doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com clear coat or just oil?

I have a set of very nice antique color case hardened locks. They are now taken apart for a very light cleaning. Should I be giving the outside of the locks a spray on clear coating or just lightly oil them before assembly?

Thank you, John

John, people use everything from Tru-oil to lacquer to help keep case colors from fading. I've tried both and found that Tru-oil did little to preserve them and lacquer had a tendency to wear in odd, blotchy patterns, although it did seem to make the colors last longer. Now I just wipe them occaisionally with a lightly oiled rag and let the colors wear naturally; I like the look, and feel like it's part of having color case hardening.
Joe

Ballistol is "gentle"; it won't harm wood and might be a good alternative if you decide not to lacquer.

Phil

Rennaisance Wax is probably your best bet other than some sort of varnish.
It will give much better protection than oil and can be used over the whole gun, lock, stock and barrels.

GDU

Hello John,

Here is more information for you:

Posted by Oscar Gaddy (Member # 38) on November 16, 2003, 12:58 PM:

For some time, I have been using a clear-coat aerosol spray-on lacquer made and sold by Behlens. It is a true cellulose lacquer that you can spray on and have a very uniform coat without bubbles and running with just a little care in application. When you need to redo it, it can easily be removed by merely soaking the parts in acetone. I have been very pleased with it's performance and I use it on all Damascus barrels that I refinish and on some guns that I color caseharden if the owner wants a protective coating.

Whatever you use, I recommend that you completely strip the internal parts and degrease carefully before applying the protective coating. You will then need to lubricate the appropriate parts and places when you reassemble.

Oscar Gaddy

Posted by Shotgunjones (Member # 2551) on November 16, 2003, 02:08 PM:

Thank-You both Ted and Oscar. Based on your comments, I'm leaning towards a complete strip, lacquer, and properly lubricated reassembly. I consider myself fairly qualified, and have on hand a set of good miniature and narrow blade 'turnscrews' (note the proper brit lingo, barf). Besides, I just can't resist a chance to take the thing apart, that's half the fun. This is a 1972 AyA, accuracy to +/- 2 years. It's a Guldmann Ambassador for those who might know what that's all about. I think it was a 'back door' import, Guldmann being the AyA distributor in Denmark. The locks are currently well lubricated with some kind of clear grease, age of which is unknown. Clearly, I'll need to reapply something which leads to two brain picking questions; where to get the Behlens stuff, and what kind of lube does a new sidelock mechanic apply to his Basque Beauty?

Posted by Oscar Gaddy (Member # 38) on November 16, 2003, 10:30 PM:

Russ

You can buy the Behlen aerosol lacquer from almost any woodworking supply mail order catalog such as Klingspor or Constantine, and you may be able to find it at your local hardware or hobby supply store. The name is Behlens Jet Spray (aerosol) lacquer finish, Clear Gloss, Item number B101-0800. You can also do a Google search and find numerous suppliers.

You might want to practice on some unimportant objects first before lacquering your gun. However, if you make a mistake, you can always remove the lacquer by soaking in acetone and do it over again.

I have used 3in 1 oil for lubricating double shotguns for many years and it seems to work fine for me. Hoppe's or any other highly refined petroleum based oil should also work fine. There may also be other newer products with which I am not familiar that may be as good or better. As with any gun, use care and use only the least amount of oil necessary.

Oscar

JC

And before that Oscar used Truoil.The man knew his metal and how to keep it looking nice.

My Parker was done by Oscar in 2002, using Truoil. We discussed it and I agreed with his recommendation. It still looks new, although it has not had a lot of hard field use. The thing that appealed to me about Truoil was that it is easy to remove and re-apply, if need be. There is probably a slight yellow cast but do I care? It looks great to me.
Plain oil would do little or nothing to protect the CC finish, IMO.

Hi all, my 2c worth. I've treated my case colors with a brush on lacquer (Minwax). It brushed on on very easy with no runs, streaks or bubbles. I did cut the lacquer with a little thinner. I used the gloss type and it really made the colors come to life. I applied two coats and have not seen any wear so far. It left no other "color" other than the CC. I like it and it works for me.

Good Luck on whatever you decide!

Greg