DIY re-finish my 12 ga 870 wingmaster? I know it's my gun and I can do what I want, but i was looking up some different things online about re-finishing guns at home (cold bluing, spray paint, duracoat) and for some reason, I've seen many posts saying "oh man I'd never do that to a wingmaster!"

I wouldn't unless rusting and or pitting. I have a half dozen old wing masters and model 12s in various states of blue loss but no real damage. But, your gun, do what u want

Maybe a regular ole 870 , wing master I would be hesitant to unless like above said has rust or some type of damage

Lot of guys out there hold a wood and blue Wingmaster in high regard...

Whats the reason why though, just because?

There are parts that have some rust, but not bad. The bluing is completely worn off in parts, just figured i could make it look better. I re-finished an old mosin i had with some of that engine block paint junk and it turned out pretty sweet.

Edit: Saw AC's post. Gotcha.

If youre going to refinish it give Cerakote a try.
They have an air dry or oven bake coating and both are very tough, very durable

I tried to reblue my 16g Wingmaster and made a mess of it. Several years later I carried it to a gunsmith in Tn. and it looks awesome.

Jonos looks like hammered hell. Id get one of cold blue kits from academy and have at it

There are some pretty decent cold blues available, but the trick is DEGREASE DEGREASE DEGREASE. The Dicropan T4 from Brownell's is amazing.

Having said all that, if you plan to use it and not look at it, I'd go the Cerakote route too. The graphite black looks really good against wood furniture.

Oh, I forgot to mention, when using cold blue, DEGREASE all parts before you begin and between each coat

Another thought on the Dicropan T4 is to warm the receiver just before bluing and it'll absorb the solution better and give a better finish

I don't know if I would call engine paint on a firearm "re-finishing."

Well, it was a finish on the gun! LOL


I ordered some Aluma-Hyde II from Brownells and finished the main parts of the gun. Still have some of the small pieces, and got a new stock coming in. Over all it cost me about 60 bucks.

You should try spray on bed liner stuff from dupli color...I traded into a savage 22 that had been sprayed with that stuff. When I first heard about it about it, I wasn't expecting much...It turned out pretty good though. Had another guy see it and want me to do the same thing to a savage 110 ... stock and all!!!

Dang, I may need to give you your money back! That looks good.

Only reason I can think of is the possibility of damaging the forearm slide.




God Bless,
David B.

well, ya got me with that one! LOL

I thought so too! Not that it looked bad when you sold it to me...but I used it up a good bit since then...decided to give it a little bit of a face lift. Thanks again for getting my gun collection started

post a pic before and after...

Looks good!

DIdn't think to take a before pic, but I'll see if I can find an old one. I'll post a completed pic once the stock comes in and all that.