Refinishing A Rusty Barrel
08-05-2012, 10:07 AM
#1
Boone & Crockett
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: River Ridge, LA (Suburb of New Orleans)
Posts: 10,917
Refinishing A Rusty Barrel
Getting a new bright and smooth finish on a rusty octagon barrel is not difficult at all. The process isn't complicated, though it is time consuming and may take a few hours.
Here's one I just finished working. Fortunately, the bore is bright and shiny. But the outside had moderate rust and some shallow pitting.
BEFORE
FORE
Here's how it looked after two hours of work.
AFTER
The work was done with a 12" mill file.
The trick is to keep the file flat to the barrel and make long smooth strokes.
A good technique is to make a stroke about a foot long. Then lift the file, turn it sideways, and tap the edge on a piece of wood to knock out any chips. Use a file card to brush out any chips that do not fall free.
Do not apply a lot of pressure - think along the lines of the pressure you would use to apply suntan lotion to Scarlett Johansson's back.
For an extra smooth finish have a seat in a comfortable chair and repeat the process with a finer 6" or 8" mill file.
If you want it really shiny, follow that by wrapping the file with 400 grit Emery paper and have at it.
Here's one I just finished working. Fortunately, the bore is bright and shiny. But the outside had moderate rust and some shallow pitting.
BEFORE
FORE Here's how it looked after two hours of work.
AFTER
The work was done with a 12" mill file.
The trick is to keep the file flat to the barrel and make long smooth strokes.
A good technique is to make a stroke about a foot long. Then lift the file, turn it sideways, and tap the edge on a piece of wood to knock out any chips. Use a file card to brush out any chips that do not fall free.
Do not apply a lot of pressure - think along the lines of the pressure you would use to apply suntan lotion to Scarlett Johansson's back.
For an extra smooth finish have a seat in a comfortable chair and repeat the process with a finer 6" or 8" mill file.
If you want it really shiny, follow that by wrapping the file with 400 grit Emery paper and have at it.
Last edited by Semisane; 08-06-2012 at 06:37 AM.
05-07-2013, 03:12 AM
#4
Boone & Crockett
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: River Ridge, LA (Suburb of New Orleans)
Posts: 10,917
Yeah Freebird, send it to Ed Rayl or Bob Hoyt and have them rebore it to the next larger caliber for about a hundred bucks. 
Actually, the best thing to do is get the bore as clean as you can and give it as good a polish as you can with J-B Non-Embedding Bore Cleaning Compound. Then shoot it and see how it does. It may be quite accurate even with a bit of pitting.
As far as reboring goes, it may be worth the money because you'll end up with a quality bore from either one of those guys. Whether it can be rebored depends on the current caliber and size of the barrel. If the barrel is 15/16" and .45 caliber it can be rebored to .50 caliber. If it's a 15/16" .50 caliber it might be rebored to .54. I'm not sure - you would have to check with one of them. If it's a 1" .50 caliber it can be rebored to .54.
I would deal with the bore first, before working on the outside. Then you can shoot it and see what you have. Even assuming a rebore is not in the cards and accuracy isn't so great, it may be something you'll enjoy shooting now and then or hunting with at distances within the accuracy limits of the barrel. If accuracy is really crap and a rebore is not possible, hang it on the wall and drink a toast to it now and then.
Actually, the best thing to do is get the bore as clean as you can and give it as good a polish as you can with J-B Non-Embedding Bore Cleaning Compound. Then shoot it and see how it does. It may be quite accurate even with a bit of pitting.
As far as reboring goes, it may be worth the money because you'll end up with a quality bore from either one of those guys. Whether it can be rebored depends on the current caliber and size of the barrel. If the barrel is 15/16" and .45 caliber it can be rebored to .50 caliber. If it's a 15/16" .50 caliber it might be rebored to .54. I'm not sure - you would have to check with one of them. If it's a 1" .50 caliber it can be rebored to .54.
I would deal with the bore first, before working on the outside. Then you can shoot it and see what you have. Even assuming a rebore is not in the cards and accuracy isn't so great, it may be something you'll enjoy shooting now and then or hunting with at distances within the accuracy limits of the barrel. If accuracy is really crap and a rebore is not possible, hang it on the wall and drink a toast to it now and then.
Last edited by Semisane; 05-07-2013 at 03:18 AM.
