Fox Sterlingworth 16ga case color project

NiceOldDouble

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Working on resurrecting a Fox Sterlingworth 16ga. Color casing done last week. Turned out well. Colors sealed with Cerakote clear semi-gloss.

Color casing is not always the right thing to do, but this gun had been hot blued, which is not the choice, so coloring was a good way to correct that issue.
 

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Beautiful, I love the look!
Thank you.

There is debate amongst the hardcore double folks about whether to recolor or not. There are risks. For a true collector grade gun, I wouldn't do it, nor one that had some decent color remaining. For a gun that's been neglected, mis-finished, I think it's fine to do. Every hunk of metal responds differently, so an owner needs to be comfortable accepting the colors that show up.
 
I have always been a big fan of the look on older guns. Only have one gun that is case colored, but on old or new guns, it just screams classy to me. Understand the point about not redoing a real collector.
 
That looks awesome. How long does something like this take?

Prep time varies based on how the metal is: pits, how high of a polish you do. You mix up your ratio of wood to bone charcoal (3:1), and pack your parts in a crucible. Crucible goes into the furnace and you heat it up to 1400. Once it’s up to that temp, let it cook for 1.5 hours. Drop the bottom out of the crucible and the contents in the ice water. After everything is perfectly dry, it gets clear coat to seal and protect the colors.

You have to make bracing for the gun, because parts can warp, and then you’re screwed.
 
Here’s some Lefever parts prepped and ready to pack in charcoal.

You can see the brace in the action picture, sitting between the tangs. The side plates are on and the screws in place.

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You feel like doing a revolver? I have this old m&p that will never be worth much, so the risk is low.
 
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