Word of advice, put the.buttstock on first. Some stockbolts have a square end that when turning in will split the forestock. Mostly applicable to smle, but why take the chance
Great video. I just restored my first No4 Mk1. It was buried in grease for the last 40 years and needed deep deep cleaning and the stocks redone. I was happy when the bore turned out shiny. I enjoyed watching this, Cheers from Down Under.
Good stuff . I've done 4 rust blue restore guns now . I really like the results I've got . I used Laurel Mountain Barrel brown solution . I still have a half bottle of solution after doing 4 guns .
Great job on the restoration! I have restored a few but used Glas bead blasting and carting wheel. You own the rifles so you can restore them as you see fit!
Thanks! I actually end up selling most of them, there is definitely a market for people who want one of these historic firearms in like new condition without having to break the bank to get one
FINALLY.... A very well thought out restoration video on UA-cam. That was the fastest 50 minutes 24 seconds I've ever had... I guess I will be one of the weird ones and wish your videos was even longer.. I really enjoyed it. I am getting ready to do my first Lee Enfield number 4 Mark 1 Restoration.. just purchased a RTI grade a from Africa but I have not picked it up yet.. needless to say I'm a little nervous Hope that I get a halfway decent rifle...again your video is a awesome great inspiration I will most likely watch this video over and over and over .....thanks so much for posting.
Birchwood Casey Plum Brown works great as a bluing solution. Just boil after browning and you get a very nice deep black finish. I have done two rifles with this method. Easy to find solution option. Great video...thanks!
Looks really good. I have always degreased with acetone or lacquer thinner after steel wool. The steel wool does have a slight amount of oil, I suppose it is to keep it from rusting in the packaging.
Good video with great results, I also have a Savage Lee Enfield No4 Mk1*, a friend of mine had it for years and his father bought it in 1963 as surplus, still in the grease and in a military canvas zip bag, the tag on the barrel had a price of $19.00. Also the upper handguard was not grooved, and the sights were flip type which I have replaced. Also this rifle has no proof marks so it was unfired, great find but cost me $800.00 Canadian.
Beautiful job restoring the rifle. I bought a Lee Enfield from Big 5 years ago when they got a bunch in stock. Must have driven to 3 or 4 different stores until I found one in decent shape with nice rifling in the barrel. I can tell the stain on mine is a lot darker than the one you have, think I like the lighter color better!
Great video. Really informative! Only issue that I had was the volume was pretty low. But I get that you're just using your phone. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the feedback, I noticed that too when I finally posted, hard to tell when actually editing. Looking to get a professional camera to record from though.
Ever considered an air brush to apply your solution. I seem to be a bit heavy handed when using a cotton ball or swab cloth and create unnecessary streaks. Tried an airbrush on an old Enders double 12ga and it came out like a champ.
Where do you get the chemicals for the rust blue solution? I am having a hard time finding zinc chloride. Also do you use wooden plugs or something in the barrel to protect the bore?
I got the zinc chloride from Bio world, hydrochloric acid 37% from Alchemie Labs and ammonium chloride you can just buy on Amazon. And nah I don’t, I just use an air duster to get any water that may be inside out so it doesn’t rust up, if any of the bluing solution makes it’s way inside it’s not an issue, I just do a thorough cleaning after with a bristle brush attachment to a cleaning rod and then use my drill and give it a thorough cleaning, but I also end up polishing the bore as well and all have come out great, well, none worse than how they were before lol
Nice work. I recently restored a sporterized a Savage No4 Mk1* by installing all NOS wood and fixing parts. I had plans to cold blue the handguard bands, but this has given me other ideas. Some questions about your rifle: - Does it have a No5 Jungle Carbine bolt? I noticed the drilled out handle. - Are you planning to finish the forend dowel repair at the barrel reinforce? It would be interesting to see how that turns out. - Are you planning to shoot the rifle? If so, make sure to push back the upper handguard so that it doesn't touch the foresight protector, or it will negatively affect accuracy.
Rust bluing is the way to go, I'll never touch cold blue again. How is the bore in the Vz. 52? I considered one but kept seeing people say theirs was a sewer pipe.
Idk, if you went over checking the Barrel groves and muzzle ware? that could have been all for nothing. However, it was a good tutorial on rust bluing at home. It would be interesting to see how it shoots after all that work. Peace out dude. - Dave
i have been thinking on getting my LEE Enfield 1916 SMLE * BSA blued it was sporterized and ima complete modernize the sporterization with a ATI monte carlo stock i will keep the original sporterized stock as this rifle was my step fathers i want it to last another 100 years.
@@Surplus_Restoration ok I was very confused by that because then you put the brownish liquid on and I thought that was the rusting solution but it’s the hydrogen peroxide
Has a Jungle carbine bolt. And.... an Ishapore (Indian arsenal) screw in the stock. The stocks were linseed oiled monthly and there were oilers in the butt to gun oil the rifle, sometimes the forends were greased in the channel for the barrel, mostly in SE Asia.
Degrease the steel wool before you use it, there is oily stuff in the steel wool from the factory. Good job , I'd prefer to see a linseed oil finish personally but each to their own.
Thanks, a lot of people said same thing, doesn’t seem to effect it that much but I always degrease barrel/receiver after steel wooling, and just started getting into boiled linseed oil and trying to figure out a few kinks, but has worked well so far, just tough to try and do over stain but have it pretty much figured out now
Great job. Good to see. If that rifle could only only tell its story. Used to shoot with them in the 1960s when I was in the cadet corps at school in the UK. Of all the rifles I fired (not many) it was the best for me. Just one thing, we had an officer who had served in Burma during WW2 and if we ever called it a gun, he would immediately correct us, "It's a rifle!"
I made a steam box out of a U-Haul moving box, a small space heater and a humidifier. I only needed to buy the humidifier. Everything else I found free (hooray for me). I also made boiling tanks out of rain gutters. Truly more than one way to skin a cat.
Got to ask, why don't you simply boil and card all the components instead of going straight to a wire wheel? A coarse wire wheel disfigures the original milled profile and gives the rifle a permanently "abnormal" look, which as a rule of thumb destroys its historical value. Absolutely nothing wrong with rust blueing, thats how many of the rifles were originally finished. I am very glad you follow Mark Nowak, i have used his methods to conserve and refurb many guns since his video came out. I must say, MidwayUSA has a very good video on how to clean wooden stocks/furniture. They recommend you use laquer thinner and a rag, and it has worked for many sets of wooden firearm furniture I own. I plan on followimg a similar method with some C -GradeNo1 Mk3 Enfields from RTI. Going to roll the dice and see what I get, I have been burned by RTI before... Just my two cents. Thanks for your work to preserve these firearms for future generations. It's an uphill battle for sure.
You do a great job beautiful on these rifles but if I was you I wouldn't restore everything anything that's close to just a little under faded blue patina I would save a few of those as they are but great work
Just bought my first Enfield No4 Mk1, savage arms. Someone shortened the lower forestock to make it into a sporterized version that looks like shit. I’m going to return it to factory condition. Im piecing the new lower fore stock and upper hand guards. They will probably not match each other so I’m probably going to have to strip and refinish them. Thanks for the information. It will be immensely helpful.
Am I the only one that has spotting issues when using the steaming tube. I bought the Rust Blue from Bob, who was on Mark Novak's channel, and built the steam tube using his plan, much like yours. I did an Ithaca shotgun barrel and it just kept spotting even though I waited until the steam was pouring out the top. I even used my heat gun to heat it up first. I eventually said F it and took it down to bare metal and cold blued it. Now I have the tube sitting around doing nothing. Anyone have any advice?
So I’ve actually learned some techniques that have helped me more since then, I’ve tried bobs solution and it’s not that good, the one I’ve been using in my videos has by far and away been the best. First all parts must blue completely degreased. When applying the solution, you want the cotton ball to be almost dry. If it’s to damp, the solution can build up in areas more than others and can be the biggest reason for splotching. Also, using a heat gun actually has increased the amount of iron oxide I get from each application. Also, seems to help against splotching
@@Surplus_Restoration when I pull it out of the pipe it is water beads all over, and I degrease the heck out of it. I'll have to check your videos to get your recipe. Thank you for the reply
@@The1jonnyz in this video I do, about halfway through. But it’s 5g of Ammonium Chloride, 7.5g of Zinc Chloride, 2ml of 37% hydrochloric acid and 100ml of distilled water
Why remove the old bluing when you can run it through the rust bluing process with the old bluing on and just apply rust blue chemicals to the areas already in the white?
Since it was previously paint it’s really questionable how well it would adhere to the surface, I don’t think it would rust properly either. Most guns I do if the previous bluing is decent I just clean it up and go over but most guns that have little bluing I like to start with a clean canvas
i was waundering if any. one can help me i have a 303 rifle my grandfather left me on the rifle it says 303 lee enfield property of the united states millitary and the number says 5-5 made in 1938 i have searched for it every where and cant find any one who actually has the same gun and its not even anywhere on the internet
You do realize that the amount of sanding you are doing to these milsurp stocks they never originally had that much attention. You are bringing them to a hole new glory they have never known. Not even fresh off the assembly line.
I do realize that with most of them and unfortunately it’s the only way to really eliminate all the dings dents and blemishes, so it does come out nicer than factory but I’d prefer that to a subpar job that is still dinged up and looks like someone just through a coat of paint on to cover up
I guess you’re missing the point. As collectors of military surplus the dings are part of the history of the firearm. I agree with removing the dirt, grime, and grease. Fix broken stocks, and clean up the metal. Stop the rust, replace parts if need be. A factory refabrication if you will. In the end they are your guns. You will find people to buy them. I and many others prefer to be less invasive and enjoy the honest history of the gun.
@@williamobrien6418 oh I 100% agree with you and the majority of the firearms I collect I don’t touch them other than basic cleaning/lubricating, but almost every single one of these were sent over to Ethiopia and heavily abused, therefore morally I don’t feel as bad restoring these that have been so miscared for rather than those that have true honest battle scars. Trust me I’m right there with you that battle worn guns and their history are something that for the most part should just be left be, however then you get guns like RTI’s that are worthy of a restoration due to their neglect
@@williamobrien6418 also there are hundreds of thousands of these guns that you’ll find with your battle worn dings dents and metal wear, restoring one that has been abused and neglected by a secondary country to it’s glory days isn’t hurting anybody
Word of advice, put the.buttstock on first. Some stockbolts have a square end that when turning in will split the forestock. Mostly applicable to smle, but why take the chance
Great video. I just restored my first No4 Mk1. It was buried in grease for the last 40 years and needed deep deep cleaning and the stocks redone. I was happy when the bore turned out shiny. I enjoyed watching this, Cheers from Down Under.
Nice job on the No4, they made plenty so no problem restoring some. I would be happy to own it.
Good stuff . I've done 4 rust blue restore guns now . I really like the results I've got . I used Laurel Mountain Barrel brown solution . I still have a half bottle of solution after doing 4 guns .
Great job on the restoration! I have restored a few but used Glas bead blasting and carting wheel. You own the rifles so you can restore them as you see fit!
Thanks! I actually end up selling most of them, there is definitely a market for people who want one of these historic firearms in like new condition without having to break the bank to get one
FINALLY.... A very well thought out restoration video on UA-cam. That was the fastest 50 minutes 24 seconds I've ever had... I guess I will be one of the weird ones and wish your videos was even longer.. I really enjoyed it. I am getting ready to do my first Lee Enfield number 4 Mark 1 Restoration.. just purchased a RTI grade a from Africa but I have not picked it up yet.. needless to say I'm a little nervous Hope that I get a halfway decent rifle...again your video is a awesome great inspiration I will most likely watch this video over and over and over .....thanks so much for posting.
That means so much to me thank you, lot of more great content coming soon! Check out my other recent videos
Birchwood Casey Plum Brown works great as a bluing solution. Just boil after browning and you get a very nice deep black finish. I have done two rifles with this method. Easy to find solution option. Great video...thanks!
Still watching but a few minutes in and I can say your work is excellent.
Looks really good. I have always degreased with acetone or lacquer thinner after steel wool. The steel wool does have a slight amount of oil, I suppose it is to keep it from rusting in the packaging.
Or you can degrease your steel wool with acetone before using, they also sell degreased steel wool
Good video with great results, I also have a Savage Lee Enfield No4 Mk1*, a friend of mine had it for years and his father bought it in 1963 as surplus, still in the grease and in a military canvas zip bag, the tag on the barrel had a price of $19.00. Also the upper handguard was not grooved, and the sights were flip type which I have replaced. Also this rifle has no proof marks so it was unfired, great find but cost me $800.00 Canadian.
Very thorough tutorial and the rifle is a beauty.
Thanks boss!
your videos are really good thank you!
Beautiful job restoring the rifle. I bought a Lee Enfield from Big 5 years ago when they got a bunch in stock. Must have driven to 3 or 4 different stores until I found one in decent shape with nice rifling in the barrel. I can tell the stain on mine is a lot darker than the one you have, think I like the lighter color better!
Great sound track as well!
Great Video
Great video. Really informative!
Only issue that I had was the volume was pretty low. But I get that you're just using your phone. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the feedback, I noticed that too when I finally posted, hard to tell when actually editing. Looking to get a professional camera to record from though.
What did you end up using as a protective coating on the wood? I’ve used Tung Oil or BLO for most of mine.
Ever considered an air brush to apply your solution. I seem to be a bit heavy handed when using a cotton ball or swab cloth and create unnecessary streaks. Tried an airbrush on an old Enders double 12ga and it came out like a champ.
you did a fine job
Where do you get the chemicals for the rust blue solution? I am having a hard time finding zinc chloride. Also do you use wooden plugs or something in the barrel to protect the bore?
I got the zinc chloride from Bio world, hydrochloric acid 37% from Alchemie Labs and ammonium chloride you can just buy on Amazon. And nah I don’t, I just use an air duster to get any water that may be inside out so it doesn’t rust up, if any of the bluing solution makes it’s way inside it’s not an issue, I just do a thorough cleaning after with a bristle brush attachment to a cleaning rod and then use my drill and give it a thorough cleaning, but I also end up polishing the bore as well and all have come out great, well, none worse than how they were before lol
Nice work. I recently restored a sporterized a Savage No4 Mk1* by installing all NOS wood and fixing parts. I had plans to cold blue the handguard bands, but this has given me other ideas.
Some questions about your rifle:
- Does it have a No5 Jungle Carbine bolt? I noticed the drilled out handle.
- Are you planning to finish the forend dowel repair at the barrel reinforce? It would be interesting to see how that turns out.
- Are you planning to shoot the rifle? If so, make sure to push back the upper handguard so that it doesn't touch the foresight protector, or it will negatively affect accuracy.
They also removed the magazine cut off also
Rust bluing is the way to go, I'll never touch cold blue again. How is the bore in the Vz. 52? I considered one but kept seeing people say theirs was a sewer pipe.
Idk, if you went over checking the Barrel groves and muzzle ware? that could have been all for nothing. However, it was a good tutorial on rust bluing at home. It would be interesting to see how it shoots after all that work. Peace out dude. - Dave
I've done Park Rising a lot and I've used bead blasting have you tried that what do you think about method
Do you mean parkerizing? If so I haven’t but want to since I do get guns that came out the factory that way
@@Surplus_Restoration paint over parkerization I used semi-gloss E flat black heat treated Rust-Oleum the Rust-Oleum was good up to 2100 degrees
Parkerizing, a unnoticed auto spelling correction.
How about the bore? I never saw you cleaning the borse of your restauration rifles.
i have been thinking on getting my LEE Enfield 1916 SMLE * BSA blued it was sporterized and ima complete modernize the sporterization with a ATI monte carlo stock i will keep the original sporterized stock as this rifle was my step fathers i want it to last another 100 years.
At 27:00 I didn’t understand what were you putting onto the metal before you put on your homemade rusting solution?
That’s just some small piece of steel wool I’m using to rid of the excess iron oxide from the screws
@@Surplus_Restoration no I meant the birchwood Casey stuff. Is it surface prep or something?
@@Almost_Made_It oh, that’s actually the bottle I keep my rust bluing solution in lol
@@Surplus_Restoration ok I was very confused by that because then you put the brownish liquid on and I thought that was the rusting solution but it’s the hydrogen peroxide
@@Almost_Made_It yes, the hydrogen peroxide just speeds up the reaction and builds rust quicker
Has a Jungle carbine bolt. And.... an Ishapore (Indian arsenal) screw in the stock. The stocks were linseed oiled monthly and there were oilers in the butt to gun oil the rifle, sometimes the forends were greased in the channel for the barrel, mostly in SE Asia.
Currently conserving an RTI B grade M95. Not even a hand select and the bore is incredible. Was thoroughly shocked
Can you provide the detail on the wire wheel you are using?
Degrease the steel wool before you use it, there is oily stuff in the steel wool from the factory. Good job , I'd prefer to see a linseed oil finish personally but each to their own.
Thanks, a lot of people said same thing, doesn’t seem to effect it that much but I always degrease barrel/receiver after steel wooling, and just started getting into boiled linseed oil and trying to figure out a few kinks, but has worked well so far, just tough to try and do over stain but have it pretty much figured out now
@@Surplus_RestorationYou can dilute it with a bit of mineral spirits to help it soak in better
Some brands of steel wool I’ve noticed to have that problem with but I found a brand that never gives me any issues with oil
Great job. Good to see. If that rifle could only only tell its story. Used to shoot with them in the 1960s when I was in the cadet corps at school in the UK. Of all the rifles I fired (not many) it was the best for me. Just one thing, we had an officer who had served in Burma during WW2 and if we ever called it a gun, he would immediately correct us, "It's a rifle!"
Your videos are really long, but useful!
Really hoping to cut them down a little more moving forward but wanted a good proper tutorial video!
Just don't make them super short! thanks again!@@Surplus_Restoration
@@karlhoffman1985 Haha I always think I'm going to end up shaving off more time than I actually do
@@Surplus_Restorationno leave them long, we get more information just have time stamps for those trying to hurry😊
I made a steam box out of a U-Haul moving box, a small space heater and a humidifier. I only needed to buy the humidifier. Everything else I found free (hooray for me). I also made boiling tanks out of rain gutters. Truly more than one way to skin a cat.
Got to ask, why don't you simply boil and card all the components instead of going straight to a wire wheel? A coarse wire wheel disfigures the original milled profile and gives the rifle a permanently "abnormal" look, which as a rule of thumb destroys its historical value. Absolutely nothing wrong with rust blueing, thats how many of the rifles were originally finished. I am very glad you follow Mark Nowak, i have used his methods to conserve and refurb many guns since his video came out.
I must say, MidwayUSA has a very good video on how to clean wooden stocks/furniture. They recommend you use laquer thinner and a rag, and it has worked for many sets of wooden firearm furniture I own.
I plan on followimg a similar method with some C -GradeNo1 Mk3 Enfields from RTI. Going to roll the dice and see what I get, I have been burned by RTI before...
Just my two cents. Thanks for your work to preserve these firearms for future generations. It's an uphill battle for sure.
You do a great job beautiful on these rifles but if I was you I wouldn't restore everything anything that's close to just a little under faded blue patina I would save a few of those as they are but great work
Just bought my first Enfield No4 Mk1, savage arms. Someone shortened the lower forestock to make it into a sporterized version that looks like shit. I’m going to return it to factory condition. Im piecing the new lower fore stock and upper hand guards. They will probably not match each other so I’m probably going to have to strip and refinish them. Thanks for the information. It will be immensely helpful.
Am I the only one that has spotting issues when using the steaming tube. I bought the Rust Blue from Bob, who was on Mark Novak's channel, and built the steam tube using his plan, much like yours. I did an Ithaca shotgun barrel and it just kept spotting even though I waited until the steam was pouring out the top. I even used my heat gun to heat it up first. I eventually said F it and took it down to bare metal and cold blued it. Now I have the tube sitting around doing nothing. Anyone have any advice?
So I’ve actually learned some techniques that have helped me more since then, I’ve tried bobs solution and it’s not that good, the one I’ve been using in my videos has by far and away been the best. First all parts must blue completely degreased. When applying the solution, you want the cotton ball to be almost dry. If it’s to damp, the solution can build up in areas more than others and can be the biggest reason for splotching. Also, using a heat gun actually has increased the amount of iron oxide I get from each application. Also, seems to help against splotching
@@Surplus_Restoration when I pull it out of the pipe it is water beads all over, and I degrease the heck out of it. I'll have to check your videos to get your recipe. Thank you for the reply
@@The1jonnyz yeah the recipe I use has worked flawless, think I’ve done 28 guns with it and not had an issue with any so far
@@Surplus_Restoration do you have a particular video that has your recipe for the rust blue?
@@The1jonnyz in this video I do, about halfway through. But it’s 5g of Ammonium Chloride, 7.5g of Zinc Chloride, 2ml of 37% hydrochloric acid and 100ml of distilled water
Nice job, a sow''s ear into a silk purse
I would pay for this service on my grandpas old no4mk1
Why remove the old bluing when you can run it through the rust bluing process with the old bluing on and just apply rust blue chemicals to the areas already in the white?
Since it was previously paint it’s really questionable how well it would adhere to the surface, I don’t think it would rust properly either. Most guns I do if the previous bluing is decent I just clean it up and go over but most guns that have little bluing I like to start with a clean canvas
@@Surplus_Restoration fair enough, the finished rifle turned out beautiful by the way
i was waundering if any. one can help me i have a 303 rifle my grandfather left me on the rifle it says 303 lee enfield property of the united states millitary and the number says 5-5 made in 1938 i have searched for it every where and cant find any one who actually has the same gun and its not even anywhere on the internet
I have a Savage made Enfield No4Mk2. Would you be interested in restoring mine? Let me know
The barrels are so worn on the Royal Tigers I feel the entire market is suspect.
thats a bit too coarse of a carding wheel you need something very soft, rust bluing should have a very fine polish to it...
The gloss finish is not factory on any of these guns. Danish oil.
Dude, turn the mu_zak down!
You do realize that the amount of sanding you are doing to these milsurp stocks they never originally had that much attention. You are bringing them to a hole new glory they have never known. Not even fresh off the assembly line.
I do realize that with most of them and unfortunately it’s the only way to really eliminate all the dings dents and blemishes, so it does come out nicer than factory but I’d prefer that to a subpar job that is still dinged up and looks like someone just through a coat of paint on to cover up
I guess you’re missing the point. As collectors of military surplus the dings are part of the history of the firearm. I agree with removing the dirt, grime, and grease. Fix broken stocks, and clean up the metal. Stop the rust, replace parts if need be. A factory refabrication if you will. In the end they are your guns. You will find people to buy them. I and many others prefer to be less invasive and enjoy the honest history of the gun.
@@williamobrien6418 oh I 100% agree with you and the majority of the firearms I collect I don’t touch them other than basic cleaning/lubricating, but almost every single one of these were sent over to Ethiopia and heavily abused, therefore morally I don’t feel as bad restoring these that have been so miscared for rather than those that have true honest battle scars. Trust me I’m right there with you that battle worn guns and their history are something that for the most part should just be left be, however then you get guns like RTI’s that are worthy of a restoration due to their neglect
@@williamobrien6418 also there are hundreds of thousands of these guns that you’ll find with your battle worn dings dents and metal wear, restoring one that has been abused and neglected by a secondary country to it’s glory days isn’t hurting anybody
You can get rid of a lot of dents and dings in the stock by using steam. BTW there is a difference in the color of rust blue used between countries