patina

vikingsfaninmi

What does the term "patina" mean when describing a gun?

Red mister

Webster's dictionary defines it as: any distinctive coloration or sheen produced as by aging. In the gun world you commonly hear of a gun having a brown "patina". This usually means the finish has worn off of the metal surfaces and the metal takes on a rust brown color.

perry shooter

Most collectors would like the guns to be original finish.On a winchester 66 if the brass has been polished it will devalue the gun to a large amount do not clean the Patina off if it is collectable.

kimi

Bluing will also brown. Even if a piece is 100% blue, it might well not lose any of its finish and turn into a very mellow, highly pleasing shade of brown that is smooth to the touch. Firearms with metal in this condition are highly collectible.

COLT

...it's just another word for bluing that has changed colors with age, "plum" is often used to describe the color... in other words...a day older than dirt...[;)]

shooter93

An interesting thing about patina too....I have had built quite a few truky Custom guns, a number of them on old lever actions. I find the ones that have little collector value because of barrels being cut etc but have sound actions as that's really the only part I'm interested in. Without exception everyone we clean the patina off of is rough and pitted underneath.

tccox

I have a question about old Civil War pisotls and swords. I keep my replicas shined and polished. I would think the Yanks & Rebs would also. Why is it necessary to have a "Patina" on such gun. What if I wanted to keep it as olriginal and shoot it every day?? Why must it have a "patina"? Thanks, Tom

dcinffxva

TC,

Most collectors like the "old" look. Other factors are that heavy cleaning removes metal, and wears down the markings. When I look at an older gun, I look for the uniformity of the finish. If I'm looking at a flintlock, and the hammer looks different, then I would suspect that parts have been replaced, or it was a reconversion. The same would hold true for a gun that had been cleaned overall. Most of my older ones are in their untouched state, but I have bought a couple that have been cleaned up, or refinished, and I use them as shooters.

It depends on what your goal is. If it is to collect, then collect the unaltered veterans. If it is to shoot, then go ahead and clean them up, or buy ones that others have cleaned. You can always just get a couple of parts guns, and put a few together out of pieces, but they will never have any collector value.

glabray

"Patina" is often used to make it sound like a gun is in better condition than it really is. A true patina is that aged but still there look that a finish gets due to years and years of oxidation. Sadly, many sellers use the term to describe a gun which has little if any original finish remaining and may even be covered with a thin layer of RUST.

Iconoclast

A bit off topic, but this term applies to collector ammunition as well, a specimen which has not been cleaned / polished / lacquered but has aged naturally (this doesn't mean corrosion or other major stains) will generally bring more of a premium than one which has been "improved." Part of the reason, as with firearms, is that cleaning / buffing can remove / diminish tooling marks or affect other elements of a historical nature, which is an additional explanation why, in both fields, discerning collectors prefer the original finishes.