Conservation, Refurbish & RestorationConservation of a firearm is the process of saving the firearm in its present state from future deterioration. This process includes complete disassembly to allow an inspection for rust and corrosion of metal parts and mold and mildew in the wood of a firearm.
Contrary to popular belief and methods of removing rust by scrubbing with steel wool and oil… that process will actually remove the finish under the rust and promote future rust in deeper layers even under an additional layer of oil. The correct process is to convert the layer of red rust to black oxide that can be removed (gently carded off) allowing the rust to be completely removed to expose the orginal bluing finish that was under the rust. The wood is cleaned to remove the surface layer of contaminates and sealed to preserve the finish.
Refurbishing of the firearm is in addition the the conservation process, an effort to bring the firearm closer to its original finish and function by additional rust bluing to cover areas where the original bluing was removed by previous use. The wood stock can have an additional finish layer added to improve its condition. deformed or missing parts can be repaired or replaced to allow the firearm to function.
Restoration of the firearm is the process of removing the original finishes and adding new finishes to make the firearm look new.
From the gunsmith bench,
Conservation is a museum quality prossess for preservation of the firearm. The old school colector’s perspective was to never clean a firearm to maintain its colector value. This was a valid point with a factory new firearm that was handeled and stored corectly and never used. As for used firearms, most are protected on the surface in colections but continue to degrade under the handgards and internally. Over the years without regular thorough cleaning and maintance these firearms will degrade, unforseen, to the point of major damage.
Most older firearms (and some new ones) will enentually have some deterioration if not properly maintained with regular thorough cleaning and maintance.
I can provide these services`to protect your firearms for future generations to enjoy. Please bring in your firearms so I can professionally evaulate their condition and make recomendations to presevere them.
“I love to bring rusty old guns back to life”
Gunsmith Greg