Colt M1860 Army ' Avenging Angel' project

[electricfactory]

I'd been considering buying an 1860 Army 'Avenging Angel' for some time, usually I'm a day late and/ or a dollar short. This time I decided to give Jebediah Starr a call and wouldn't you know it, they had one left in their inventory, a Pietta. I bought it, they shipped it, it arrived in shorter and but for a few details I like it alot.

The barrel billboards were what inspired me to age the gun, they had to go. I understand some prefer keeping their new guns in new condition but I like the look of antique guns. Not abuse, but age. I respect that other opinions may vary. Anyway I decided to remove the barrel markings and in so doing, refinish the gun. Removing the barrel makrkings ended up being a lot harder then I expected. I used a combination of burnishing, filing and wet/ dry sand paper.

I left the rest of the Italian markings on the frame intact, if I decide at a later date to remove them at least now I know how. I decided against submerging the gun in vinagar to strip the finish. I wanted instead to leave traces of blue everywhere versus a bare metal appearance. I used Birchwood Casey instead to remove the finish a little at a time, leaving the protected blue areas intact. I also reworked the grips, stripping the finish, and re-profiling to get rid of the sharp angles. I aged them a bit and then applied several coats of Tru-Oil, buffed it all off, then reapplied.

I patina’d the brass using the vinagar method, placing it on a flat rock in a plastic sealed container with a quarter inch of vinagar on the bottom of the container, adding a heaping tablesppon of salt, closing the container and allowing the created gas to do its work. This was an interesting project. I am def not a professional by any means but I know what pleases me and I am generally happy with the results.

Now to shoot it!

Here’s what it looked like when I received it;





Here it is now;

[ShotgunDave]

Wow EF! I don't care what anybody says, that looks really good! You did a fantastic job on aging it.

I like the same look on my guns. I'm really interested in hoe you did the brass. Can you explain more about your process?

[electricfactory]

Thanks Dave, it's not for everyone but it is for me. I patina the brass using the vinagar method;
 1) strip the trigger guard of its lacquer coating. Submerge the TG in a container of vinegar, after a couple of hours the lacquer coating will have dissolved. 2) use a fine sand paper to slightly 'rough up' the TG surface. This will help with the next steps. 3) now place the dry TG on a flat rock ( because the rock dosen't degrade) inside the same platic container which should have 1/4" of vinegar on the bottom. The rock sits inside the container, the TG on top of the rock. Do not let the trigger guard touch the vinegar. 4) add at least 2 tablespoons of table salt to the vinegar, close the container and allow the created gas ( vinagar+salt) to do its work. 5) after just two hours you'll see it begin to patina. After a few more hours it'll turn a deep rich golden color.

[ShotgunDave]

Thanks EF. I'm with you, I prefer patina on the brass. I detest shiny. It looks ridiculous to me. I'll give this method a try.

[Captainkirk]

I generally cringe at the thought of molesting a like-new gun, but this time I back you 100%. Those markings on such a small barrel were hideous. You really did that one justice. I'd be proud to own one like that.

[ssb73q]

Hi electricfactory, you did a really nice job of defarbing that revolver. I look forward to seeing your shooting report.

Regards,
Richard

[electricfactory]

Thanks very much Captainkirk, that's just what I thought about the barrel banners. All I could see is BLACK POWDER ONLY! I thought it ruined what is in my view a very nice looking variation on the Colt M1860 Army. It might just as well have been, EAT AT JOES !

I generally cringe at the thought of molesting a like-new gun, but this time I back you 100%. Those markings on such a small barrel were hideous. You really did that one justice. I'd be proud to own one like that.

[electricfactory]

Thanks very kindly Richard, I too am anxious to see what kind of accuaray these guys can produce at, say, 10-15yds. I can't imagine shooting at a longer distance with a 3" barrel.

Hi electricfactory, you did a really nice job of defarbing that revolver. I look forward to seeing your shooting report.

Regards,
Richard

[electricfactory]

Sidebar question to whomever knows the answer; is the case color on the Belgian made Colt 1860 Armys real, or 'painted on' like the Italian reproductions ?

[sourdough]

You might check here. One of the guys in charge of maintaining the site is known as Long Johns Wolf and is very astute about these revolvers. If he does not have the answer, I doubt anyone else will.

http://wp.1960nma.org/

Regards,

Jim

[mazo kid]

As is often the case, there is more than one way to skin a cat. When I "aged" my new Uberti Baby Dragoon, I used bleach wiped on the brass (if I remember correctly, it's been a while!). Your refinished gun looks very nice. I used to use the cleaning patches used for cleaning the bore on some of my rifles to rub on the shiney brass parts. A little at a time, turns the brass dull in a short time.

[Racing]

As a contrast of sorts then.



A while back i pulled this avenging angel for a cust. "Job" per se had already been pulled (or should i say damage) but oh did the piece ever crave some attention.



This piece is an original. Ie; most likely chopped somewhere way back when. Getting it to shoot decent though was basically a matter of redoing the entire thing.

Then, not a Colt at all but an 1858.
Snubs tho..are fun 



This one i fabbed myself from an original, and before you throw a fit.. LOL, the gun was ruined by British law before i bought it. Brit law seems to have changed over the yrs, and this one i bought as "deactivated" with the sole intent of building myself a snub out of an original - as that´s the one permit exempt to us.
Len on here provided the stock material which is REALLY old black oak, i´ll let Len fill that part in if he reads this.

Anyways.
Snubs are fun, there´s no argument there. For that Remmy i keep three barrels all in all. 2"/2,5" and 3" (in the pic). What´s been arrived on though, from a practical point of view, is the use of T7 as propellant.
This burns in such a manner that you don´t lose as much performance.

[Captainkirk]

Looks really good! Does the loading lever on the '58 actually work?

[Racing]

Define "work".
As a loading lever, no. Load it off gun.
What it does tho is present a slight angle for the cylinder pin thus keeping it in.

[Captainkirk]

Define "work".

What half the people in this country appear to be allergic to. 

As a loading lever, no. Load it off gun.
What it does tho is present a slight angle for the cylinder pin thus keeping it in.

Ahhh. I see.