Unveiling
 

The bobcat barrel will be unveiled in about an hour after soaking in a capped PVC pipe full of Evapo-Rust since yesterday. Please stay tuned.
BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

I really need to get a bore light.
The blue didn't come off the way I had hoped, but I can deal with that.
There is no longer ANY rust inside or outside of the barrel.
I just got finished hitting the barrel with one 0 steel wool and it looks GOOD.
I know it's hard to tell but you're looking at bare steel, no blue. In reality it is a silver steel color.

I will be checking back. I hope it turns out well.

A little better lighting.

The blue actually did come off. It only took a light buffing with one 0 steel wool to remove the discoloration from the barrel. Now I can either re-blue it or leave it bare. Bare is looking pretty good but I'm sure I'll blue it.

Don't for get Browning it is one of the better options and more original.

Is there any difference in the durability of blueing versus browning?

But I don't like the looks of browning.

HEY pluck! I like it in the white.Looks nice.How long did you soak that thing in the Evaporust?

I let it soak for about 20 hours. I really like it bare metal too, but I'm affraid the barrel will rust too easilly without gun blue on it. I don't know why, it shouldn't be any different than the inside, or bore, of the barrel. I have to admit, I like blueing barrels. I really like the way a darkly blued barrel looks. I just went out and bought a new bottle of gun blue, I used up almost all of the other bottle. I'll be blueing the barrel today and I'll post some photographs afterwards.

Looks pretty darn good in the white. I think I would hit it with some good quality automotive wax to protect it and leave it as is.

All I need now is a ram rod.

wow huge difference!

What kind of front sight was that originally? I'd be interested in it for my cva mtn stalker.

OOps never mind, thats the barrel under rib haha!

On a side note. The blueing I just did looked to come out a little blotchy. It was done with a different gun blue than I usually use, since I was running low on that type. The brand name of it is Birchwood Casey. So I just went over it with the little bit of Hoppe's gun blue I had left and it looks 100 percent better. Maybe I'll post pictures tomorrow.
Now to move on to the .54 cal barrel that came with the $30.00 Renegade.
That barrel isn't anywhere near as bad as the Bobcat barrel was, so I'm totally confident in it's full recovery.

That looks amazing, great job. I have guys at work who say they have rusted barrels and I just laugh every time I hear it. Maybe I can get a few for really cheap. Hard to beat what you paid and if it shoots well even better.

Wow, that turned out nice! Looks like a new rifle. Just curious, what brand of gun blue have you had the best luck with in the past? Do you heat your barrels before applying the blue? Thanks. -Q

Answer to Q.
No, I don't heat the barrel and Hope's gun blue seems to be the best.

Here is a picture after I blued the barrel with Birchwood Casey gun blue and then went over top of that with Hoppe's gun blue. It still looks a little blotchy in this photograph and I don't know why. I think it looks terrific. Maybe after work today I'll take some pitures of it outside and see how they come out.

I agree, I don't like the looks of browning ether.

Final paragraph in this chapter of "Saving the Bobcat".
 

There isn't much more I can do for the cosmetic appeal of this particular rifle so I think I'll close the door on this chapter of "Saving The Bobcat".
The following chapter will begin at the shooting range.
So here are a couple of last photographs of the Bobcat to tide you over untill then.
Too bad I don't take better pictures.

I disagree, they sell do it yourself camp dipping kits :D

Like I stated in an earlier post, I have more money invested in Evapo-Rust that I used on the rifle than I paid for it. So I don't think I want to spend any more on it, or I'll have more invested in it than it's worth. That is if I don't already.