Arisaka Refinish

Mills · 10-02-2013, 21:19

Gents, looking for some options in regards to refinishing an old WWII Japanese Arisaka bolt action rifle. My neighbor had it and it was rusted solid. He said that it had been sitting in his barn for 20 or so years and he asked me if I could get it working again. The breach was closed when I found it and the barrel was plugged by mud dobbers.........

Didn't quite know what to do, so I soaked the parts in some vinegar for a couple days, then was able to take the rifle apart. Obviously, I removed whatever parkerized finish that was left on there by doing that.

So now, I have a pile of rusty pieces and a barrel that actually doesn't look to bad on the inside. I am going to take it to work tomorrow and clean it out a little better and then we shall see.

I guess the bottom line is, what are my options as of now? The gun really has no monetary value as its in ROUGH shape, however he would like to hang it up on the wall or something. I am looking for a way to make it look somewhat decent without dumping a large amount of $$$ into it, or reverting to the "Krylon special" alternative. I had actually considered using engine paint and baking it, but not sure.

Your thoughts?

fng13 · 10-02-2013, 21:39

I recently did a rust blue to an Armi Galesi pistol that my grandfather picked up somewhere.

I will say that it is pretty time consuming (mostly waiting and repeating the rusting process) however the results were pretty satisfactory. It also costs very little, and was the way barrels were done before hot bluing came about.

You also have a tremendous amount of control on how dark you want the bluing.

Doing the barrel that way might be a challenge unless you have a large container to boil the barrel in between rusting.

If you do go this route get as much humidity around the rusting pieces as possible. I didn't initially get enough humidity in my "sweat box" and the process took that many more repetitions.

JJ_BPK · 10-03-2013, 05:24

I vote that you clean it as well as can be, oil it, hang it.

Trying to re-blue or paint the metal will create an ugly stick.

While your at it remove the firing pin and toss it. Depending on when it was built the "quality of build" was spotty right out of the factory. Add some rust in the chamber and/or bolt, and it might go BOOM if someone was to find some ammo.

Additionally, Check to see if the chrysanthemum is on the receiver top. There could be some collector value. Under the flower is the type.

http://www.castle-thunder.com/model.htm

Net Net: The less you do the better, clean & oil..

swpa19 · 10-03-2013, 12:23

+1 on JJ's Comment:

Quote:

The less you do the better, clean & oil..

And, DON'T do any sanding to the stock. Most were two piece stocks and sanding and or treating the stock with any type of harsh cleaner or Acetone can cause the two pieces to split.

Utah Bob · 10-03-2013, 18:00

Arisakas are collectable, even in very bad condition. Do some research on the model and don't try to restore it!

PSM · 10-03-2013, 18:39

Arrrrgh! My grandfather was on a Navy ship during the Battle of Okinawa. He brought a Jap rifle home (not sure how he got it) and I found it in his stuff in the basement. I remember the chrysanthemum design on it. After he died in 1980, my grandmother sold it in a yard sale.

I don't know anything about it, and maybe it was worthless, but it would have been nice if she'd asked me if I wanted it.

Pat

**The Reaper** · 10-03-2013, 20:30

Quote:

Originally Posted by PSM

Arrrrgh! My grandfather was on a Navy ship during the Battle of Okinawa. He brought a Jap rifle home (not sure how he got it) and I found it in his stuff in the basement. I remember the chrysanthemum design on it. After he died in 1980, my grandmother sold it in a yard sale.

I don't know anything about it, and maybe it was worthless, but it would have been nice if she'd asked me if I wanted it.

Pat

The sad part is someone probably got a real deal on a Thompson at the same yard sale.

TR

PSM · 10-03-2013, 20:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Reaper

The sad part is someone probably got a real deal on a Thompson at the same yard sale.

TR

My grandmother found a bottle of Prohibition era bootlegged Scotch behind the wall of a closet when they remodeled the house in the '70s. Funny thing, though, he couldn't remember how it got there.

Memory has a way of playing tricks.

That may have brought a pretty penny, also.

Pat

Mills · 10-04-2013, 08:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJ_BPK

I vote that you clean it as well as can be, oil it, hang it.

Trying to re-blue or paint the metal will create an ugly stick.

While your at it remove the firing pin and toss it. Depending on when it was built the "quality of build" was spotty right out of the factory. Add some rust in the chamber and/or bolt, and it might go BOOM if someone was to find some ammo.

Additionally, Check to see if the chrysanthemum is on the receiver top. There could be some collector value. Under the flower is the type.

http://www.castle-thunder.com/model.htm

Net Net: The less you do the better, clean & oil..

No, the mum has been ground off already. I am assuming that they did that prior to re-chambering it in 30-06 for use in the Korean war. I think you are spot on with that, My Bravo was looking at it yesterday and after cleaning it up we noticed that the chamber was shot, and the barrel was pitted. We are going to grind the tip of the firing pin off and stamp "do not fire" on the barrel.

So, all in all it is just going to be a wall piece. Just have to figure out how to keep surface rust off of there whilst it is up on the wall. Being in TN, it shows up rather quick with all of this humidity.

JJ_BPK · 10-04-2013, 09:02

OK,, SO No flower & rechambered?,, it's a hanger..

Sometimes a hot oil bath will reinvigorate the older steels. I have seen old pre Civil war rifles that were originally browned,, still looking good with bare metal.

Good Luck..

Stopp700 · 10-04-2013, 09:30

We have three of these rifles in my armory. We have used FROG LUBE on all. We have gotten very good results. I will try to post some pictures of them soon.

mugwump · 10-09-2013, 11:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Reaper

The sad part is someone probably got a real deal on a Thompson at the same yard sale.

TR

Back in the '60s the principal and a fifth grader interrupted my first grade class. The kid had brought an MP40 bring back to show-and-tell (!) and the the principal thought it was so cool that he had the kid give a little spiel in every class. Often wondered what happened to it.

Far cry from suspending kids who bite their pb&j into the shape of a pistol,eh?