[All4fun]

I just purchased a Remington 541T/HB in mint condition, with the exception of rust spots on the first foot of the barrel at the muzzle end. The rest of the barrel and receiver are in perfect condition. Here are pics of the barrel that show the rust spots:

Gun oil, a soft cloth and some elbow grease successfully removed the rust. That revealed small flaws in the blue: you could see glints of steel at the center of some of the former rust spots and general discoloration of the blue where the rust was. So my question is:

What would you recommend to return the 541T barrel to mint or new condition? If you have prior experience with something like this, what did you do and how did it turn out?
...

 

[ShootNut]

You need to get rid of the rest of that rust before it pits the barrel. Some #0000 steelwool and a good gun oil will get the rest off there. Treat it with a good rust preventive oil or gun grease to keep it from getting worse. Honestly if it were mine I would have it reblued, and not cold blued, hot blued and before those spots become pits!

 

[grandparem]

Sure would be interesting to know how the bluing got damaged like it is.... almost looks like someone scuffed the barrel with some kind of wire wheel or something. Is that pattern all the way around the circumference of the barrel? There is no way to repair it other than re-bluing it. I agree with the hot blue, but there are some good cold blues on the market.... depends on if you want it "original" looking or a good looking shooter. Only way to get it "perfect" is to return it to the factory for them to do it with an original bluing method. They may even want to put a new barrel on it to return it to new condition. Of course this will not be the lowest cost way to do it.

 

[22AGS]

This will remove the remaining rust without further damaging the bluing that's on the barrel. Magic.

http://www.frontiermetalcleaner.com/

 

[mistermike]

It depends on how you plan to use the gun and how you want the gun preserved or restored.

If you have no vested interest in the rifle, remove all the rust and spray paint the barrel with a bake on finish.

If you want to keep the gun luxurious, send it out to be stripped down and "hot" blued.

Personally, in the case of this gun, I would put the investment into having it reblued correctly.

Best,
Michael

 

[All4fun]

Thank you gentlemen for the helpful replies. I appreciate it very much.

I removed all the rust soon after taking the pictures. It has a heavy coat of gun oil on it. So I don't believe the rust situation is getting any worse.

Mounting the barrel on a Hardinge lathe and removing all the old blue is something I believe I can do. But what I have not done myself is a hot blue job. Is that difficult to do well? Will it be difficult to match the original Remington blue?

Your thoughts?
...

 

[ShootNut]

Hot blue isnt really something you want to do at home, the set up and supplies are very expensive for the average person just wanting to do the ocaissional gun. Most of the companies today use a hot salt bluing that comes out black. The orignal finish on that rifle would have been dark blue. It could be expensive to get it back to orignal finish and look. If you just want to reblue it and make it look good again Craftguard is a real good company to deal with. They wont polish out the stamping on the rifle, like some companies Ive seen over the years. And if you take it apart and just send them the parts to polish and blue their fairly reasonable on price, and their pretty quick on turn around time. Now if you want it to be orignal for the collectors value Id give Remington a call and see what they say on refinishing it there.

http://www.craftguard.com/

 

[slumlord44]

If it were mine, I would try various cold blue products and see if I could come close to matching it. You can always have the barrel professionaly reblued if you are not satisfied with the results. Just a thought.

 

[nsl]

Almost looks like a cat sprayed it.

 

[buffdog]

Rust on barrel

Mounting the barrel on a Hardinge lathe and removing all the old blue is something I believe I can do. But what I have not done myself is a hot blue job. Is that difficult to do well? Will it be difficult to match the original Remington blue?

Your thoughts?
...

Mounting the barrel in a lathe to remove the bluing is not really a good idea. As far as hot blue, you need tanks, chemicals, etc.

It would probably be cheaper, better, and more pleasing results to have it re-blued by a gunsmith. They can polish and remove the blue, and have the equipment to do a professional job.

You might consider having the barrel AND the receiver done. That way, the bluing would match.

In addition, if you were going to sell the rifle later, the value would be much higher with a professional job, rather than a home blue one. Cold blue products tend to produce results that are not really satisfactory. All right for small areas or touch ups, but not up to factory specifications.
.

 

[Line Shot]

Cold blue may or may not work if you want to return the barrel to new condition. I'm not sure you would get an even, matched finish with cold blue. Hot bluing small parts is one thing, but hot bluing a barrel yourself is a different story due to the size and the tank required for it. I've also heard good things about Craftguard and their work, and that would be my recommendation. But maybe you have a reputable local source for hot bluing?

 

[scooter22]

Vans cold blue does a great job of blending in. But 541s are getting exspensive. I'd have it profesionaly hot blued to preserve the value. I would check Remington for a price to compare to other services then go from there.

 

[All4fun]

An update...

My plan A is to try cold blue first. I have Oxpho Blue on order from Brownell's. It seems to be well-recommended by RFC members. I'll try that when I get it.

If cold blue does not look right, my plan B is to send the barrel out to the folks at Craftguard Metal Finishing.

http://www.craftguard.com/

I really appreciate all the very thoughtful responses. Thank you!