doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Finish on polished actions question

I am finishing up a double and plan on darkening the engraving and sealing the polished action. But I can not find out what is used to seal the metal, I am reading lacquer but not what kind rather automotive or is there something special. If anyone knows it would be a big help. I have googled it but would rather talk with someone that has worked with it.

Sounds like you don't want to seal the metal as much as you wish to coat it. Dr. Gaddy used Behlen's spray lacquer on newly cased frames; available from any good woodworking supply. Dr. Gaddy also used TruOil for an easier finish (can apply without disassembling or masking the gun, easy to refresh when it begins to wear). Galazan/CSMC sells a case protection lacquer; I think it comes is a kit of some sort. Don't know where in AZ you are, but there is a big automotive paint supplier in Yuma (don't remember the name, but they are in the Yellow Pages), and they may have lacquer for clear coats. Be very specific about what you want to do, because most clear coats are catalyzed, either polyester or epoxy, and some are water-based (that's a no-no). If you have the gun disassembled, you may want to use a catalyzed finish, and maybe even a baked finish (something like the various GunKote type products that are out there). Caution: nitrocellulose lacquer (like the Behlen's) is easy to work with and easy to remove/refresh. Catalyzed products are difficult to work with and almost impossible to remove. Whatever you use, keep it thin. I would go with Behlen's if the gun is apart, or Truoil if the gun is assembled.

Most any decent stock finish thinned out a little and applied with a small patch.
Dampen the cloth patch with the finish, you don't want alot onto the surface. Wipe it accross the metal in long even strokes. Quick enough to avoid any overlap lines but effeciantly enough to avoid missing any spots.

Tru-oil will work,,though I personally have a dislike for the stuff!,,just me,,.
Any of the in the bottle clear wood finish products will work. You're just putting a thin clear protective coating over the metal,,nothing else,,nothing special.

If it gets onto the wood a touch,,wipe it off as it won't dry all that fast.

When it does start to wear, either go back over it with the same mix to sharpen it back up. Or if you like, remove what's there with acetone and recoat.
Be careful using the acetone on the assembled gun as it will remove most any existing wood finish.

I don't like the lacquer type coating for the same reason most don't like them on wood. They're kind of brittle and they crack, chip & scratch easily. Plus they dry so fast, it's sometimes hard to get a nice even coating down w/o over lap lines.
Same with shellac,,the old stand by for case color protection.
But shellac dries a little slower so a neater job can be put down with it. Doesn't wear well though.

I try to keep it simple. No spray equiptment or E-Z Bake ovens to apply a coating like this.

Most any decent stock finish thinned out a little and applied with a small patch.
Dampen the cloth patch with the finish, you don't want alot onto the surface. Wipe it accross the metal in long even strokes. Quick enough to avoid any overlap lines but effeciantly enough to avoid missing any spots.

Tru-oil will work,,though I personally have a dislike for the stuff!,,just me,,.
Any of the in the bottle clear wood finish products will work. You're just putting a thin clear protective coating over the metal,,nothing else,,nothing special.

If it gets onto the wood a touch,,wipe it off as it won't dry all that fast.

When it does start to wear, either go back over it with the same mix to sharpen it back up. Or if you like, remove what's there with acetone and recoat.
Be careful using the acetone on the assembled gun as it will remove most any existing wood finish.

I don't like the lacquer type coating for the same reason most don't like them on wood. They're kind of brittle and they crack, chip & scratch easily. Plus they dry so fast, it's sometimes hard to get a nice even coating down w/o over lap lines.
Same with shellac,,the old stand by for case color protection.
But shellac dries a little slower so a neater job can be put down with it. Doesn't wear well though.

I try to keep it simple. No spray equiptment or E-Z Bake ovens to do this.
A few minutes and your done. Let the parts dry completely before handling.

Another option is a good wax like Leberon Black Bison wax with a little lamp black mixed in for darkening the engraving. Easy to apply and to redo in future when needed. I lived on Kodiak Island for 12 years and before each hunting season I would take my rifle apart and coat wood and metal with Johnson's paste wax and never had any rust even in that salt water environment, in and out of skiffs and such.

PS...I use this on "french greyed" engraved scenes for protection.

Thanks for the responses gives me some good information, hopefully I will be able to post some photos when finished.

I'd avoid a clear coat. All of them have some negatives. Some yellow with age, some ARE yellow, all will come off from wear, most don't look like the natural metal.

I'd give some waxes a try. They will have to be re-applied regularly, but I think the effect will be better. You might also experiment with some Future floor finish, now produced as Pledge with Future...something or another. It forms a clear and hard coat that is nearly undetectable.

rgh25, what is the engraving and the planned use of the gun? For a coin finish on an all steel engraving gun meant for heavy use I like an electroless nickel finish. Very mar and corrosion resistant. Plating would cover over inlays.

Guys,

May I assume that all the above treatments are equally useful for simply protecting case colors?

Randy

The Behlen's lacquer and TruOil were used by Dr. Gaddy to protect freshly cased guns, at customer request.