doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com color change

So not black oxide. Good deal.
JR

I've got a Cole custom Beretta that was color case hardened by Doug Turnbull. I emailed Rich Cole about putting lacquer on it and here was his reply: "Even with a coat of lacquer the case colors can wear. I have also seen where moisture has gotten under the lacquer and rusted the surface metal. I am not a fan of coating the case colors of a gun."

Carl got his colors back:





Looks better, no?

Best,
Ted

Yep, Thanks Ted for the pics post.
Carl

Ted,
Why yes it does! In reply to the suggestion of rust under a coating, My 28 ga. Merkel came to me with what I believe was some sort of clear coating. I could see some faint rusting or something under the coating in some areas of the engraving. After removing said coating and lightly polishing, it came back to it's beauty. That particular gun had been engraved by Gerhard Liebscher, Mwrkel"s master shop engraver at the time so preservation was important to me. Shoot and enjoy that gun in good health!
Karl

What's the consensus on using True Oil instead of lacquer?

Not I. How about paste wax - that's the most I would use. Mostly I just use ATF.

I put good old Tree Wax on. That's good stuff and has carnauba wax in it...tough wax. Anyone heard of it harming finishes?

Trewax.

https://www.amazon.com/Trewax-Natural-Carnauba-12-35-Ounce-887101016/dp/B005SRV1PI

I don't think it could hurt a finish, in and of itself. But, rubbing too much or too hard when buffing it off might accelerate wear. I use Renaissance Wax. Same difference.

I understand that many waxes, especially those advertised as cleaner waxes or polishing waxes, contain very fine abrasive particles such as clay in addition to the wax. For that reason, I avoid using it as a product to protect case colors, even though it would likely take a lot of buffing to notice any wear over time. Sometimes when change is barely perceptible, by the time we notice anything, the damage is done.

Our flintlock deer season just ended a couple days ago, and I noticed the case hardening colors on my rifle's lock still show virtually no signs of wear or thinning after several decades of use, and frequent exposure to rain, snow, and black powder residue. This is without any clear coats or protection aside from gun oil. I also have some guns that have only traces of remaining case colors, and it makes me wonder what previous owners did to make them nearly disappear.

It would also be interesting to know who did the case hardening job on Carl's L.C. Smith, and what pack formula and technique he used to get those predominately blue colors. They come closer to approximating original Lefever colors than many restorations I see.