# Refinishing model 37



## wkndwrnch (Oct 7, 2012)

Hi, was just given a 1957(checked serial number) Ithaca model 37 16 ga. 
Bore is clean,no pits. Exterior and all wood need clean up and re finishing.I have experience with refinishing wood,but never done gun barrel/reciever
I am considering doing a 600 grit wet sand to remove surface rust on metal and then maybe buy an airbrush to apply a duracoat finish. Is this something I should attempt or is there really a large learning curve?


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## Nimrod (Jun 8, 2010)

First check and see if it has any collectors value. You destroy the value of a collector gun if you refinish it.


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## citxmech (Dec 26, 2011)

I'm not going to comment on the gun's value - but if it's a shooter rather than a safe queen, I would remove any rust chemically rather than mechanically. I've Parked a few guns at home and muriatic acid will strip the rust and old finish right off (a gel like Naval Jelly should work too - Regardless - be safe when using acid!). If there are deep pits on a stressed area of the gun, you may want to polish some of these out with some crocus cloth. 

I've never used dura-coat - but parking is much more consistent with a bead-blasted finish. Make sure you read the manufacturer's instructions regarding prep and if you decide to heat cure anything, make sure you clear it with your significant other before you start putting stinky coated gun parts in her oven (ask me how I know this :bash

Best of luck!


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

Shrek , has done some home re bluing that he said worked maybe he will comment


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## wkndwrnch (Oct 7, 2012)

Thanks, this will definitely be a shooter. I don't own any safe queens,traded them for something I can enjoy!I have watched a you tube, same gun, restore.Nice job when finished. I like the idea of naval gel first, I am not trying to rush this,would like to have a nice looking gun when completed.


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## citxmech (Dec 26, 2011)

FYI Naval Jelly, which is basically phosphoric acid, will strip the blue, but it will also leave a light grey oxidized coating known as a "French Grey" finish. Muriatic acid will leave bare metal that will need to be treated right away to prevent rust from forming.


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## GunMonkeyIntl (May 13, 2013)

If you decide to go the polish and refinish route, don't be afraid of coarse grit. I lost count of the first-time polishers who started out at 400 or 600 grit, and tired long before they ever got down to a consistent surface, or, worse yet, brought their hard-fought work to me to "just dip it" for them. 

Even if you're starting with a factory-new gun, and want a higher polish, the finest grit you should start with is about 220. If the gun has some field wear on it, the finest you'll probably get a good start with is 120 or 180 (but have some 80 or 100 standing by just in case). 

There are four keys points to doing the job well, all of equal importance.

*1* - Decide on your end game before you start. If you want a "high-polish", you don't need to go any finer than 400, and finish with a light (light(LIGHT!!)) buff on a soft wheel. If you want a "custom-high-polish", stop at 600 and work through a couple grade of light color buffing. If you're going to Parkerize or spray-finish, you can stop at 220 or 240, any further is just wasted sweat. A really nice satin blue can be had from a 240 grit run under a soft steel wire wheel to finish - very sophisticated, deep looking, like the early Model 70s. 

*2* - Make sure that all of your scratches go one direction. This is critical. If I polished the two sides of a shotgun receiver, one to 180 grit in one direction, and the other to 800 grit in a swirl pattern, you'd think the 180 grit side was the one done to the finer grit. That's not an exaggeration. The factory polish on that 37 was probably 180 grit, tops, but it was done by hands that knew what they were doing and kept their lines straight. 

*3* - Change directions between grits. You've got to be able to tell when you're done with a particular grit, and the only way you'll know is if the polish from each grit goes a different direction. If you're doing a 180 -> 240 -> 320 -> 400 grit progression (very common for a high-polish field gun), every stroke you make with the 400 is wasted unless your 320 pass completely removed all of the 240 scratches. Direction changes don't have to be 90 degrees. Just changing your angle by 10-20 degrees will be enough to let you see the remaining scratches from the previous grit. The less experienced your eye is, the greater the change in angle should be. You'll quickly start to know what you're looking for, and be able to go with narrower angle changes. 

*4* - There are only two kinds of surfaces on a firearm- flat and not-flat. The flat surfaces should be polished with a draw-stroke, where the sandpaper is stretched over a large, flat file. The round surfaces should be polished with a shoe-shine, where the sandpaper is torn into strips, stretched across the round surface and drawn back and forth in a shoe-shine motion. If you only use these two strokes (you'll have to be creative in some cuts) you will have no worry about "washing" the engraving or rounding off corners. 

Direction changes with the draw-stroke are easy - just angle your stroke slightly. The direction of the final grit should be parallel to the longest side (your receiver flats will be front-rear, not top-bottom).

Direction changes with the shoe-shine are made with the position of your hands. With one grit, have your left hand an inch or two behind your left hand, then the next grit have your left hand an inch or two in front of your right hand. The final grit should parallel to the circumference, with both hands directly across the part from each other (final grit on your barrel will go directly around the barrel, not long its length). 

My $0.02: The most striking refinish I've ever seen on a 37 was as follows: Bead/sand blast the top and bottom curved portions of the receiver to a very aggressive grit (80ish ?), then run it under a wire wheel to soften the blasting. Then polish the flats of the receiver and the barrel to around 400. Done properly, you end up with a lot of contrast between the barrel and receiver flats and the rounded portions of the receiver. It looks just like the original factory job, except that it was done by their best guy on his last day before retirement and he decided to polish just that one gun. 

You can accomplish it with minimal equipment. Even if all you have is the sandpaper and a cheap bench grinder, you can have an auto-body or jobber shop blast the receiver for you, bolt a wire wheel onto your bench grinder, run the sandpaper on it, and send it to a local gunsmith to "just dip it". I had a few guys over the years send me guns that they had put similar attention to, and it was always a pleasure to dip it, and proudly send the parts back to them. You knew someone's grandson was going to end up with a nice hand-me-down some day.


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