Gunboards Forums banner

Rusted Winchester

6K views 9 replies 9 participants last post by  DK PHILLIPS In Memoriam 
#1 ·
I just bought a 1972 Winchester lever action model 94, 30-30. The barrel bluing is in

pretty good shape just a few small spots of surface rust. The receiver has a nice

brown pantina where it was carried on the underside, but the receiver flats are

speckled with light surface rust that is deep enough that the blue will be gone when I .

remove the rust. Do Ya'll know of anyway to create a brown pantina in the bright

spots after I remove the rust freckles? I figure with continued use and handling the

rest of the receiver will have an overall brown pantina, which is fine by me. The wood

is great, with minor handling and marks of use, no cracks in the butt or forearm it

has a dark finish with lighter tiger striping. The inside of the barrel has only one

apparent spot of surface rust, that I don't believe will affect accuracy at all.

Thanks in advance for any help!
 
See less See more
#3 ·
1970's vintage winchester 94 rifles are famous for having a receiver that does not take bluing well. Winchester used some fancy tricks to blue it, and it does'nt hold up as well as the bluing on the rest of the rifle.
Unless you are willing to draw file the flats and reblue the rifle, the pits will always be slightly noticeable. If you remove the rust, and just oil the rifle and carry it by hand, the pits will eventually take the color of the rest of the rifle's reciever.
 
#7 ·
From 1964 to 1982, when USRAC took over and returned the 94s to a forged receiver, they were cast from graphitic steel that does not take blue. If polished and hot blued it is reported to come out purple. Early cast receivers were plated in black chrome, which didn't look too good. Later ones were plated in pure iron, then hot blued, and Winchester heavily advertised the beautiful blue this produced.
But then almost all the receivers began to corrode and the plating flaked off, starting as freckles of rust, and spreading. You wont get a normal patina but a corroded messy and rough surface.

The best solution is probably to take all the plating off and use a coating like Duracoat. Bead blasting used to remove the plating will provide a good basis for the Duracoat and I'd advise you to do the barrel too while you're at it. Cold blue, hot blue, nothing else seems to work and I could find no information on parkerizing it.
 
#9 · (Edited)
According to info. I have in my notes, sorry I can't remember the exact source, Winchester 94 receivers between serial numbers 2,770,000 and 5,024,957 were machined from a graphitic steel casting. Serial numbers 3,185,692 to 3,806,499 were black chrome plated and 3,806,500 to 5,024,957 were iron plated. They can be hot blued with some methods, but I think the plating must be ground off first.
 
#10 ·
soak medal wrapped in kerosene rags in hot sun......then clean as usually done. this will stop the rust as is.
then use it as normal and repeat the process over the years and it will have the look of a used not abused gun.....
that is if you can live with non rust filled pits.
but from experience the more you fool with the 94 the worse it looks jack legged.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top