Lynx Defense

Very Rusty Colt SAA

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  • OLDVET

    Well-Known
    Dec 14, 2009
    2,077
    96
    Richardson, Texas
    Do you know the definition of "expert"?
    X is an unknown factor in a math equation.
    Spurt is a drip under pressure.
    An expert is an unknown drip under pressure.

    Deemus, you know me. I try to give realistic everyday opinions in my offerings.

    I have seen serious Colt SAA collectors pass on guns that I thought were great. A "collectible" firearm has to damn near be in original factory condition with the original box and paperwork, before a serious collector will bite.
    Those of us that aren't willing in invest the large sums of cash required to own a "Collectible firearm" settle for firearms of lessor quality and condition.
    No hard feelings, but this SAA is worth about $0. It would make a great desk top paper weight. Certainly not $1K .
     

    karlac

    Lately too damn busy to have Gone fishin' ...
    TGT Supporter
    Lifetime Member
    Aug 21, 2013
    11,772
    96
    Houston & Hot Springs
    Barrel bore is very rusty too......as is the cylinder bores. I don't know that it would/could ever be a shooter again.....

    Guy doesn't want to put a lot into it..he bought it for 2K before the hurricane..........currently thinks the gun is worth 1K...it's not....but he has some story about it being a Texas Ranger owned pistol that was carried in the RGV......no name of the Ranger or any verifiable provenance....just a story from the person he bought it from......thinks the Ranger museum might be interested in it....but I doubt that.... personally......

    Depending upon what a "lot" is, just keep in mind the old white vinegar treatment.

    A week standing in a small container of 50% WV, as a test, did this to the rust at the muzzle of this shotgun barrel, which was much worse than what you see in the remainder of the barrel:

    A5_3 (1).JPG

    Just FWIW ...
     

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    deemus

    my mama says I'm special
    Lifetime Member
    Feb 1, 2010
    15,586
    96
    DFW
    Very similar to what I have used to treat rusted metal in the past. It basically converts the rust back to steel.
     

    benenglish

    Just Another Boomer
    Staff member
    Lifetime Member
    Admin
    Nov 22, 2011
    23,932
    96
    Spring
    If it were mine, I would do all sorts of things that would destroy any collector value. I might wind up with an interesting display piece.

    If someone asked me to work on it and they actually believe it has value, I'd turn down the job as gracefully as possible. Unless they've got a factory letter and other unimpeachable documentation that makes this thing historically significant, for the rest of their lives everyone they talk to will tell them that it's worthless. Every time they hear that, they'll blame that incompetent jerk who agreed to work on it and ruined it. Human nature can be stupid like that.

    After all, the owner is already delusional. This...
    he has some story about it being a Texas Ranger owned pistol that was carried in the RGV
    ...is proof of that and would be enough to scare me away. How many stories have all of us heard about an old family (or otherwise-sourced) piece with a connection to the Rangers? Those stories are BS, 100% of the time. However, once they become a part of family folklore, people will view everything that happens around that piece through a reality distortion field that preserves the notion that the piece is some special, valuable, historical artifact.

    It looks like a no-win situation to me.

    PySdNGa.jpg
     

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    V-Tach

    Watching While the Sheep Graze
    Lifetime Member
    Sep 30, 2012
    8,895
    96
    Texas
    Thanks for the insight, suggestions and comments......haven't decided exactly what to do yet.....you have given me some fat to chew on.....
     

    Texasjack

    TGT Addict
    Jan 3, 2010
    5,867
    96
    Occupied Texas
    Oxalic acid (hardware store) will do a good job of removing rust without etching the steel. Rinse very, very well afterwards and treat with antirust spray or oil. WD40 also makes a rust remover that is supposed to work pretty well.
     

    oldag

    TGT Addict
    Feb 19, 2015
    17,425
    96
    The degree/depth of pitting will not be known until the rust is removed.

    I refinished some pretty rusty guns decades ago when I did gunsmith work. Only one that did not turn out to be a shooter was a severely pitted shotgun. Barrel wall was just too thin. Stopped work after getting all the rust removed and measuring pit depth. Told the owner it was not safe.
     

    deemus

    my mama says I'm special
    Lifetime Member
    Feb 1, 2010
    15,586
    96
    DFW
    It can help remove rust, but it does not covert iron oxide back to the original steel.

    There is a product that does. Turns the metal black as it converts the rust back to steel. Pretty amazing to see. I've used it quite a bit. But you are correct that vinegar does not.
     

    oldag

    TGT Addict
    Feb 19, 2015
    17,425
    96
    There is a product that does. Turns the metal black as it converts the rust back to steel. Pretty amazing to see. I've used it quite a bit. But you are correct that vinegar does not.

    Don't think so.

    Have done a lot of things in my career. Metallurgy/corrosion was part of that. It may dissolve the rust and put a black colored stable oxide film on the surface but it will not convert the metallurgical structure of ferric oxide back to the original steel.
     

    deemus

    my mama says I'm special
    Lifetime Member
    Feb 1, 2010
    15,586
    96
    DFW
    You could be right, but I don't understand it enough to give the chemical analysis. I was a painter in former life. And I would buff the rust most of the way off. Then apply this chemical to the metal, and it converted the rust. The result in about 24-28 hours was a solid black surface that was metal.

    I scratched it a couple times when I first used it, and it was metal, no more rust. It definitely was not just a layer of something on top of metal and rust. It was sold as rust converter. Not an "Ospho" type acid product that was often used in treating rust, or vinegar that was often used to etch galvanized metal so it would hold paint.

    I am not an engineer type, but my boss was, and also a former rocket scientist for NASA during the Apollo space projects, and an expert in metals and coatings. And he said it converted the rust back to metal. He was the smartest man I have ever known, so I tended to take his word for it. You might consider the possibility that this is something you may not have been exposed to.

    If he was alive, I'm sure you two could have a fun nerdy conversation about metallurgy. I'm glad I don't have to mess that stuff anymore. It turned my skin black. Not that there is anything wrong with that......
     

    oldag

    TGT Addict
    Feb 19, 2015
    17,425
    96
    You could be right, but I don't understand it enough to give the chemical analysis. I was a painter in former life. And I would buff the rust most of the way off. Then apply this chemical to the metal, and it converted the rust. The result in about 24-28 hours was a solid black surface that was metal.

    I scratched it a couple times when I first used it, and it was metal, no more rust. It definitely was not just a layer of something on top of metal and rust. It was sold as rust converter. Not an "Ospho" type acid product that was often used in treating rust, or vinegar that was often used to etch galvanized metal so it would hold paint.

    I am not an engineer type, but my boss was, and also a former rocket scientist for NASA during the Apollo space projects, and an expert in metals and coatings. And he said it converted the rust back to metal. He was the smartest man I have ever known, so I tended to take his word for it. You might consider the possibility that this is something you may not have been exposed to.

    If he was alive, I'm sure you two could have a fun nerdy conversation about metallurgy. I'm glad I don't have to mess that stuff anymore. It turned my skin black. Not that there is anything wrong with that......

    Through an innovative chemical conversion process, Corroseal Rust Converter converts rust (iron oxide) into a stable substance, magnetite.


    1. Magnetite: a gray-black magnetic mineral which consists of an oxide of iron and is an important form of iron ore.

    Not the original steel.
     

    mroper

    TGT Addict
    Jun 7, 2011
    2,524
    96
    Katy, TX
    I have used corroseal , evaporust and electrolysis to convert rust . mostly on car parts they all work and put a black coating on parts. The electrolysis is the cheapest. it takes washing soda , water and a battery charger plus a steel sacrifice piece . I used an old brake rotor. It works. I sued it on seat mounts an some other stuff. I am not saying I would do this on a gun as I dont know how it changes the metal
     

    GoPappy

    Well-Known
    Lifetime Member
    Dec 18, 2015
    1,277
    96
    There is a product that does. Turns the metal black as it converts the rust back to steel. Pretty amazing to see. I've used it quite a bit. But you are correct that vinegar does not.

    POR 15. Is that what you're thinking of?

    I've heard it works great, but I don't think it converts rust to steel.
     

    Mad John

    Active Member
    Jan 15, 2019
    746
    76
    Rural Illinois
    Looking for advice, gentlemen.....
    1910 SAA Colt lost during the hurricane found yesterday. Owner wants me to clean it, not looking for restoration. Was found still in the holster. Completely locked up except for loading gate.
    Should I.........Soak it in something like Kroil for a day or two (may remove all nickel)
    Afraid to start wrenching on the screws without screwing them up....
    It will definitely need to be taken completely apart to clean it....
    Leave it alone and just say no thanks?

    Suggestions?


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    Well..... You have an ugly mess on your hands but all is not lost. I have had similar pieces to be evaluated by a museum that i work for. They lost several hundred antique guns in a fire and the relics laid in the water while waiting for insurance inspectors evaluations. Then were scraped up with shovels and dumped in buckets and boxes. The whole story is sad and I won't go into it all at this time.
    Some were sadly unrecoverable and the insurance company and their so-called conservators were criminal at best. I have been working on their pieces forjust over ten years and recovered over a hundred pieces to fully displayable and functional condition. A labor of love..... lol
    The pictures are great but not having the actual piece in hand for close up look is difficult for me to evaluate. John
     

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    gshayd

    Ugliest house on the block.
    Nov 25, 2018
    1,307
    96
    Beaumont, Texas
    Well..... You have an ugly mess on your hands but all is not lost. I have had similar pieces to be evaluated by a museum that i work for. They lost several hundred antique guns in a fire and the relics laid in the water while waiting for insurance inspectors evaluations. Then were scraped up with shovels and dumped in buckets and boxes. The whole story is sad and I won't go into it all at this time.
    Some were sadly unrecoverable and the insurance company and their so-called conservators were criminal at best. I have been working on their pieces forjust over ten years and recovered over a hundred pieces to fully displayable and functional condition. A labor of love..... lol
    The pictures are great but not having the actual piece in hand for close up look is difficult for me to evaluate. John

    You are a dedicated man. nothing short of a miracle worker. Saving firearm history like that.
     
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