Cleaning Up the 1700's French Musket

[Full Metal Digger]

Hello Friends,
I am slowly cleaning up the French musket found at the site of the Battle of Engen from May 3rd, 1800. It appears to be a Charleville musket but I'm not sure which year model just yet. I've cleaned the lock and trigger guard, but still need to do the barrel, ramrod, trigger assembly, and the buttplate.

 

[del]

great restoration Dave , electrolysis ?

 

[The Rebel]

Looks awesome!

 

[Full Metal Digger]

great restoration Dave , electrolysis ?

Hi Del, I used 3 rounds of electrolysis, a few days of soaking in rust remover, and a diamond-tipped Dremel bit to try to get all of the rust out of every nook and cranny. It was not an easy process, that's for sure! I quit once I determined I had gotten about 99% of the rust removed. I put 3 coats of Gemplers rust converter on it to try and kill the remaining rust. Lastly, I soaked it in melted wax to try and seal it as much as possible. The barrel is going to be a bear. It's 48 inches long and completely clogged with rust. I may have to soak that for a year, IDK. I'm going buy a big piece of PVC pipe and 2 end caps, then cut the pipe in half lengthwise to make a container big enough to fit the barrel (& ramrod). Thanks for commenting!

 

[Full Metal Digger]

Looks awesome!

Thanks, I appreciate it!

 

[Tony Two-Cent]

Incredible restoration, Dave! Thanks for sharing you process with us. I was wondering how your iron relics ended up with that wonderful gloss and color to them. Did you find this musket in Germany or did one of your buddies?

I hope the remaining parts give you a better clue as to the exact model and year of the musket!

 

[del]

Hi Del, I used 3 rounds of electrolysis, a few days of soaking in rust remover, and a diamond-tipped Dremel bit to try to get all of the rust out of every nook and cranny. It was not an easy process, that's for sure! I quit once I determined I had gotten about 99% of the rust removed. I put 3 coats of Gemplers rust converter on it to try and kill the remaining rust. Lastly, I soaked it in melted wax to try and seal it as much as possible. The barrel is going to be a bear. It's 48 inches long and completely clogged with rust. I may have to soak that for a year, IDK. I'm going buy a big piece of PVC pipe and 2 end caps, then cut the pipe in half lengthwise to make a container big enough to fit the barrel (& ramrod). Thanks for commenting!

Dave have you ever use media blasting (sand or soda or other) to remove the heavy rust ? i would steer clear of this method if the item was very thin or delicate iron but i've used it on gun barrels and tools and its a lot quicker , less messy and has similar results ?

 

[Jeff (or)]

Very, very nice, that turned out excellent!


Jeff