Scratches??

[14indy]

Just picked up my second Henry, a Big Boy .44 (my first is a golden boy .22). I have two questions:

1st, My dealer said never to use a micro-fiber towel for wiping down. Said this will put small scratches in the brass which happened to them.

2nd, This 44 has a very small blemish or scuff on the side of the receiver close to the trigger area. Can this be buffed out, if so with what?

[Mistered]

I am needing to polish the receiver of my BBB sometime and am thinking of trying the Never-Dull wadding polish. I have used it often to polish the brass frame and parts of my 1851 Navy repro pistol and it does a great job on it with no scratching. I suspect it would work as well on our Henry's (and your small blemish) but depending on the severity of your blemish it might take a more aggressive approach but be careful- polishing is one thing but it's easy to remove too much metal - especially brass - so proceed with caution!

[PT7]

Henry recommends some cleaners for the brass on their rifles, including "Nevr-Dull." Check out bottom of page 9 in the Big Boy instruction manual. https://assets5.henryusa.com/uploads/20 ... Manual.pdf

[Mistered]

Henry recommends some cleaners for the brass on their rifles, including "Nevr-Dull."

That is good to know. I always liked Never-Dull as the impregnated liquid seems to 'bind' the fibers of the wadding together when used and creates a very fine polishing medium. AND I like the disposable aspect of it !

[clovishound]

Sorry, all I could think about was

Scratches, I'm dependin' on you, son
To pull the family through
My son, it's all left up to you.

[RanchRoper]

My 1860 is getting a few character marks on it, but not near as bad as the target board...try not to lose sleep over the blemishes. Stuff it in the scabbard and hit the trail.

[Mags]

There are at least 2 suppliers of Nevr Dull. I have used neither as I don't like the chemicals evolved.

Researching their Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS):
Eagle Nevr Dull contains: solvent naphtha (petroleum), heavy aliphatic (basically kerosine).
George Basch Nevr Dull contains an ammonia solution.

I would not use anything containing ammonia on brass. It can make brass shine up real pretty, but the shine more quickly tarnishes than leaving it alone. Ammonia solutions might also give brass a pinkish tint with repeated use. Don't use ammonia solutions on brass-lite, with repeated use the brass-lite can take on a cracked appearance and/or cause it to peal.

I personally use Renaissance Wax. Can be used on wood too. Apply and buff.

[Colt46]

I try not to worry about scratches, the bought the guns to shot, shooting guns means they are going to get bumped, bruised, and scratches. I use a cotton t-shirt to wipe then down and polish it a bit. I use a child's poster paint brush to spread some oil on the barrel and mag tube. I do try to be careful with all my guns but if I wanted a show gun I would put in a glass case.

[Mags]

When I first saw my Henry rifle in the gun store it was love at first sight. For me its a show gun I can shoot. I expect it will eventually collect its share of 'character' as a result of use, still I want the brass and wood to always look purdy and shiny as possible. Weird, I don't like shiny brass on anything else except a Henry.

[PT7]

That's the best way, Colt.

I remember the time at an indoor range when I was changing barrels (calibers) on my Bond Arms derringer, I dropped a stainless steel barrel onto the concrete floor--probably a four-foot fall, damage just missed the muzzle crown. I said ouch, and it definitely was that! Although I really like to keep my firearms sharp-looking, this barrel had acquired some character from that fall. Never fixed it, and it continued to shoot accurately.

Another character change was with my stainless steel Vaquero SA .357 magnum. It had very a very bright steel shine on it out-of-the-box. After several times shooting and cleaning, it acquired some "gray shadows" in the finish for whatever reason. Very noticeable, and the six gun looked a lot older really quickly, although still looked good. I also scratched the loading gate with a cleaning brush. It had become a "character," too.

I think the biggest lesson I've ever had about having tools that would get scratched, etc., was with the only brand new car my wife and I ever bought. She mainly drove it for work. One afternoon heading back home she got caught in two very heavy-duty hailstorms. Every upward surface was damaged, windshield cracked, bug deflector destroyed, and so on. The car was appraised just shy of being totaled. Many cars in that town got clobbered that day. After getting the insurance processing done, I had a hefty check in hand.

So I had a choice to make. Spend the $$ to repair the car, or pay the loan off. It was a tough choice then because I liked my car to look sharp, too. Well, I kept the car with all the hail damage intact other than fixing the front window. It was a silver color, and all the golf-ball size hail marks eventually "faded" over the years. We decided to rename the car "Dimples" and drove it totally debt-free for eleven years. Cool. That lesson has stuck with me, and scratches, bumps & thumps are not quite as bad anymore.

I'm sure there will be more "history from good use" recorded on my two Henry Carbines in the days ahead. Forward, and c'est la vie!

I try not to worry about scratches, the bought the guns to shot, shooting guns means they are going to get bumped, bruised, and scratches. I use a cotton t-shirt to wipe then down and polish it a bit. I use a child's poster paint brush to spread some oil on the barrel and mag tube. I do try to be careful with all my guns but if I wanted a show gun I would put in a glass case.