I always have to ask myself how well they have taken care of the gun if they don't take the time to perform basic cleaning. If they don't care whether it is clean or dirty, do they care if the gun doesn't operate exactly as it should? Did they care enough to send it back for warranty work or did they accept it as "good enough"?
Selling a dirty gun...
- Thread starter SWMod10
- Start date
Tracer_Bullet
Member
I'm with m1gunner and 427mach1, you never know what's under the crud and a dirty gun is a sign that the previous owner may not have taken good care of it.
This is a peeve I can appreciate. I just this past week did a trade with a dealer in Tyler, Tx. The gun I sent was immaculate, not just in excellent shape but spotless. The gun I got is in great shape but filthy and dry as a bone, no lube whatsoever. And the kicker is it supposedly came for the shop owners personal collection. I don't get people not just taking such poor care of their stuff but sending it to someone else looking like crap.
Just like a car or house, a gun will command higher prices if clean and properly lubed, it gives the impression of being well cared for, even if they just cleaned it for the first time in years.
Just like a car or house, a gun will command higher prices if clean and properly lubed, it gives the impression of being well cared for, even if they just cleaned it for the first time in years.
OLDFED
Member
A few years back, I bought an old double 12 at an auction. No one was bidding and it was in the $100.00 range. Problem was that there was so much "crunk" on it (that's crap and gunk) that you couldn't open it or even read the maker. I won...took it home and proceeded to degrease, degrease and degrease...all very old stuff. Pretty colors began to show...part of a name that ended in "er Bros" and a tiger stripe stock. Lots and lots of cleaning and I had a nearly spotless Parker that someone had evidently greased up for storage. Inside, the grease had turned to Chunky Peanut Butter and it came out, well...chunky. The steel was unmarked. WhooHee! Bring 'em on!
michael thornton
Member
i bought a nickel 29-2 one time that looked realy bad, i asked the guy if i could take it home and see if it would clean up? he said sure i flitz it and it looked realy good it had been in a zipup cast for years he said got it for $400
revolvergeek
Member
I know exactly what you mean. I spent hours today with Kroil, Shooter's Choice, RB17, various brushes and a cordless drill trying to clean the unbelievable crust rings out of a 4" 581 I picked up a couple months back that would not chamber .357 mag ammo. They are almost gone now, but I suspect that I am going to have to resort to extreme methods to get the last little bit out.
At least the crud on my 19 was manageable. It took a hour of careful cleaning to get the cylinder-looks like nothing but .38 was shot with little to no cleaning-and the forcing cone clean.
It was something I could put up with, considering the price and over-all condition.
When I was cleaning it, I kept hearing Michael Cain in my head saying-
"You failed to maintain your weapon, Son."
It was something I could put up with, considering the price and over-all condition.
When I was cleaning it, I kept hearing Michael Cain in my head saying-
"You failed to maintain your weapon, Son."
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LVSteve
Member
You should try buying milsurp rifles online. You just never know what will turn up bore wise, everything from shiny mint to sewer pipe.The funny thing is that sometimes a copper fouled shiny barrel will shoot worse than a dark barrel that was used to shoot corrosive ammo and not cleaned properly. Go figure.
venomballistics
Member
Dan Cash
Member
I don't mind dirty, especially nickel. If it is dirty, I know that some anal clean freak has not had at the nickel with Hoppes or some other copper disolving cleaner.
Walter Rego
Member
I carry a rifle and pistol cleaning rod, a few jags, brushes and patches, a small bottle of Break Free and a bore light in my go-to-gun show backpack. I have had to run at a minimum, a patch down the bore of probably 60% of the guns that I was considering buying. I don't always expect the seller's guns to have been detail cleaned, but at least they should swab the bore and chamber(s). A local gun store where I have done considerable business over the years is one of my pet peeves for having dirty guns on display. One time I said to the owner that he should have his employees go though every used gun and swab the bores out but it fell on deaf ears. Now when they have a gun I am interested in, I bring my own cleaning gear in and do it myself before buying. They don't seem to object to that...
I am always amazed at how most guns in this age of non-corrosive primers survive in good shape even though cleaned little, if at all.
Several years ago I bought, for a good price, a 6" Model 19; the bore was leaded up so bad it probably measured .32" land-to-land in the bore.
When I got it home, I must have scrubbed that bore for 2 solid hours to get all the crud out, particularly at the forcing cone.
The final result was gratifying - the bore was in perfect condition. A few drops of preservative oil on a patch finished the job, and I'm happy.
I also recently bought a beater Japanese Type 94 pistol (you know, the worst pistol ever designed) so that I could photograph it for a future article in Dillon's Blue Press. The bore was really filthy, probably last fired with WWII ammo. A bristle brush and some Hoppe's revealed a really nice bore (not that I'll ever fire it). I was pleasantly surprised.
The only time I was ever stung was on a U.S. Model of 1917 rifle - the bore was "cloudy" as far as I could tell at the dimly-lit gun show. But it was one of the rarer Winchesters, and I added it to my collection. After thorough scrubbing, the cloudiness was diagnosed as minor pitting. Suprisingly, the gun turned out to be pretty accurate in spite of the pits. Guns from the days of corrosive ammo do need to be examined critically. Modern guns' bores - not so much.
John
Several years ago I bought, for a good price, a 6" Model 19; the bore was leaded up so bad it probably measured .32" land-to-land in the bore.
When I got it home, I must have scrubbed that bore for 2 solid hours to get all the crud out, particularly at the forcing cone.
The final result was gratifying - the bore was in perfect condition. A few drops of preservative oil on a patch finished the job, and I'm happy.
I also recently bought a beater Japanese Type 94 pistol (you know, the worst pistol ever designed) so that I could photograph it for a future article in Dillon's Blue Press. The bore was really filthy, probably last fired with WWII ammo. A bristle brush and some Hoppe's revealed a really nice bore (not that I'll ever fire it). I was pleasantly surprised.
The only time I was ever stung was on a U.S. Model of 1917 rifle - the bore was "cloudy" as far as I could tell at the dimly-lit gun show. But it was one of the rarer Winchesters, and I added it to my collection. After thorough scrubbing, the cloudiness was diagnosed as minor pitting. Suprisingly, the gun turned out to be pretty accurate in spite of the pits. Guns from the days of corrosive ammo do need to be examined critically. Modern guns' bores - not so much.
John
I bought a 4" .38 Diamondback that was nasty dirty. It was in a pile of older revolvers that looked like they were dumped on the table out of a gunny sack. The Dback looked pretty good for $370.00, so I bought it.
It's my only Colt. Turned out like new when cleaned. I like buying dirty firearms.
It's my only Colt. Turned out like new when cleaned. I like buying dirty firearms.
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