After spending several days guarding the trees and watching rain and snow pile up on the stocks of my rifles (I find myself without a nasty weather "beater") I decided to change directions with the custom 1899 Savage I'm building. It will be my all-weather gun in future. The catch is this: While I want good weather protection, I don't wish to spoil the look of a pre-WWI Savage. Walnut straight grip perch-belly stock and blue steel. The wood is a no-brainer- Epoxy and/or Epifanes spar varnish. The steel is my primary question to y'all. I don't wish to use a finish that would look more appropriate on an AR-15 than a 100 yr. old Savage 1899. Is there something out there that would fill my requirements, or am I p*ssing up a rope? I have always been a blued steel man, and have categorically ignored the "modern" finishes. Now that I want one, I don't know which way to turn.

Thanks.

Gary

Gary is there a cere-coat that is cloce to a blue?

Graphite black would look pretty good on that 99, another option would be to use a Wax..... Seal it all up real good...

If you want to do a cerakote finish, let me know. I would be happy to assist you with that.. I have the tools, and the ffl.

There is a clear coating offered by Doug Burche in his cerra-coatings. Might look into that.

How about teflon coating? It comes out a graphite color.

Teflon is not as durable as the Cerakote finish.
As far as the clear goes, I was told by NIC that the current Cerakote product is way to glossy.
I just got off the phone with them, and they are working on making it more satin. I was told they should have it available soon.

Gary, I picked up my 1899 250-3000 just to have a bad weather rifle. Stock has been sealed, and metal was all parkerized. Doesn't look too bad once you get used to it.

I am used to it,, It looks good... And it is a take down... One day,,,, one day....

Before I read the post, I thought it may have been Cerakoted.. Has that look to it..

Real nice, thank you for sharing that pic...

Truth to tell, I was told it was parkerized. Might be Cerakote, I don't know the difference.

Side view of receiver at the bottom. Got a fuzzy texture to it rather than being smooth.

I might be dead wrong, but in my searches to find a cerakote to closely match gloss bluing nothing looks better to me than Midnight Blue;

These pictures have a better angle. Looks greyer in these pictures, more like a parkerized finish.
Still looks good though, maybe you could send it my way when you are done with it?

Dawn2dusk, I like that color a lot, though the picture is kind of dark.

Brasshound... keep wishing. Took me 3 years of searching to find an affordable 250-3000 I was happy with!

Oh Cal,, you are such a party pooper...

Dawn, I can do a little about the sheen with the hardener. Here is a pic of OD green, and Graphite black..

If you really like blue, you could blue it and then coat it with something. Lacquer for instance, as many case colored actions are coated.

Or you might try something like the coatings that are used on steel tools. There are a number of them out there. One that I use is TopKote or some similar spelling. Sold in most woodworking and better hardware stores. It is sort of like paste wax on steroids.

I don't think I could bring myself to epoxy wood or parkerize metal, but to each his own.

Brent

CAlhoun,
I'd say it is parker. Having just recently done about a dozen rifles, shotguns and revolvers, even one 99, it looks right to me.

Thanks guys, you've given me some food for thought.

Epoxy/ spar varnish on the wood will end up looking just like the original varnish used on these rifles 100 years ago, I guarantee. (Only much more weatherproof, at least for as long as I'll be around.)

Consider the multiple color finishes that Brownell sells; Alumahyde II and other epoxy paint finishes are available in french grays that might look good (receiver) contrasted with a matt blue shade on the barrel and lever (from the same product line).

Good de-greasing prep is paramount; these paints are pretty durable, and a lot of them are air cure with no oven.

edit: Never mind..

Paint finishes? How well do they stay on?

Paint finishes are for individuals who can never make up there mind.. It keeps falling off, so they can change the color any time...
If you rub a hard surface with the paint, it will come off with ease..

You could just try oiling the metal and performing regular maintenance; cheaper, less glamorous, but more satisfying.

I cerakoted a pre-64 Winchester Model 70. I regret it to this day. I too thought I would have an all weather classic; I do, it is surely that. I still regret it.

Your Savage 99, if properly cared for, will outlive you. Save your money and just care for the gun.

Now that took guts! Although I have seen a few that would have been improved with that. My brother bought one one time that had a stock that had been antiqued (light green with brown streaks) like they use to do furniture in the 60's. That one took some work.

I have used Cerakote on several stainless rifles and am seriously considering a Remington Model 14 that has no original finish. I use it for a beater, bad weather rifle and it will rust in a second. I have been very satisfied with the results I have gotten with Cerakote, but I will keep my Model 70 walnut and blued steel.

Have you considered a quality rust blue finish? Much more rust resistant than hot caustic bluing and it will give your classic rifle the elegant look it deserves. I love the high tech coating for some applications. A classic rifle with a walnut stock is not one of them. If you are not familiar with the qualities of the rust blue finish, do yourself a favor and look into it before making your choice. My own Savage 99 project gun will wear a rust blue finish and will be hunted in any weather.

I had a 1970s Winchester 94 Duracoated by Lauer Custom Weaponry earlier this year, one of those where the receiver was of poor quality steel and would not hold blue. They did an outstanding job. I hunted in the 100% humidity on Sunday in East Texas and wiped the thing off with a cloth--done.

Duracoat is cheaper than Cerakoat, I think. Took Lauer about 6 weeks to finish. Best money I've spent on a gun project. I did mine in Black Oxide and had them add sheen to make it look like gun bluing. Their "Gun Blue" color is WAY too blue, I'd go w/ one of the black colors.

Good luck.

http://www.lauerweaponry.com/

If you happen on a real rough beater, you might try the John Norrell, Inc. "Moly Resin Finish". It is a home bake-on in your oven finish for about $30. I have it on a Sav 99 in .243 that my granddaughter uses. If the wood is rough or the later years (cheap looking), you might think about the ugly, black spray-on, pickup bed liner for the stocks. Walla, you have converted an ugly duckling into a sweet, nasty weather rifle for under $50. Good luck.

Gary,
Our Dyna Gun Shield is not made by CeraKote. It is our own product and I think is what you're looking for. You can apply it yourself by wipping it on with a cotton cleaning patch. It comes in satin or matte. I belive satin would work for you. You clean the metal with denatured alcohol. Then put a little of our coating on a cotton patch and rub it evenly over the bluing. You'll need 2 to 3 coats. Wait 30 min. between coats. There is enough in a kit to coat 5 or 6 long guns and if it's scatched just recoat that area. You can use the gun in 3 to 4 hours and it will continue to cure over a 5 day period. Rick sells it here on the Campfire for $24.95 plus shipping.

@ Doug-
Trying to remember our conversation a while back but didn't you say that your Bore Coat and Dyna Gun Shield both work on Stainless Steel too?

I do remember you saying the bore coat does now that I think about it but wasn't sure about the gun shield... If it does, then I have a two applications that I'll be using it on that I don't want coated but would like a little extra protection.

D2D
Yes it works on SS as well also brass and we get good adhesion on glass. Just FYI. We have new charts on both products on the website. Saly spray testing came back at 850 hours.
Doug

Doug, didn't see any pictures on the web site of a gun with the Dyna Gun Shield (is this the same as the Ultra Gun Shield on the web site?). Any pictures you could post for us?

Calhoun,
Yes same same. Sorry we don't have pics. We are going to make an application vid. in the next couple of weeks however. We are changing the website also. I'll get something on the board for you soon. The coating is as clear as water if that helps. I'll check as we were to have new pdf. up on the site for UBC and DGS.