refinishing antique gun stocks

bakengdeuce · 12-28-2007, 07:17 PM

I've got the old family guns. A Belgium Browning 16 gage semi about 1943 and
my grandpa's Parker 12 gage, not the rolled barrels, the good ones. About the turn of the century.
The Browning forward piece is pretty beat up and the stock is tired looking. The steel is perfect. Should I refinish and make pretty again, and the same color or not, or leave everything alone and tired looking. What does refinishing to orig color and surface do to the value? And what about the Parker, it's tired too. What happens to its value if I refinish it to original also. Need advice from all you guys that know the drill.

lefty o · 12-28-2007, 07:21 PM

some parkers are worth a small fortune, do your research before even considering refinishing the stock. refinished/restored/altered all destroy a guns value. i'd probably consider refinishing the brownings stock, but practice on something you dont care about first.

toolman · 12-28-2007, 10:16 PM

Lefty has a valid point but IMO, a lot depends on whether or not they will stay in the family, or is there a possibility that one or both may be sold? I have a Marlin 39A that my dad gave me when I was 10 and he helped me refinish it. Having a gun that I refinished with my dad made me prouder than if he'd given me a new $10,000.00 custom gun.

ArkansasHunter · 12-28-2007, 10:56 PM

I believe before you do any restoration to them I would get both of them appraised, especialy the Parker.
And where you can have that done I don't know. Can you post pictures of them ?
A.H

billy · 12-29-2007, 04:58 AM

just over cleaning can drop the value considerably

i would think long and hard before i did anything to them.
dont get me wrong i am no anal type collector but i have seen too many really cool firearms basically ruined by someone that wanted something to do with his hands.

i wouldnt even clean the wood with mild wood soap before i found out.

lefty o · 12-30-2007, 12:35 PM

toolman does make a good point about if your keeping it in the family. ive got a winchester model 1890 pump 22 thats been in the family since new (1915). it was orginally chambered for the 22WRF, and sometime during its life it was sent bcak to winchester where it was converted to a model62a. the rifle has always been well cared for, but its been refinished several times due to the bluing being worn off ( when i went in the service in 1989, the rifle had about 95% of the bluing worn off), so dad had it refinished, and it looks great, but it destroyed the value (original pump winchesters are getting verry spendy). in the end it doesnt really matter though, because the rifle will never be sold.

bakengdeuce · 12-31-2007, 10:14 AM

I've read everyone's comments about don't fix up the old guns. Here I goes up on my soapbox.
This bullshit about refinishing or re-blueing is a tool used by dealers and collectors to hammer your gun value down so it can be acquired for a lower price. Period. If there was consistancy in any of this, why not go to the junkyard and by a completely rusted out junked 69 Camero and by not restoring it, it has a higher value than one restored. C'mon.
When we were first married, I couldn't afford new furniture, so I bought used, refinished and reupholstered. Whould have been worth more,sitting there forlorn with the stuffing falling out ?
C'mon guys, recently I bought an old rusty beat up JC Higgins at a pawn shop and completely redid it.
Now it's beautiful. Now I know, no ,one gives a shit
about anything JC Higgins, but is it worth more now than it was before ? Of course.
Point is I think the downgrading of the gun value by restoration is a tool used by the collector and appraiser( who's a gun collector also).
I think taking an old gun and making it pretty again, is just like restoring that 69 Camero. Wow is that beautiful- and look what it's worth now. One last thought. I think restore it, the hell with the appraiser, sell the gun to someone who wants a beautiful gun and is willing to pay for it. They're around.

.22hustler · 12-31-2007, 11:55 AM

Hey duece.. Do what you feel is right. It's/they're you're guns. If you want to make them pretty again, go ahead. If you're going to leave them original, afraid of destroying their value, you might as well just lock them up in the closet and forget about them.I don't believe they should be locked up. Use them as intended. I have a 69 Nova SS with 58k original miles on it, and I beat the hell out of it. That's what it's for! I also collect and restore antique toy trains, and everyone of them runs, and they are on my layout. Nothing on shelves or put away. I recently sold a beautiful Baker Paragon, side by side that sat in my gun cabinet for the last 40 years. I sold it to a guy who has 12 Bakers, all of them shootable, and he uses all of them from time to time. It made me feel good to see it getting some use again, instead of rotting in that cabinet.

billy · 12-31-2007, 12:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bakengdeuce

I've read everyone's comments about don't fix up the old guns. Here I goes up on my soapbox.
This bullshit about refinishing or re-blueing is a tool used by dealers and collectors to hammer your gun value down so it can be acquired for a lower price. Period. If there was consistancy in any of this, why not go to the junkyard and by a completely rusted out junked 69 Camero and by not restoring it, it has a higher value than one restored. C'mon.
When we were first married, I couldn't afford new furniture, so I bought used, refinished and reupholstered. Whould have been worth more,sitting there forlorn with the stuffing falling out ?
C'mon guys, recently I bought an old rusty beat up JC Higgins at a pawn shop and completely redid it.
Now it's beautiful. Now I know, no ,one gives a shit
about anything JC Higgins, but is it worth more now than it was before ? Of course.
Point is I think the downgrading of the gun value by restoration is a tool used by the collector and appraiser( who's a gun collector also).
I think taking an old gun and making it pretty again, is just like restoring that 69 Camero. Wow is that beautiful- and look what it's worth now. One last thought. I think restore it, the hell with the appraiser, sell the gun to someone who wants a beautiful gun and is willing to pay for it. They're around.

do anything you want .
i dont care!
im not trying to buy it anyway.

i had a $45 mosin and refinished it.
if i had something valuable.
i wouldnt have.
i would sell it and buy a modern shooter.

p.s. an antique and a P.O.S. car are not the same thing

irish murphy · 12-31-2007, 04:19 PM

Why ask the question if you wont like the answer and had made your mind up already?

Mooseman684 · 12-31-2007, 04:29 PM

I'm staying OUT of this discussion...It only makes my blood pressure go off the chart and gives me headaches...Comparing a gun to a car...Yikes

Rich

billy · 12-31-2007, 06:02 PM

do you have one of "those" headaches moose?

SwedeSteve · 01-06-2008, 05:18 AM

Getting them there types that are hoping to hear DO IT, when they know they shouldn't!

okole · 01-15-2008, 06:36 PM

[quote=bakengdeuce;387314]I've got the old family guns. A Belgium Browning 16 gage semi about 1943

don't think so, in 1943 Belgium was occupied by the Nazi's and I'm pretty sure they didn't have FN making Browning Sweet 16's

(it's more likely post war)

lefty o · 01-15-2008, 08:48 PM

bakengdeuce, well you probably should not have asked the question if you did not care about the answers. #1, you have been given very solid advice concerning gun values- they go in the toilet when they have been refinished, unless you can afford to have doug turnbull restore your gun, the value goes down. 2, your jc higgins wasnt worth anything before or after refinishing, so it doesnt apply to a potentially valuable parker shotgun. this is a discussion about guns, comparing restoring a gun to restoring a car is apples and oranges. gun collectors value 100% originality, despite condition over any other factor. we aint talking about dealers trying to get your money. last but not least, id back up the know it all attitude, sit back listen, and learn something.

12-28-2007, 10:16 PM	#3
toolman Mr. Fixit Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: abilene,tx Posts: 5,566 Blog Entries: 22	Lefty has a valid point but IMO, a lot depends on whether or not they will stay in the family, or is there a possibility that one or both may be sold? I have a Marlin 39A that my dad gave me when I was 10 and he helped me refinish it. Having a gun that I refinished with my dad made me prouder than if he'd given me a new $10,000.00 custom gun. __________________ Don't be messin' with my gun!

12-29-2007, 04:58 AM	#5
billy spiritual counselor Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: a secret lab on the shores of lake titicaca Posts: 11,954 Images: 9 Blog Entries: 146	just over cleaning can drop the value considerably i would think long and hard before i did anything to them. dont get me wrong i am no anal type collector but i have seen too many really cool firearms basically ruined by someone that wanted something to do with his hands. i wouldnt even clean the wood with mild wood soap before i found out. __________________ just leave britney ALONE! she's going thru a hard time snivel sniff....WAH Last edited by billy; 12-29-2007 at 05:03 AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

12-31-2007, 10:14 AM	#7
bakengdeuce Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 17	What's so valuable about rusty and beat up ? I've read everyone's comments about don't fix up the old guns. Here I goes up on my soapbox. This bullshit about refinishing or re-blueing is a tool used by dealers and collectors to hammer your gun value down so it can be acquired for a lower price. Period. If there was consistancy in any of this, why not go to the junkyard and by a completely rusted out junked 69 Camero and by not restoring it, it has a higher value than one restored. C'mon. When we were first married, I couldn't afford new furniture, so I bought used, refinished and reupholstered. Whould have been worth more,sitting there forlorn with the stuffing falling out ? C'mon guys, recently I bought an old rusty beat up JC Higgins at a pawn shop and completely redid it. Now it's beautiful. Now I know, no ,one gives a shit about anything JC Higgins, but is it worth more now than it was before ? Of course. Point is I think the downgrading of the gun value by restoration is a tool used by the collector and appraiser( who's a gun collector also). I think taking an old gun and making it pretty again, is just like restoring that 69 Camero. Wow is that beautiful- and look what it's worth now. One last thought. I think restore it, the hell with the appraiser, sell the gun to someone who wants a beautiful gun and is willing to pay for it. They're around.

12-31-2007, 04:29 PM	#11
Mooseman684 Super Moderator Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Alaska Wilderness Posts: 9,637 Images: 2	I'm staying OUT of this discussion...It only makes my blood pressure go off the chart and gives me headaches...Comparing a gun to a car...Yikes Rich __________________ You know you might be facing your doom,when all you get is a click when you're expecting a BOOM!

12-31-2007, 06:02 PM	#12
billy spiritual counselor Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: a secret lab on the shores of lake titicaca Posts: 11,954 Images: 9 Blog Entries: 146	do you have one of "those" headaches moose? __________________ just leave britney ALONE! she's going thru a hard time snivel sniff....WAH

12-28-2007, 07:17 PM	#1
bakengdeuce Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 17	refinishing antique gun stocks I've got the old family guns. A Belgium Browning 16 gage semi about 1943 and my grandpa's Parker 12 gage, not the rolled barrels, the good ones. About the turn of the century. The Browning forward piece is pretty beat up and the stock is tired looking. The steel is perfect. Should I refinish and make pretty again, and the same color or not, or leave everything alone and tired looking. What does refinishing to orig color and surface do to the value? And what about the Parker, it's tired too. What happens to its value if I refinish it to original also. Need advice from all you guys that know the drill.

12-28-2007, 07:21 PM	#2
lefty o Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: mn Posts: 4,785	some parkers are worth a small fortune, do your research before even considering refinishing the stock. refinished/restored/altered all destroy a guns value. i'd probably consider refinishing the brownings stock, but practice on something you dont care about first.

12-28-2007, 10:56 PM	#4
ArkansasHunter Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: South Arkansas Posts: 10,678	I believe before you do any restoration to them I would get both of them appraised, especialy the Parker. And where you can have that done I don't know. Can you post pictures of them ? A.H

12-30-2007, 12:35 PM	#6
lefty o Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: mn Posts: 4,785	toolman does make a good point about if your keeping it in the family. ive got a winchester model 1890 pump 22 thats been in the family since new (1915). it was orginally chambered for the 22WRF, and sometime during its life it was sent bcak to winchester where it was converted to a model62a. the rifle has always been well cared for, but its been refinished several times due to the bluing being worn off ( when i went in the service in 1989, the rifle had about 95% of the bluing worn off), so dad had it refinished, and it looks great, but it destroyed the value (original pump winchesters are getting verry spendy). in the end it doesnt really matter though, because the rifle will never be sold.

12-31-2007, 11:55 AM	#8
.22hustler Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: New York Posts: 895	Hey duece.. Do what you feel is right. It's/they're you're guns. If you want to make them pretty again, go ahead. If you're going to leave them original, afraid of destroying their value, you might as well just lock them up in the closet and forget about them.I don't believe they should be locked up. Use them as intended. I have a 69 Nova SS with 58k original miles on it, and I beat the hell out of it. That's what it's for! I also collect and restore antique toy trains, and everyone of them runs, and they are on my layout. Nothing on shelves or put away. I recently sold a beautiful Baker Paragon, side by side that sat in my gun cabinet for the last 40 years. I sold it to a guy who has 12 Bakers, all of them shootable, and he uses all of them from time to time. It made me feel good to see it getting some use again, instead of rotting in that cabinet.

12-31-2007, 04:19 PM	#10
irish murphy Banned Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Canberra,Australia Posts: 1,028 Blog Entries: 5	Why ask the question if you wont like the answer and had made your mind up already?

01-06-2008, 05:18 AM	#13
SwedeSteve Bullet Maintenance !! Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: The anchor point, Alaska Posts: 10,266 Images: 1	Getting them there types that are hoping to hear DO IT, when they know they shouldn't! __________________ Thank God we don't get as much Government as we pay for! -Will Rogers

01-15-2008, 06:36 PM	#14
okole Banned Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: NW Montana Posts: 61	[quote=bakengdeuce;387314]I've got the old family guns. A Belgium Browning 16 gage semi about 1943 don't think so, in 1943 Belgium was occupied by the Nazi's and I'm pretty sure they didn't have FN making Browning Sweet 16's (it's more likely post war)

01-15-2008, 08:48 PM	#15
lefty o Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: mn Posts: 4,785	bakengdeuce, well you probably should not have asked the question if you did not care about the answers. #1, you have been given very solid advice concerning gun values- they go in the toilet when they have been refinished, unless you can afford to have doug turnbull restore your gun, the value goes down. 2, your jc higgins wasnt worth anything before or after refinishing, so it doesnt apply to a potentially valuable parker shotgun. this is a discussion about guns, comparing restoring a gun to restoring a car is apples and oranges. gun collectors value 100% originality, despite condition over any other factor. we aint talking about dealers trying to get your money. last but not least, id back up the know it all attitude, sit back listen, and learn something.