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AYA Yeoman Barrel Re-Blue/Black


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Hi All! 

I've recently joined the forum, I thought I'd share with you all my Barrel re-blacking project. I bought my AYA yeoman last year from a local dealer in Somerset, I picked it up for a bargain price. As you're all aware Yeomans are great workhorses, they're an ideal introductory gun into the world of SxS's or the ideal companion for a days rough shooting.

My Yeoman was manufactured in 1978, it's choked 1/4 & 1/2 and features 28" barrels, the original case hardening was still present and in very good condition. 

The only defect present on my Yeoman when I bought it was a very slight blemish towards the tips of the barrels. There was no depth/missing material, it was purely a case of someone had bodged a Blue'ing touch up sometime during the guns life, mostly likely a cabinet scratch or something like that! There are some very skilled gunsmiths out there that'll professionally 'hot blue' your barrels for around £100. But as my yeoman cost around that to buy, it was an un-economical option. 

Below is a list of items that I used for the re-bluing process:

  • Birchwood Casey Blue and Rust remover
  • Birchwood Casey Super Blue
  • 000 Wire Wool
  • Green scotch-brite
  • Some of the wifey's cotton wool pads 
  • Degreaser (I used dish soap & hot water)
  • Acetone (pre-bluing prep)
  • Soldering Torch (you could use an electric heat gun). 

A very brief overview of my method is:

  1. I Removed the Barrels & Barrel ejector.
  2. I De-greased the barrels with dish soap and hot water to remove any oil/grease. 
  3. I applied Birchwood Casey blue and rust remover. (This stuff stinks, use it outdoors) for the intricate areas I used a very small paintbrush to get in and agitate the finish. 
  4. Once the blue rust remover had been allowed to dwell for a little while, using green scotch write and hot soapy water I scrubbed the barrels to remove the old Blue. 
  5. (the above step was repeated several times) 
  6. Once the blue was removed, I polished the barrels with 000 wire wool. My barrels were in great condition, if deep scratches/defects are present, this is the time to blend them out. 
  7. Using a heat gun/propane torch, I heated the barrels evenly to remove any oil from the pours of the steel. The oil will come to the surface of the steel and leave a golden brown speckled hue. If you have a big enough oven, you could use an oven on a gentle heat (120 degrees) to achieve the same thing. 
  8. I Degreased the barrels with acetone and repeated this and the above step until the barrels are surgically clean. (AYA barrel ribs are silver soldered, so with gentle heat and common sense there is no risk of damaging the barrels).
  9. Once the barrels were ultra clean, I applied Birchwood Casey Super Blue using cotton pads or a small sponge. 
  10. I Let this dwell for no more than a minute, I Rinsed the finish in cold water and very gently buffed the finish with 000 wire wool. 
  11. I repeated this bluing process about 5 times, belt and braces. I was left with a uniform deep black finish. I used approximately 2/3's of the bottle which left some blue for future touch ups. 
  12. Over the course of the week I applied a liberal coat of gun oil to the barrels on a daily basis. This sealed the finish and prevented rust forming. 

Take a look at my results. 

Thanks for Viewing! Happy to answer any questions that you may have. I'd highly recommend Birchwood Casey 'Super Blue' over their 'Perma blue' It's a double strength formula and left a really nice deep finish. The finish initially looked Jet black as you can see from the photo's, however over the course of the week, with oiling and rubbing the finish became more subtle and ended up settling at a traditional dark blue/grey colour. In direct sunlight, the barrels have a bluish hue which is quite attractive. 

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Edited by CountryBoyTweed
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Cracking job done there,looks fantastic!,wish i'd seen information like this many years ago when i attempted to re-blue an old single shot bolt action 410 BSA i'd acquired,i tried using Perma Blue & i soon realised that home bluing was best left to those with a higher level of skill,a disaster!

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What a well written and descriptive write up, with a brilliant outcome to that set of barrels.

Well done and many thanks for posting.

Oh and welcome to the forum. More posts from you please.

OB

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Lovely job. Im trying to get time to do my own yeomans barrels with the phillips professional blue. Only thing i would say is check how tight the barrels are to the face, one of the signs a gun is getting loose is your top lever going to the left of centre.

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On 19/06/2020 at 17:11, Rob85 said:

Lovely job. Im trying to get time to do my own yeomans barrels with the phillips professional blue. Only thing i would say is check how tight the barrels are to the face, one of the signs a gun is getting loose is your top lever going to the left of centre.

Thanks Rob! You're quite right, the action & fore end are in need of tightening. I'm planning a trip to my local smith to get a quote for some work :D I think the little yeoman deserves a little TLC despite not being a high end shotgun. I recently attended a simulated game day, the Yeoman shot nicely 300+ cartridges later, fantastic little workhorse. 

Edited by CountryBoyTweed
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13 hours ago, CountryBoyTweed said:

Thanks Rob! You're quite right, the action & fore end are in need of tightening. I'm planning a trip to my local smith to get a quote for some work  I think the little yeoman deserves a little TLC despite not being a high end shotgun. I recently attended a simulated game day, the Yeoman shot nicely 300+ cartridges later, fantastic little workhorse. 

I wholeheartedly agree, not a high end gun but they can hold their own on any game shoot and still look more elegant than most modern sporters. Have to say yours looks gorgeous....mines a 1966 one and hasn't a stitch of colour hardening left on it. Judging by a few of the scratches I get the feeling someone tried to polish it off

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10 hours ago, Rob85 said:

I wholeheartedly agree, not a high end gun but they can hold their own on any game shoot and still look more elegant than most modern sporters. Have to say yours looks gorgeous....mines a 1966 one and hasn't a stitch of colour hardening left on it. Judging by a few of the scratches I get the feeling someone tried to polish it off

Mines '78. I bought it specifically because the case hardening was almost 100% intact, the woodwork is pretty good for a yeoman as well. The other minor let down is an aftermarket recoil pad, it looks quite old it was possibly installed shortly after it was purchased. I'd like to find an original AYA yeoman butt plate to re-fit! Maybe I should put a wanted ad on the forum 🤔

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