I’m not a fan of refinished or “restored” guns. I say “restored” because old shotguns and rifles can never really be restored to their original finish — regardless of what gunsmiths or gun dealers may say. Original finish is like your virginity, when it’s gone, it’s gone.

But can’t you make old shotgun look new again? Rarely. Most of the time they just look refinished.

The Brits love to re-black, re-checker, and re-finish old doubles, so much so that I swear original finishes piss them off. So I was surprised when I saw this post on Simon Clode’s blog The Explora.

Simon Clode runs Westley Richards, and he’s a Brit through and through. Under his guidance, Westley has established itself as one of the world’s most successful gunmakers. After reading this post, I wonder if some of this success comes from Mr Clode having a different attitudes towards just how things should be done.

Losing the Patina. Refinish or Not?

“I feel a good ‘follow on’ to the excellent post about patina, is a message about restoring guns and deciding if they are not ‘better off left alone” thus retaining their Patina.

I have always been very much against refurbishing guns for the sake of it. It actually takes a great deal of skill to work the finish of a gun and most of the guns I see at gun shows have suffered more financially as a result of a bad refinish, than if they had just been left alone…”

Visit The Explora now to read the entire piece