Almost (re)Finished!

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After 5 applications of the Pilkington's solution, 5 rounds of boiling, and 5 rounds of carding, I was finally getting somewhere.  I then applied a generous layer of Brownells Boiled Linseed Oil to the metal and let it sit.  As you can see, the boiled linseed oil really smoothed out appearances and made the metal quite dark- almost pure black.


The plan was to let the oil sit for a couple of hours, then wipe it down and bake it for an hour at 300*F...however, I underestimated my ability to remain awake, and I ended up letting it sit over night.  The next morning, I used a clean rag to pick up the barrel for examination, and immediately was angry- the boiled linseed oil had turned to a super sticky mess and clung to the rag, picking off pieces and fibers! 

I was in a hurry, since I had to go into the office instead of staying home, so I quickly degreased both the barrel and receiver, then applied another layer of boiled linseed oil and let it sit for about 20 minutes....then I put it over some heat.

I am fortunate in that my gas BBQ grill is large enough (never large enough, but for this, it worked) to accommodate both the receiver and the barrel.  After removing the cast-iron cooking grates (you don't want to mess those up!) I had to get creative with the dowels- I cut one to fit diagonally to hold the 28" barrel (I had 30" of diagonal play, and with the barrel hood, it measured 29"), and I placed another in the rotisserie slots to hold the receiver across the length of the grill.  A couple of my wife's 2lb. hand weights held the ends of that dowel down to prevent sagging in the middle where the receiver's weight rested.


An hour at 300*F (~150*C for those outside the US) and I pulled them off to cool.  Once cooled, I used 0000# steel wool to buff out the build-up of baked oil residue.  A slick, smooth finish was left when I was done.  Indoors, it looked steel grey with some hints of brown...outdoors, it looks blue/silver/grey.  Hard to describe, really, so here's a picture.


Finally, taking the advice of a knowledgeable user of an online forum I frequent (www.Rem870.com), I applied a layer of mineral oil, let it sit for a couple of hours, and then baked it the same as I had before with the boiled linseed oil.  Mineral oil is much less messy, so this step was pretty smooth and easy.  The result, well, I think it turned out pretty okay for my first attempt at all of this.  I let it cool and then lubed it all up with some regular gun oil and let it sit overnight indoors.

This morning before work I wiped off the excess oil and assembled the shotgun, complete with the refinished wood I did and mentioned a few posts back.  The only things I did not re-install were this tired old magazine spring and rather unique plug, and the worn out plastic follower. 


I have a new aluminum follower, spring, and polymer magazine plug on order with Brownells that should arrive this afternoon. Once they arrive, I'll install them and then head outside for some decently lit photos.  It was raining this morning, so I couldn't get any good pictures, but here is a sneak peak from my kitchen...





The lighting is poor, so be sure to check back when I get the better pictures uploaded tonight assuming the shipment arrives from Brownells. If not, I'll get them up on Monday.  Thanks for viewing!