Patina and Neglect are 2 different things.

[HFS]

Here's the difference.
If I own it, then it's rare, highly collectible and in near mint condition. No low balling, I know what I got!
But if you own it, then it's a rusted old jam-a-matic that the stock has OBVIOUSLY been refinished on (and not very well, may I add) in a caliber that nobody wants. I'm doing you a favor by offering you 25 cents on the dollar for it.

 

[mr ed]

Gun sales terminology:

"Nice" = junk
"Functions well" = less than 10% jams
"Safe handling marks" = dinged up
"Small freckles" = crap is rusted man
"Patina" = whatever bluing is left after the rust was removed

Add a term I'd never heard of "cracked" when a gun finish goes from blue to brown. Had a 95%blue artillery luger in the safe. It was fine, then one day it went brown and a collector guy said the finish had "cracked"

 

[enuf]

The difference between my junk and your junk - my junk is good junk and your junk is just junk

 

[Snattlerake]

Gun sales terminology:

"Nice" = junk
"Functions well" = less than 10% jams
"Safe handling marks" = dinged up
"Small freckles" = crap is rusted man
"Patina" = whatever bluing is left after the rust was removed

What is the term for deep rusty pits? Wallhanger?

 

[dennishoddy]

My 1890 pump .22 with hex barrel is brown with no pits. The H&R .410 single shot I bought used 60 years ago is brown with no pits.
That's what I call patina.
The patina or natural worn finish on your firearm may actually be an important part of its value. With older antique firearms, that slightly worn finish that acquires with age, use and exposure is sometimes an essential part of its collectability, history and preservation. It takes years of handling, oiling and age to develop a patina and no two are alike. A well curated patina sometimes happens by accident but most of the time is comes from years of maintenance and care. Not only can it make a firearm aesthetically appealing, but it also provides a protective coating to metal and wood that would otherwise be damaged by corrosion or weathering.

Some of the most well-preserved older firearms are those that have a fine patina, acquired through handling, use, and continual oiling. Exposure to the elements (oxygen, humidity, rain, acid rain, carbon dioxide and sulfur-bearing compounds) and chemical reactions also play a roll. Depending on the environment where a gun was used and stored, a patina may mean only a slight discoloration of finish all the way to a changing of the metal or wood surface texture.
https://www.cashmyguns.com/blog/your-guns-natural-patina-is-valuable/
The S&W .38 Special Revo I recovered after an "incident" in Korea which nobody to date can identify the correct model, has the same brown patina with major pitting to indicate it was probably lost during the 50's war and recovered later in the field.
It still shoots though after the OKC police armorer retimed the cylinder back in the 80's. Pencil marks inside the grip says 1928.

 

[xseler]

Add a term I'd never heard of "cracked" when a gun finish goes from blue to brown. Had a 95%blue artillery luger in the safe. It was fine, then one day it went brown and a collector guy said the finish had "cracked"

Maybe the brown was actually 'straw' --- which was the original color on certain parts on certain Lugers.

 

[diggler1833]

What is the term for deep rusty pits? Wallhanger?

"Used".

 

[magna19]

What is the term for deep rusty pits? Wallhanger?

Lots of Pitaina!!!!

 

[Catt57]

This is NOT "patina"

And this is NOT "Restoration". (Yes, it's the same gun after it was attacked with a wire brush..)

Spoiler, trying to "refurbish" this rifle is a future project for me in the next few months....
(It's a Savage 1903 in 22lr for those about to ask...)

 

[WoodsCraft]

These kinds of threads amuse me , mostly because most folks do not understand antiques are graded on an entirely different system than other firearms .

Still fun to read though ...