Weapons restoration and preservation thread

[António Fragoeiro]

Hi, after a sucessful job on a K98.
Im creating a thread, solely for weapons caring.
Im hoping it becomes a reference in the Forum and in the collectors comunity.
Please post your working projects.

These are the next projects.
A 1898 Steyr Mannlicher, Portuguese contract.
A 1886 Steyr.

The stock of the Mannlicher has a few dents but overall, seems to be in good shape but the metal parts are fairly rusted.
For now, a few photos of the Mannlicher

[harryamb2]

needs some tlc.

[Nordland14]

I know you probably will not agree with me, but I suggest you leave the gun in the same condition.
Maybe eventually put some fine mechanical oil on the rust places (make sure it is not too aggressive, It may harm other orginal bluing)
Restoration these you only pull down its value.
You have a beautiful rifle, given their age, in good condition.

Nordland

[António Fragoeiro]

I know you probably will not agree with me, but I suggest you leave the gun in the same condition.
Maybe eventually put some fine mechanical oil on the rust places (make sure it is not too aggressive, It may harm other orginal bluing)
Restoration these you only pull down its value.
You have a beautiful rifle, given their age, in good condition.

Nordland

Hi, this particular example belongs to a Navy Officer, friend of myne. It came from a former Portuguese weapons storage, in Macau.
Its in fairly good shape and therefore will only receive a full clean up, rust removal and wood care treatment.

[GIZMO8Z]

I know you probably will not agree with me, but I suggest you leave the gun in the same condition.
Maybe eventually put some fine mechanical oil on the rust places (make sure it is not too aggressive, It may harm other orginal bluing)
Restoration these you only pull down its value.
You have a beautiful rifle, given their age, in good condition.

Nordland

I have to respectfully disagree with you. If that rifle were to continue sitting in that condition, it would worsen over time and would eventually turn into a pitted, inoperable mess. If we can prevent any firearm from becoming a relic, I think we should do all we can while keeping it as all-original as possible.

With that being said, this doesn't really apply to other pieces of Militaria. I believe helmets, medals, uniforms, etc. in salty condition should be left as is.

Would it be appropriate to post my two Arisaka restorations in this thread, Nuno?

[António Fragoeiro]

I have to respectfully disagree with you. If that rifle were to continue sitting in that condition, it would worsen over time and would eventually turn into a pitted, inoperable mess. If we can prevent any firearm from becoming a relic, I think we should do all we can while keeping it as all-original as possible.

With that being said, this doesn't really apply to other pieces of Militaria. I believe helmets, medals, uniforms, etc. in salty condition should be left as is.

Would it be appropriate to post my two Arisaka restorations in this thread, Nuno?

My opinion exactly.
Please post them Joe.

[António Fragoeiro]

This morning i will start working on the Mannlicher. But for now stay with some photos of the 1886 Steyr kropatschek.
Its a beautiful rifle and will give"some" work but has to wait 3-4 days, until i finish the Mannlicher.
Cheers
Nuno

[GIZMO8Z]

Thanks, Nuno!

Here is my all matching Series 35 Type 99 "Last Ditch" Arisaka that was made by Toyo Kogyo in Hiroshima, Japan in 1945 just a few weeks before the A-Bomb was dropped. Interestingly, Toyo Kogyo survived the war and is now known as Mazda.

This rifle was given to me by a coworker whose father-in-law served as a USN submariner and brought the rifle back as a souvenir.

Unfortunately, the vet's family was scared of this gun and after he passed they put it in a dark, dank corner of their basement. Over the years, it accumulated rust, a layer of grime, and the wooden buttplate soaked up the moisture from the basement floor and began rotting.


To restore the rifle, I cleaned it like I would any rifle. Luckily, the internals were rust free. On the areas of rust, I soaked some fine 0000 steel wool in CLP and gently massaged the metal. By being gentle, the bluing on the metal was unharmed other what the rust had already harmed. For the stock, I gave it a rub down with a wash cloth damp with water with dawn dish soap. For the buttplate, I sourced an authentic replacement and reused the original nails.


Here is a video of me shooting the finished product:
Shooting 35th Series Toyo Kogyo "Last Ditch" Type 99 Japanese Rifle 2/3 - YouTube

[António Fragoeiro]

Thanks, Nuno!

Here is my all matching Series 35 Type 99 "Last Ditch" Arisaka that was made by Toyo Kogyo in Hiroshima, Japan in 1945 just a few weeks before the A-Bomb was dropped. Interestingly, Toyo Kogyo survived the war and is now known as Mazda.

This rifle was given to me by a coworker whose father-in-law served as a USN submariner and brought the rifle back as a souvenir.

Unfortunately, the vet's family was scared of this gun and after he passed they put it in a dark, dank corner of their basement. Over the years, it accumulated rust, a layer of grime, and the wooden buttplate soaked up the moisture from the basement floor and began rotting.


To restore the rifle, I cleaned it like I would any rifle. Luckily, the internals were rust free. On the areas of rust, I soaked some fine 0000 steel wool in CLP and gently massaged the metal. By being gentle, the bluing on the metal was unharmed other what the rust had already harmed. For the stock, I gave it a rub down with a wash cloth damp with water with dawn dish soap. For the buttplate, I sourced an authentic replacement and reused the original nails.


Here is a video of me shooting the finished product:
Shooting 35th Series Toyo Kogyo "Last Ditch" Type 99 Japanese Rifle 2/3 - YouTube

Brilliant work Joe.
Nice descriptions of the procedures.
These are great looking rifles.

[GIZMO8Z]

Thanks, Nuno! Both my T38 and T99 Arisakas started in similar condition and cleaned up nicely.

I wanted to share something embarrassing. I left my M1917 rifle on my desk in my bedroom at my parents' house for a week. My parents' hate using the air conditioning so it tends to be kind of humid there... This is what happened :


A gently massaged the rust away with 0000 steel wool soaked in CLP gun oil. I am definitely pissed at myself for letting it happen, but there was little damage done:


A lot of people are scared of using 0000 steel wool. Keep in mind that I used it with VERY LITTLE pressure... I did NOT scrub the metal with the wool.