Should I Replace A Rusty Pressure Bar?

[Arces]

I received a very beautiful, if broken, vintage button filler some time ago and started working on it last week. It needs a new sac and this I can handle, but the pressure bar is quite rough and a little rusted in some places. This is my first repair so I'm not quite sure what I can and can't do. Should I replace the bar? I can't find a right size replacement (7 cm) anywhere so I'm thinking of just using this old one. The bar is not snapped or cracked and it's still very springy.

[pajaro]

Sand it? Lightly.

[mitto]

Yes, sand it very lightly and use it.

[Arces]

Sand it? Lightly.

 

 

Yes, sand it very lightly and use it.

 

Alright, I'll try that. Thanks!

[PaulS]

after this very gentle sanding you might apply a very thin coat of silicone grease - the reasoning being that this might reduce/inhibit contact with oxygen and thus prevent recurrence of rust. Looking at some of these thing they appear almost to be made from s.s., but presumably in the 20s/30s/40s they weren't, and perhaps gassing of the sacs may have contributed to the problem.

Am sure correct size replacements are available but might need hunting down. Without seeing your bar it's not possible to be sure, but some designs - if longer than required - can be cut down - obviously making sure you cut the correct end

[ac12]

 

 

after this very gentle sanding you might apply a very thin coat of silicone grease - the reasoning being that this might reduce/inhibit contact with oxygen and thus prevent recurrence of rust. Looking at some of these thing they appear almost to be made from s.s., but presumably in the 20s/30s/40s they weren't, and perhaps gassing of the sacs may have contributed to the problem.

Am sure correct size replacements are available but might need hunting down. Without seeing your bar it's not possible to be sure, but some designs - if longer than required - can be cut down - obviously making sure you cut the correct end

 

I would NOT put grease on the pressure bar.

The inside of the pen "should be" dry anyway.

 

Just sand the pressure bar to get rid of most of the rust, and any sharp edges where it would contact the sac.

[FarmBoy]

No sand.

Yes wire brush.

[spacecoastpenny]

You can soak it in vinegar over night, rinse with baking soda water then fresh water, dry.

You should have a shinny new looking spring.

[Brianm_14]

I wonder if one of the selenium-based cold Parkerizing solutions used in gunsmithing for touch-up could be useful here in making pressure bars and such rust-resistent. These are often called "cold blues" to distinguish them from the normal hot bluing process used on entire firearms.

 

I've applied one of them over the past decades to many of my tools, and the process actually makes the steel much more resistant to rust. The best -by far, in my experience- is Oxpho-Blue sold by Brownells of Iowa and available online. (It might be sold on Amazon.). The chemical is applied with fine steel wool and actually will penetrate light rust. All uncombined chemical is then removed by rinsing in water. The resulting blue color is attractive, and nothing in the treatment would harm a pressure bar. The surface would be left smoothly polished and very rust-resistant.

 

Oxpho-Blue was developed as a cold surface treatment for steel in industrial applications, and only later marketed to gunsmiths.

[spacecoastpenny]

BrianM_14,

I like the way you think