Hi all,

Im pondering a custom rifle and thinking about finishes. The rifle is going to be a single shot falling block, and I'm hoping will be used extensively and not a safe queen. Traditionally it seems colour casing and single shots go hand in hand but I'd like to know how durable that particular finish is? I've heard the colours can fade, and its hard to maintain and even harder to redo.

How do the other finishes stack up like French Grey?

Thanks!

French Gray is normally a hit with phosphoric acid. It will etch the metal a touch. I usually hit mine with a super light hit of varnish. about 5% varnish to 95% acetone. I've never had any of them hold up to a good rust blue.

I've heard that the colors on color case hardening do tend to fade, but haven't left one out in the sun for long enough to have that happen. I don't think I'd be terribly worried about that. They do wear off in high use areas. For example, the right rear of a Ballard and the back of the lock plate on a Shiloh Sharps show silver after 10 years of match use.

If you want to protect the colors, some people will spray lacquer over them to protect them.

That doesn't to bother me at all. In fact, I like the "patina" that comes with use and the memories I have from using the rifles.

The alternative is to make it a safe queen, in which case you won't need to worry about it.

Clarence

Thanks for the replies. Yep I dont mind anything of mine earning its wear and tear. I've never even seen colour casing so have nothing to base my thoughts on. I heard that colour casing can be protected with a clear laquer, just seems like it would become "tacky" over time as the varnish chipped or scratched.

Id appreciate some pictures of honest wear on a colour cased action, and Frnech Greyed for that matter. If anyone out there would care to share them?

I use sea fin stock finish. Put it on, allow it to get tacky then rub off. Three or four coats of that and your good to go. The plus to this method is the lack of built up finish. In fact, you can't tell the finish is on it. It also helps the fading problems as it block UV light.

quote:

Originally posted by ClaMar:
They do wear off in high use areas. For example, the right rear of a Ballard and the back of the lock plate on a Shiloh Sharps show silver after 10 years of match use.
That doesn't bother me at all. In fact, I like the "patina" that comes with use and the memories I have from using the rifles.
Clarence

Me too!
Regards, Joe

Case color doesn't fade from sunlight, only from wear. If the gun is going to be used regularly then you can give it a yearly strip and recoat of Behlens Clear coat, dries hard and let s the true color through. Case color looks great with a little patina.

This is a 1939 drilling I keep coated with clear coat.




This is a 1967 W&S 12ga that hasn't been shot since it was proofed, color is like it came out of the factory yesterday so sunlight has no effect.



Finally some old Ithaca doubles, the first has no coat and has seen some use, it's from 1915.




These two are a 12 and a 16ga from 1926. The 12 looks like it has more wear on the wood but it still has more color. May have came out of the furnace with more color.




Finally here are some photos of the innards of a 3 digit M1885 that I tore down and cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner, lovely old colors. Joe, you remember this one, you set it up for me after I cleaned it. I wish the exterior looked as good

Awesome info and pics Scrollcutter and Recoil, thakns for posting those. Must say the colour case looks really nice with a bit of patina and wear, and the clear coat seems to make a big difference! Id be happy going with colour casing after seeing those.

UV light does fade Case coloring. I've seen old Winchesters that were bright and vibrant on one side and totally faded on the other (wallhanger).

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UV light does fade Case coloring. I've seen old Winchesters that were bright and vibrant on one side and totally faded on the other (wallhanger).

Now that is interesting, thanks.

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Originally posted by tin can:

quote:

UV light does fade Case coloring. I've seen old Winchesters that were bright and vibrant on one side and totally faded on the other (wallhanger).

Now that is interesting, thanks.

I've seen this effect on several arms, both long arms and handguns. The color is apparently only a few ten-thou thick, if that. Clarence the Collector once showed me a cased Colt that was noticably faded on one side and almost new-looking on the other.
Regards, Joe

quote:

Originally posted by Scrollcutter:
UV light does fade Case coloring. I've seen old Winchesters that were bright and vibrant on one side and totally faded on the other (wallhanger).

Roger,
As I recall Dr. Oscar Gaddy stated in his excellent 2 part article on case coloring that the colors we see are actually the result of light refracting off a micro crystalline structure formed on the metals surface during the hardening process. It is a "mechanical" vs. "chemical" phenomena and as such can only be worn off by abrasion or handling. Hence the clear coat protection.

Article

quote:

Originally posted by J.D.Steele:

quote:

Originally posted by tin can:

quote:

UV light does fade Case coloring. I've seen old Winchesters that were bright and vibrant on one side and totally faded on the other (wallhanger).

Now that is interesting, thanks.

I've seen this effect on several arms, both long arms and handguns. The color is apparently only a few ten-thou thick, if that. Clarence the Collector once showed me a cased Colt that was noticably faded on one side and almost new-looking on the other.
Regards, Joe

Joe, which side was faded, the side against the case? That could be from abrasion against the case.

Maybe the side facing out was dusted and wiped down from time to time. I have a very old Color cased Height gage from Lufkin and the color is very bright. In the box was papers with this guys union book and a note pad with four digit phone numbers. Union book was dated in the 40's.

With the cased Colt, the upside was faded and the downside was bright. Have also seen this effect when a handgun was stored by laying it on top of a loose cloth of some sort, the downside was the bad side in this instance.

I believe that the deterioration is due, in at least some instances, to a combination of UV, abrasion and oxidation. I've seen far too many guns that had splendid colors on the inside but faded silver or brown on the outside, even in the protected corners. On others, the colors were still vivid in the corners even though the UV should, at least theoretically, affect every directly-exposed area approximately the same. The only explanation that makes sense to me is that the colors are being affected by more than one mechanism in varying degrees, depending.
JMOFWIW, regards, Joe