I had a fellow collector tell me that direct sunlight would fade the colors of case hardened receivers.  Have you ever heard this before?  I have a few pieces that I keep out to enjoy looking at , and they catch some rays every sunlit day.  Should I keep them in the dark?

  The U.V. rays are the most damaging and will fade most any material they come in contact with over time.  Of course, anyone who grew up with caring parents knows that U.V. rays will burn the skin and damage the retina in the eye ball, unless protective measures are exercised to prevent same. 

I have all of my guns' exteriors or exposed colors well protected with a liberal coating of sunscreen lotion whenever they go out to play.       

Don't use baby lotion for sun screen, it doesn't have any protective feature against Ultra Violet rays, just makes the Stevens slippery.

C.M.M
.

Maybe its just that I'm old and a little faded but I like the slight fade of my first CPA. It has lost those sharp colors and has started to fade slightly onto a soft and range of colors. It shows that the rifle was a good enough shooting rifle to have been taken out and used. I look forward to us fading together.

40 Rod

Has anyone really just left a brand new cased receiver or gun in the sunlight to see it's effect? Is the subdued color a result of the sun, or just normal handling and use, or cleaning?
I've heard the stories of case colors fading in sunlight, but I've also seen guns that somehow saw almost no use in their long life, and colors were very nice. Always wondered if they were so nice from sitting in a dark closet, or from no handling and cleaning?
Somebody needs to do a test, and tell my grandkids the results!

Hey BP !!!   I ain't got that much time !!!   
My "86" Favorite has been in a hard case for over sixty yr's and it still show's some color (original)...

Like the Beatle's said. "You got to hide your love away"....   

Ed..

boats wrote on Apr 24^th, 2013 at 6:38am:


Yacht varnish used to be made with polyurethane, and this is very susceptible to UV

Aonghas

John in PA wrote on Apr 26^th, 2013 at 1:37pm:


Please do!  That's the kind of authority on the subject I'd like to hear from.

1.  I don't know about you guys but I would never hang anything but a relic on the wall, period.  My guns stay in my safe.

2.  A little attention should tell you which walls of your house don't get direct sun.  If you must hang a gun, hang it there, just like you would an art textile (Navajo rug, etc.) or a painting.

3.  For those well off enough to get those locking 'burglar proof' safes with the polycarbonate sides you can see through, (like these:  (You need to Login or Register to view media files and links)) talk to the manufacturer about getting them UV coated.  That ought to solve all the problems.

I have worked for Doug Turnbull for the past 6 years, so to say that I have seen a few cch guns would be an understatement.

I believe that UV rays can be as damaging to a finish as any normal wear from use. I also believe that the retention of finish is to some degree dependant upon the metalurgical composition of the piece in question.

I have had the opportunity to examine thousands of original firearms in varying conditions ranging from near mint to looking like a sewer pipe. In the course of a day, there are times which I have to determine the original finish on a firearm. Even those that are color case hardened are sometimes extremely difficult to tell because even the internal surfaces have faded considerably.  This is what makes me believe the metal composition has a lot to do with retention of color or finish.

If you look at any original firearm which has been either charcoal blued or rust blued you will be able to see on the better preserved examples (not a rust bucket) that UV rays will effectively fade the finish in an even manner compared to the unaffected areas which remain protected by wood, mag tubes, etc.

You will also see on some charcoal blued firearms, what appears to be finish flaking off. This also leads me to believe that the metalurgical makeup has more to do with finish condition than we may think.

Both charcoal bluing and color case hardening are finishes which are a by-product of properly applied heat. I will not go into details about the process, so please don't ask. The color achieved in CCH is a by-product of the process which again points to the metalurgical composition of the piece in question.

We do apply a protective coat of varnish or laquer to our CCH parts which help to protect them from fading, enhances the colors and maybe helps with UV rays.

I guess what this all means is we need a metallurgist with plenty of time to figure it all out for us.

I hope I have been of some help to those who were asking.

Jesse