I recently purchased a vintage double with a very rough exterior finish. Most bluing is gone, significant surface rust in places. I know there will never be another opportunity for the gun to be original again, but original finish here is not attractive or protective. I would like to do something to make it look better and preserve the metal below. I’m considering cerakote in a color that mimics bluing.
I would love to have people’s thoughts about doing so. I should mention that while it is an older gun, this is not a particularly expensive gun, and I want to keep it shooting for the long term.
Cerakote a vintage double?
I'd have it cleaned up and do a quality cold rust blue, maybe charcoal blue the fittings. The wood is easier - oil finish.
Certainly would be my first choice, but rebluing costs more than the gun is worth
Remove the rust and leave as is
If you live in a humid area rust blue it your self.its not rocket potatosalid
If it is not worth re-bluing, may I suggest cleaning off surface rust and apply black paint to barrels (Matt or gloss to taste).
It should prevent further deterioration, and will be easy to strip off if a future owner ever wants to throw money at the project.
You could try adding brown and olive drab if you want to blend in with some semi-auto Wildfowlers.
Oxpho Blue, sold by Brownell's. It is by far the most durable cold blue I have used. The prep work isn't real demanding, and you can apply it with steel wool pads to blend and get an even finish that is near impossible with other cold blues. No special tools or boiling tanks are needed. The harder you rub it on with the fine steel wool, the better. The same amount of rubbing with steel wool would remove other cold blues.
It is no substitute for a nice slow rust bluing job on a better gun. But it can certainly improve the appearance of a cheap gun that is in rough shape. The Brownell's Gunsmith Kinks books contain numerous testimonials and suggestions for prep and application techniques.
Cold-rebluing is a great way to learn about surface finishes for cheap.
If it comes out nice, you could be very proud of it. And learn a lot in doing so.
CZ is right. You'd be amazed by how good it can look.