a little expert advice needed

[plowboy 45]

Looked at a herd of Winchesters today, some of them looked brand spankin new, some just looked normal to good
Now my question is what are your tricks to knowing if a gun has been refinished
For instance one 1894 looked show room new, but upon closer inspection the hammer had a perty good ring on it suggesting to me it had been shot a lot, and a medium size splinter gone at the upper tang left side, the color in that divit matced the outer wood sheen and all, bore was excellent, but you could tell it had been shot, no blueing missing anywhere, not even a dink or ding nowhere
I would say it's been refinished, perty easy guess
Now an 1886 in 40 82, shows zero sign of ever being fired, barely a sign on the hammer, maybe a dry fire or two, the bore was as shiny as any shiny I've ever seen, how does a gun keep that bran new look, I wouldn't think someone bought it with enough fore site to keep it that pristine for some collector a hundred years down the road.
Just wondering what yalls tricks are for knowing the truth about these things, there is a Cody letter on th 86


Thanks in advance
PLOWBOY

[plowboy 45]

By the way, I wouldn't in any manner think the gentleman with these Winchesters would knowingly tell a lie about his guns, but he just said he did not know one way or the other
I wouldn't insult him about his guns at any cost, but he just might not be able to see as well as myself, for I almost missed the signs on the 1894 myself

[Rusty]

One thing to look at is to see what the roll marks look like. If the lines have a soft or blury look in the printing that is usually a sign that it has been buffed to bring up good metal to re-blue.

[Pete44ru]

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As said, the devil's in the details.........................

If someone looks at many factory-original Winchesters (for one brand),over the years - it becomes easier to sort out the refinished guns.

BUT, a good refinisher can (and has) fooled "experts".



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[geobru]

For the wood, I look at the wood/metal fit. The wood should be proud to the metal. The hardest place to hide a refinish job is at the wrist and next to the butt plate. If its been sanded at all, the wood will lose that proud edge and looks rounded. The old Winchesters have that redish color, and if the gun has been used at all, that finish will show some wear. Most of the guns I have show their age and wear and its pretty easy to tell.

Depending on the age, the 40-82 you mentioned should have been case hardened, and not blued. I saw a 30-56 at a gun show that was a blued gun that was in original condition. I wish I had had the money to buy that one. Even though it had been extremely well cared for, it still showed its age. There was a patina on parts of the metal, but it was a blue, not a brown gun. If a 100 year old gun looks too good, I get suspicious pretty quick and start looking at the protected metal parts of the gun for case hardening and other signs that the metal has been messed with. If a gun has been refinished by someone who knows what they are doing, it can be difficult to tell for sure.