5906 restoration by BLUEBELLYYANKEE

NGpOdeNt

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I recently picked up a 5906 that was in worse shape than what the seller was stating, what I thought was dirt and grime turned out to be rust, corrosion and pitting. What you won't see in these photos is the corrosion that was scrubbed out of every crack and crevice of every piece before BLUEBELLYYANKEE offered to help in the refinishing process, but I promise that it was in even sadder shape than what you can see. The end result is absolutely fantastic. There is pitting on the frame under the grips, but there's not much that can be about that, and a few spots of corrosion staining, but the end result is a gun that(with the grips on) looks 98% factory new.


I've attached the original photos, which were a little grainy, I spent a lot of time talking to the seller, and he assured me it was dirt being caught by the flash, and just grime buildup.
 

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Here are some of the photos after I cleaned up the frame as best I could, I wish i had saved more, but these will give you an idea. At this point I needed help with refinishing, as the damage was beyond my capability and skill. I should have taken some befores as this thing was nasty.
 

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The finished product(just don't peek under the grips).

BLUEBELLYYANKEE did a fantastic job, definitely saved the gun from being returned so I could look for another.
 

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So, was it bead blasted? Certainly looks nice. I have one that could stand the same treatment if I ever get time to get to it. Not as bad as your before pics, but sure not as nice as the after.
 
Some dents and dings were polished out, the barrel recrowned, bead blasted, sights and safety marks repainted. I'm not sure what else he did but it looks like new
 
Have you had a chance to shoot it yet? I am curious if you think it shoots like new too. We sure would like to get a range report if possible.
 
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BLUEBELLYYANKEE, the finish looks great, what type of blasting media (or media blend) did you use?
 
BLUEBELLYYANKEE, the finish looks great, what type of blasting media (or media blend) did you use?

I used glass bead media, steel shot/water, crushed glass and an oxide powder for this gun. Duplicating the factory finish goes far beyond the type of media being used. It takes a "touch" to make a gun come out right and hours of practice. It must be applied using different nozzles and at varying PSI and at varying angles to the metal surface and in a certain order. The media is also mixed at different intervals. If one does not know what they are doing the stainless surface will turn out "bright" and will have an almost reflective quality. If you compare this gun to an original factory finish gun under a 10x loupe you will not be able to tell them apart, it is a dead-ringer for a new gun. The roll stampings must also be protected or else they will lose their "crisp" borders and they will start to look a little blurry.
I have been asked many times but I do not want to get into the specifics and techniques of exactly how to do all this because I am concerned that unscrupulous guys out there will refinish guns and then re-market them as like new on the internet market sites. I am already aware of one seller out there that is doing just this. It is a shame but as always buyer-beware applies to internet gun purchases like nowhere else.
 
I have been asked many times but I do not want to get into the specifics and techniques of exactly how to do all this because I am concerned that unscrupulous guys out there will refinish guns and then re-market them as like new on the internet market sites.

Understood, I was curious if was close to the media mix I'm now using, but what you described is much more complex. Thanks.
 
It looks good. It's life was saved and it's a shooter. Enjoy what you have while it may not be perfect the gun will be around so much longer because you cared.
 
BlueBelly, you've done some fine work and even better teaching. Thanks, Man. You're not such a bad Yankee after all when one considers that at least a couple of my predecessors didn't think too highly of Mr. Lincoln and Company.
 

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