Hello,

I have a Winchester Model 70SA receiver in a .243

It has a polished finish right now and I am thinking about building something with it.

It has been used and I would like to re-blue it in a matte finsh. Is this possible? How would I go about it.

Will the Model 70 receiver be a decent one to build off of, or will my money be spent better buying something else, such as a Rem 700?

Thanks

There is nothing at all wrong with building a rifle on that action. Even better since you already own it. As to the matt blue, that isn't a problem either. The gloss of the bluing depends on the polish of the metal done prior to bluing. If you want matt when your gunsmiths rebarrels it he will simply bead blast it or do a low grit polish and then blue it.
The low grit polish will look more like a basic ADL and the bead blast will be even more dull.

Tunacan, be aware of one thing. The bead blast matte finish in a caustic blue is the quickest one to wear. The contact points are the peaks of the surface which now comprises maybe 5% of the surface. The highest lasting caustic blue is a high polish but the fashion of today is a matte finish. A cold rust blue is a matte finish and wears much better, it just cost a lot more.

Chic Worthing

To go a little further with the comments by Customstox. Many people use the term beadblast regardless of the media used. In my experience a sandblasted finish will produce a real matte finish that is as stated not real durable and in fact a bit fragile. A surface blasted with medium glass beads will be a smoother finish and best described as a satin. It is attractive and much more durable than the sandblast. A somewhat duller finish can be obtained by sandblasting followed by glass beads. The beads will level out the peaks on the sandblast toning it down a bit. Many smiths have good methods for producing a good dull blue short of going to a rust blue. A good rust blue is however the most durable and attractive of finishes. Regards, Bill

I also like the rust blue finish...The bead blast finish, can be done to closly resemble a rust blue but the problem is a bead blast, sand blast makes little pockets in the metal and these little pockets hold moisture and promote rust....millions of little pools of water....

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com