Bought a used express magnum and I am wondering if this is rust or the bluing/finish wearing off? Also Is there a simple way to fix this or does it need to be reblued? I know that this is merely cosmetic and doesn't effect performance but I am curious thanks
I tore the gun down and gave it a deep clean as it appears to have come from a smokers house. Thoughts and advise appreciated.
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If mine I'd accept it as is. If it annoyed me too much I'd have the gun parkerized, or cerakoted. I used to park my own guns, it wasnt too hard. It does require a stainless trough for the chemical process, and also access to a compressor and media blaster. And a lot of degreasing. Probably wouldnt bother for one gun.
Slow rust bluing isnt too hard either. Arguably easier. But your gun has a blasted surface texture so you will probably want to media blast rather than polishing by hand prior to bluing.
I never played with cerakote. I have done Duracoat and it's pretty tough but I think not nearly as good as cerakote.
This guy's work is highly regarded on some military firearm forums. I've never used him but his prices on parkerizing a Garand is super affordable. A Garand had about a bazillion more parts than an 870 so I'll bet he'd be super reasonable for basically a barrel, slide assembly, receiver, mag extension, and two trigger pins.
Parking seems less expensive than I recall. Check whether all prep work is included or are there extra charges for removing the stock and forearm, disassembly, detail cleaning, etc.
ChillyB wrote: ↑Wed Jan 06, 2021 12:17 am
If mine I'd accept it as is. If it annoyed me too much I'd have the gun parkerized, or cerakoted.
Try rubbing some oil into the finish as if it was Parkerized, which is almost what the Express nitrided finish is close to. Rub some Ballistol in and let it sit. That looks like heat discoloration to me.
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ChillyB wrote: ↑Wed Jan 06, 2021 12:17 am
If mine I'd accept it as is. If it annoyed me too much I'd have the gun parkerized, or cerakoted.
Try rubbing some oil into the finish as if it was Parkerized, which is almost what the Express nitrided finish is close to. Rub some Ballistol in and let it sit. That looks like heat discoloration to me.
I dont think Express is nitrided. At least not any nitriding I'm accustomed to. Nitriding is more rust resistant than even hard chrome, and very high surface hardness. It's a terrific gun metal treatment, way better than I'd expect on an Express. I think Express black is likely the least expensive treatment that makes metal black. My guess is a blasted surface ran through the same bluing process as the rest of their guns. Wouldnt that make sense if Remington already has bluing process lines? Use what you already have, save money by eliminating the metal polishing.
FYI, the pre-Tier 2 GE (now Wabtec) locomotive piston crowns are nitrided. Even after quite a lot of run time they are still black, not affected by combustion temps.
