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Joined: 08 May 2018 Posts: 255

I have a Parker Trojan that I got cheap and was wanting to fix it up the case colors are gone,wood is in good shape,barrels in one area starting to turn brown.would cerakoting the barrels a dull black be a bad idea?

Member Joined: 08 Nov 2005 Posts: 3487 Location: Illinois

Talk about opening a can of worms------I would in a heartbeat.

Member Joined: 27 Jun 2012 Posts: 1168

Years ago I found a 1939 AH Fox Special 30" barreled 16 ga with the Kautsky single trigger and more modern stock dimensions and bought it so as to have a vintage 16 ga SXS, The old gal was mechanically sound, but had honest wear and finish loss indicative of a gun with a hunting history. I debated refinishing the gun, but after messaging SKEETEX about the gun, he convinced me that leaving the gun as it was would be the best way to honor it's hunting history. She sets in my safe today in the original condition I found her in but takes her turn in the bird fields just like my modern guns.

Joined: 08 May 2018 Posts: 255

I will leave as is and after handling a Philly fox sterlingworth at a gun store yesterday I will be looking for a 16ga.The Trojan is a 20ga 0 frame with 26” barrels and tight on hinge and face butt will send it off to Skeets in OK. to have the left barrel choke opened up a little,will make a good for quail.Thanks.

Gentlemen,

I would leave the gun as is and use it.

all the best,

Pine Creek/Dave
L.C. Smith/WR Man

Joined: 09 Dec 2012 Posts: 845

here's a nice read

https://sportingclassicsdaily.com/a-collectors-guide-to-parker-shotguns/

if you have to have something done and have the wherewithal, why not have it restored ?

get a quote from Doug Turnbull. he might be too much but there is no one that does nicer color case hardening

https://www.turnbullrestoration.com/

he has a couple examples in his restoration gallery of Parkers

https://www.turnbullrestoration.com/product-category/restoration-gallery/

here are a couple direct links to Parkers that he did, good examples of what his shop can do

https://www.turnbullrestoration.com/gun/restored-parker-dhe-10-gauge-shotgun-sold/

https://www.turnbullrestoration.com/gun/restored-parker-dhe-12-gauge-log-33153/

Joined: 03 Sep 2014 Posts: 408 Location: Rochester, MN

I have a number of old shotguns.

One is a Hercules Model 50 which is simply a Stevens 5100 in 16 gauge. I purchased it about 15 years ago, at a garage sale for $100. It is in a condition much like the op describes his Parker Trojan. The case hardening on the receiver is gone and some of the bluing is white or brown. I did install a Pachmayr recoil pad, adjusting the LOP to fit me, I opened the chokes to improved cylinder and modified for use with steel shot, but otherwise have done nothing to the finish.

I also have a 1933 Winchester Model 12 that I inherited about 25 years ago when my grandfather died. My grandfather kept it in his barn to shoot raccoons and skunks. It was a wreck when I got it. When I first got it, I could not afford the cost of having it reblued/refinished. I did open the choke from full to light modified for use with steel shot. I have shot many pheasants, ducks, and Canada geese with that gun.

Last winter, I replaced the old stocks with modern dimensions stocks, had it cerakoted. In my personal opinion, it looks great and is one of my favorite shotguns. Some people, online of course, have given me crap for having a vintage Winchester Model 12 cerakoted. I politely point out that the gun belongs to me, not them.

I use both of these guns a great deal for both hunting and clay targets. It is your gun, it doesn't belong to anyone else. Seek advice like you are doing and make an informed decision that works for you

John is right , case hardening was never intended nor done for esthetics.

The intent of a case was to provide a useable outer hardened surface while retaining a softer stable core of the part in question .

I like looking at case patterns but I always blue a case hardening job afterwards for the simple care and maintenance aspects.

If one has an excess of funds and nothing else to spend it on !

Clean up the ole gun and use it hard , the greatest tribute to the old gun makers is a worn out gun .

Make it hit where your looking and use it all you can , time is running out.

Regards Nick

Joined: 08 May 2018 Posts: 255

Thanks for the great read.To restore the gun is not a option cause I really like the way the action has taken on a satin coin finish look and thought the black cerakote would look great and offer more protection than blueing the barrels.

Member Joined: 06 Oct 2007 Posts: 2511 Location: West MI

Your sandbox your rules, enjoy it as you see fit.

Joined: 09 Dec 2012 Posts: 845

Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 506 Location: WI

There's something to be said about leaving a gun original, with the generations of wear and carry worn into the finish. It speaks of time and memory, of old stories lost and new ones made.

But then again, sometimes a full restoration means something different.

Many years ago (33, to be exact) I took my grandfathers .22 apart and brought the metal to a gunsmith for re-bluing, and to repair the breech where too many accidental dry fires had caused the empty casings to hang up and get stuck in the chamber.

It's an O.F. Mossberg & Sons Model B. A single shot, bolt action rifle with the spring plunger firing pin mechanism. It has a hair trigger created not by polish and tuning, but by shooting thousands of rounds. It is still incredibly accurate.

The gunsmith said it would cost $120 to re-blue all the metal and fix the breech, but he said he was going to refuse the work, because he said he could not in good conscience charge me for $120 for work on a gun that at best was worth maybe $80 or so.

I explained that my grandfather had given me that gun. It probably cost him $6 or $8 when he bought it, so I knew it was not an expensive gun. My grandfather taught my brother to shoot with it, and then taught me when I was old enough. And then he gave it to me, "It's for you, but share it with your brother."

To the gunsmith, it was a waste of money to restore an old, cheap gun such as mine. I thanked him for his honesty, and said, "To you, it's an $80 gun. To me, it's priceless. I'm going to restore this gun no matter what it costs because the money is not where the value lies for me. I've heard you do amazing work, and I'd love for you to be the one to restore this. But if you don't want to do it because you think the work will cost more than the gun is worth, I understand, and I'll find someone else."

The smith took the gun metal, did a fantastic job on the refinishing, and I refinished the stock myself. My late wife and I never had kids, so one day when I'm gone, it will just be another old $80 gun. But for now, it's still priceless, and its value is beyond measure.

So - you do what you want, the value lies where you see it.

I did a Cerakote job on my 11-48 for SoDak . It was hot on a lot of trips , and I sweated like a road worker ... I used to have pictures of that gun , but they've been deleted . THE PINK PANTHER . What the C-kote did was make a sweat proof ctg - no metal finish problems after a 5mi walk !

Joined: 08 May 2018 Posts: 255

drcook,you gave me some ideas,matte black cerakote on the barrels glass bead the action and have Mark Larson do his magic on the stock……