Regarding Freckling~
 

Joe Salter has a pretty 1920 luger carbine for sale~ https://www.joesalter.com/category/p...ine-Model-1920 He mentions "Freckling" and at a particular place on the gun.What is it? What causes it? Can it be prevented or removed? Who much do it affect the overall value? Eric Thank You!!

He mentions it is 'a few tiny spots' in the grooves of the rifling. IMO it would not detract from the carbine in any way. I'm pretty sure I would not even notice it, or care if I did. :)

"Freckling" is a dealer's euphemism for rust.
Norm

Luger acne!!

More like rash.

Freckling- usually used to describe spots in finish that look like "negative" freckles = missing finish
may be caused by rust or a fine spray of strong acid or base; rust

Frosting- usually used to describe a topping on a cake or cupcake; in describing a luger bore a
euphemism for rust; rust

JMHO, ;)

What is the primary cause!!!Ammo or lack of care? I often see it noticed on the end of the barrel! Is that where it appears or where its most noticed?

Heres how another forum deals with it!! http://www.coltforum.com/forums/colt...-clean-up.html

Another~https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J41c-uWChmM

The whole idea behind using mild abrasives like 0000 steel wool is that browish/reddish rust is much softer than a blued surface. I have verified under a microscope that rust on Lugers is in fact quite soft - almost like a powder loosely attached to the surface, and that blue has far higher resistance to mild abrasion.

The trick is to use light pressure and lubricant with whatever abrasive you select, so that there is not enough pressure to damage the original blue. As Eric's video above shows, different abrasives are available. Cloth, polishing compound and 0000 steel wool are all types of abrasives from mild to more aggressive.

As rust progresses pits form and begin increasing in depth. IMO the difference between freckling and pitting is simply depth. As pits progress in depth, steel wool and similar simply cannot get to the bottom of the depression to remove the loose rust.

Poor storage, lack of care, neglect, not enough oil, etc., etc.,:eek:

Norme you nailed it;, these euphemisms are funny though, like just recently here somebody called it: "nice age patina" ... unfortunately on guns rust never sleeps :nono:

It is interesting that the finish on early Lugers is/was rust bluing.
https://members.rennlist.com/lugerman/RustBluing1.JPG

I have often wondered that if you encountered a gun with patches of light powdery red rust and not significantly pitted, if you de-greased it and boiled the part to change the oxide, once it was carded would it turn out reasonably good looking? Food for thought maybe.
Ron

The Difference Between Original Blue And Reblued~

Were Luger cleaner kits issued to German troops like the Swiss?

Ted without searching somewhere, whats the difference with rust bluing as opposed to?

Salt Blueing. Salt blueing is a hot, chemical process, as opposed to controlled oxidation. I suspect that your second Erfurt has been Salt Blued, Eric. That's why it looks shinier and darker than your original. A quality rust blueing would have made the second pistol look much more like your original, albeit darker, given a finish with no age wear.

I believe alanint is spot on. I too looked at that barrel and thought salt blued. The interior of both should be in the white steel, like one of them displays. A lot of times if it is a "bubba blue" , the edges would be rounded too much and the safety not painted in. When you look at the flat surfaces, they wont look "flat" but wavy reflecting light. A bubba blue is easy to spot, yours looks better than that, but a reblue for certain. Also, they should have a rainbow or step strawing/fire blue color on the top of the hold open, not the spring that should be white.

Thank You My Friend~

This is pretty good from a while back:
http://forum.lugerforum.com/showthre...old+open+color

Also the hold open should display this color (not broken of course)https://members.rennlist.com/lugerma...nHoldopen4.jpg

How do they avoid some areas plain and other blued? It seems like a time consuming process~

It is a time consuming process. The rust blue solution is hand swabbed onto the gun avoiding the bright polished inside, whereas the hot salt blue process involves dipping the entire piece into the bluing solution thus everything gets blued. Moreover, the rust blue process requires repeated application of the bluing solution, with boiling and carding of the surface between each application of the solution, until the desired darkness of color is obtained. The hot salt blue process requires only a one time dip so it is many times faster (but not nearly as attractive to my eye).
Ron

Imagine doing that a almost million times over and over!!

One thing about rust blue solutions is, there are a ton of recipes out there. I always heard that the German version of rust blue was not written down, but who knows, the color of rust blue varies like the colors of the rainbow...........everyone has a favorite hue.

Another is that the home guy can do it, whereas the hot blue takes a lot of setup and dollars, and disposal of used product. In rust blue, one will soon learn about a fine stainless carding wheel.

Most rust blue solutions demand cleaniness, any dot of human oil, and there is a spot in the blue. Some of the more recent solutions have a detergent in the solution, hence no need for white gloves etc. Of course, desired results as to color etc, may guide you to a specific solution to use.

I was always amazed at the areas on the early Lugers left in the white. Solution for rust bluing is put on so sparingly, that it is easy to control; but on the other hand it can be removed mechanically or chemically as well. Some guys plug the bore, some do not. Guess it boils down to how your were taught and the results thereof.

Rust blue guys can talk hours on end about technique within their own inner circles. Some dilute the solution for a finer grain attempt, some polish to high polish, some to less than 400 grit. Sweat boxes even come into the talk.

Maybe the choice between rust blue and hot blue is somewhat in tenure, I can do a form of rust blue myself and take some pride in being able to do it myself; but if I had to do thousands of such, hot blue is the ticket or stainless.

Done properly, rust blue is the cats.

What is the safest way to got rid of old little bumples. Or leave it alone~

Thor, the more apropos term for "broken" would be "bifurcated". Yep, that part was bifurcated. Another approach would be to say, "The hold open experienced profound usage bifuraction". :roflmao:

Leave it alone!!!!
Get that steel wool away from that pretty luger- you can't improve it.

Oil it and , leave it alone.

Did I say leave it alone?:evilgrin:

Looks to me like it broke.:eek:

A good "fitty-cent" word, Eugene, but I think "bisected" is better. The "furcation" part means forked, but not necessarily separated. I remember this from Dead Ringers, the movie in which Jeremy Irons played twin brothers who were freaky/insane OB/GYN physicians. They were discussing a patient whose uterus had three cervixes--a "tri-furcate."

Personally, I like "busticated"! :thumbsup:

Dave, that term works for me. That hold open part should offically be adjudicated to be busticated ...and feckled. :cheers:

Freckles, Alfred E. Newman~