he had never tried this. Anyone ever tried this?

I'm all ears if anyone has insight or further tips.
Thanks.

a skeleton butt plate does not need to be hardened - its not subject to wear other than in your shoulder - and casing it will just warp it.

I would just dip it in salt water, urine, or suspend over vinegar in a warm atmosphere overnight until it is tarnished and then just rub it with oil.

Case hardening is done for two purposes first to harden the metal to retard wear the second is to retard further oxidation (rusting). The pretty colors are just a bonus. For my guns I prefer that they not look like they were rescued from the barnyard or feed lot.

Selectively strip blue or case with scotchbrite.