Understandable! I know a lot of folks may not like doing this to their guns, but I figured I didn't break the bank with this gun, and if it didn't turn out then it wouldn't be the end of the world. This may be the only one I'd do this to, though. My rifle is aged naturally and doesn't need this...
Understandable! I know a lot of folks may not like doing this to their guns, but I figured I didn't break the bank with this gun, and if it didn't turn out then it wouldn't be the end of the world. This may be the only one I'd do this to, though. My rifle is aged naturally and doesn't need this
Wow that was much shorter than mine, don't know how I really even took 2 hours to do it....next time if I do it again, I'll follow this but with steel wool. Didn't have any available atm so I couldn't do that step.View attachment 315235
Soaked in white vinegar for roughly 15 minutes lightly buff with 1000 sanding sponge and hit with some ballistol.
Really simple and easy to strip the blue and the "case hardened" colors as well.
I like it. Came out great!
Thank you! I might do it again in the future, but I learned some more efficient techniques
Very nice! I might get the Ace in the future, and might try it on that one
The Ace is cool, but I wanted the barrel a bit longer and the rounded grip frame. You could round the grip frame on the Ace also if you choose to. You can remove the loading lever and purchase a lever that locks the cylinder pin in place. I believe some of the unmentionable cylinder makers sell that product and possibly Taylor’s sell it also. I just chose to alter my loading lever, but if it didn’t work I was going to buy one. It’s the same piece as on the Ace by the way.
I just did mine because it's different and I didn't want my Pietta to really look like a dime-a-dozen revolver, not saying the original blued finish is bad, just looked plain to me. Also, I can pretend to myself i have an original remington, without paying the $$$ price for a original, haha. Was fun to do as well, makes the gun just a little more personal to me. I certainly won't do this with my others, but the 1858 really looks good with it. I'm sure the 1860 would too, however I don't own one yet.
I hear what you’re saying. I’m not an aging fanatic either, I just cut the barrel off and rounded the grip frame on my Remington, and I was either blueing the cut areas, or redoing the whole gun. So I decided to redo a different way and looked up ways to get an aged finish. It was about trying something new. My recent retirement has a lot to do with projects popping into my head! My other cap & ball weapons look brand new.
Very nice! I was just thinking I should do this to my 1849 because the faux case hardening is sub-par.View attachment 315235
Soaked in white vinegar for roughly 15 minutes lightly buff with 1000 sanding sponge and hit with some ballistol.
Really simple and easy to strip the blue and the "case hardened" colors as well.
You won't regret it! I love my final result
Midway USA sells them.
I can only shoot once a week, weather dependent and work dependent too. I don't have the luxury of owning acres of land or a forest or anything of the sort. Like I said before, it's just a look and I like it. I don't really show off my stuff to people in real life as I'm an isolated individual with a small friend circle who aren't into this stuff, so it's not to brag or show off or anything. I shoot when I can, and that's not a whole lot. I only have this gun and a TC Renegade that's already well aged, but will continue to add to my collection. This was just a one time project, and future ones I'll get will age naturally. I probably won't be alive by the time they really look aged at the rate I go shooting, LOL.
Pretty consistent color over the entire gun, and yes, similar to Taylor’s production offering. You may want to vary the finish a bit to show a more natural wear pattern. One way is to apply cold blue then rub it back to create that worn or used look. A vinegar soak just evenly removes the bluing. It’s a ‘new gun’ and you also have to beat it up a bit to get that true antique look. Otherwise it’s just a gun with the bluing removed that’s too pretty to look like an antique. For an example here is a photograph I have posted before of an unmolested original 1858 that I own. Notice the uneven wear. Try to find photographs of actual original guns and mimic those, not production faux antique examples like Taylor’s offers. All your gun needs is a little time with something like a piece of chain, a few loose nails and maybe time in the dirt getting roughed up. Get creative if you want a true antique look. Add some strategically placed cold bluing rubbed back to show natural wear and you will be on your way.
Thanks for the advice! As I mentioned in a previous comment, I can really only shoot once a week and dependant on the weather and work. I do try my best to go shooting, but things get in my way sometimes. My only other BP gun is my TC renegade which is actually naturally worn, and antique at this point (although that's mostly because of poor care by previous owner). If I do this to another future gun, it'll most likely be natural wear, although my guns will probably outlive me before I see that aged look the way things are going. But I will definitely try that cold blue technique in the future IF I try it again...Pretty consistent color over the entire gun, and yes, similar to Taylor’s production offering. You may want to vary the finish a bit to show a more natural wear pattern. One way is to apply cold blue then rub it back to create that worn or used look. A vinegar soak just evenly removes the bluing. It’s a ‘new gun’ and you also have to beat it up a bit to get that true antique look. Otherwise it’s just a gun with the bluing removed that’s too pretty to look like an antique. For an example here is a photograph I have posted before of an unmolested original 1858 that I own. Notice the uneven wear. Try to find photographs of actual original guns and mimic those, not production faux antique examples like Taylor’s offers. All your gun needs is a little time with something like a piece of chain, a few loose nails and maybe time in the dirt getting roughed up. Get creative if you want a true antique look. Add some strategically placed cold bluing rubbed back to show natural wear and you will be on your way.
