Question: floor plate etching

castagnos&s · Feb 13, 2009

I have recently finished a floorplate and trigger guard for a Howa model 1500 .270 rifle, it's my own gun and mostly just for practice. The steel was finished with what I assume to be baked on enamel and i just blasted the top side of the floor plate and sanded the trigger guard now I want to remove the rest of the old finish and was wondering if miriatic acid will do the job. any help would be greatly apreciated(I know this would have been much easier to do before hand but oh well) thanks Mike

fegarex · Feb 13, 2009

I can't give you an exact answer on the Howa as I am not too familar with them.
Lately, many trigger guards are NOT steel but an alloy. Most companies have gone to a baked on finish or powder coat. Most of these finishes are hard to remove but sometimes paint stripper will work. Now, if it IS steel and actually blued, I would use a blue remover or at worst a toilet bowl cleaner. Muratic acid will work but will rust back right away and is just plain nasty to use. Some guns like Browning now even have an alloy guard that is iron or chrome plated and they are even worse to deal with!

Weldon47 · Feb 13, 2009

I would try a magnet on the piece to be sure it is actually steel. I believe that the Howa (or at least some Howa's) used a floorplate/TG material that was not steel and if so, acid may not do as expected (read that ruin something!). If the magnet sticks then the part should be steel and the muratic acid should remove the bluing. Be sure and dilute the acid properly as it is not necessary to use it full strength to remove bluing. Be sure to wear eye protection, use proper ventilation and definitely stay away from the acid fumes.

WL

joe seeley · Feb 13, 2009

Some of the howa's, S&W's, and Weatherby's are an alloy that is plated over and the plating is magnetic. When you try to blue the parts they disolve in your hot blue tanks, the same as aluminum. The moral of the story is not all things are as they seem to be. If it as magnetic, then check it with cold blue (if it will blue with cold blue then it is quite likely that it is steel) to be sure that it will withstand a hot blue tank.

Joe.

Weldon47 · Feb 13, 2009

Joe,
Good points!
Are they plated thick enough that a magnet will stick to it when you let go? Just wondering. I can't imagine that the plating would be thick enough to support the magnets weight but then again.....who knows (ok, I guess someone knows but they are laughing at us right now anyway....)

I have a Weatherby Vanguard and this one has the same bottom metal as all the Howa's I've seen so, I am going to check it and see what happens & let you know.

The bottom line is that it's mandatory to know what kind of metal you are sticking in either acid or the blue tank (if you ever want to see ti again!!!).

Thanks
WL

dclevinger · Feb 13, 2009

Weldon,

What Joe explained is exactly what happened to me. I had installed some express sights on a customers rifle and of course, had to re-blue it. Everything came out great, except for the bottom metal. It was just a hollow shell of plating material. The aluminum interior had been completely dissolved. It happened a long time ago but I haven't forgotten that very expensive lesson.

David

PS...yep, a magnet held.

Weldon47 · Feb 13, 2009

David,

I stopped bluing a long time back, (early 80's) a decision I have not regretted for reasons exactly like the one you mention. That being said, I have learned my share of lessons the hard way too!

PS: perhaps I Used a larger (heavier) magnet in my testing, who knows!

WL

Barry Lee Hands · Feb 14, 2009

Joe Seeley is correct. I have seen Weatherby flooplates which passed the magnet test but did not survive the hot dip, I dont know why, but it happened to me.

monk · Feb 14, 2009

you can buy paint that applies with a brush. when dry, will hold magnets. so thin may not be a test here. might be wise to consult the manufacturers on this to be safe.

John B. · Feb 14, 2009

One good thing about floor plates is that you can make a heavey cut on the hidden side and see that is under the surface.
Just my way..... John B.

Question: floor plate etching

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