I so enjoy doing this! I’ve done 5-6 RTI rifles now, NO where to this extent ! But I have a 1874 Gras I’m Going to start on this week. Thanks as this help a lot!
I ordered a B grade I’m excited to get it in and cleaning it up. I’m not going to refinish it though I want it to stay in as original condition as possible.
great work! I cleaned an C-Grade Enfield, and its really satisfying work to make everything shine again. Did you know that (with an insert) you can shoot .410 thru these?
BLO is great for protecting the wood and bringing out it's natural color, Tung Oil is good for giving the stock a little more gloss without creating a top coat like Tru-Oil or Shellac does. So, after a couple of BLO applications, I start to cut with tung oil to get a little more gloss
@@Surplus_Restoration the person didn’t talk about how it held up during the heat, but they were talking about how would at least prevented some of the rust from building up in areas. You don’t want it and stopping the blowing compound from getting places you wanna leave in the white.
@@saviorsloth7784 I’ll look into it, have definitely been wanting to try something to help prevent rust bluing from building up in those areas, I’ve just been sanding and polishing the inside of the receivers to remove and don’t like doing that. Appreciate the tip!
@@Surplus_Restoration I hope it helps, my great grandfather bought back a Gras w/ bayonet from WWII. My father just recently gave me the bayonet. He told me my grandfather (his dad) sold the rifle to a guy for like $20 in the 80s because “it was in some weird French caliber”. So after seeing your video I’m going to spend $200 to get one from RTI.
I am in the EU currently. I can try buying your rear sight here if they ship to Poland and I can send it to you USPS from the base. Send me the info and maybe you can help me out one day.
You can make a killing off of rear sights for gras because most of the ones in the US whether from RTI or not do not have rear sights. I bought four Gras over the past 20 years and none of them have rear sights, nor any of the ones Ive seen for sale in the US have rear sights
@@ChodaStanks Yeah so I just finished installing the berthier rear sight to it. I removed the side clamps and installed it by drill and tapping a screw through the spring hole and to the top of the barrel. Then, silver soldered it in place. It's the best alternative I could find and fits really nice! Although, i think it will shoot super high as the berthier rear sights are taller than the Gras. But, it's better than nothing I suppose and looks much better!
most of those rifles from RTI are junk and impossible to restore. The one you restore are in VGC stock with NO cracks, NO missing part little surface rust, almost NO pitting etc ..
Nah don’t think so, I’ve only had a sponsorship with them for a few months and have purchased 35+ guns from them prior and had no hitch with restoring any of them, all came out great. Have had my cracks and been able to fix, missing parts easy to replace and have had crazy amounts of surface rust but been able to remove all of it. Don’t believe me check out my Instagram, I’ve documented every resto I’ve done.
I covered that yes, I haven’t read a single piece saying it’s not allowed to be called a Gras, is there some official manual that says we’re not allowed to call it that you can direct me to?
I stumbled across RTI a few years ago and ended up buying one,,,, then a few more over the years. Doing the same in this video to them. I'll say they turned out very impressive. I can't say how they all shoot but my first one sure lays the deer down. I'm currently looking to pick up a few more but the wife says I need to get rid of the ones I got first. In regards to the wife she's now moved out so therefore I have more room. I'll be ordering some more very soon. 🇺🇸🫡🤠
I am dying to get one of these, but not in the cards right now. At this point, I would take one that went down with the Titanic. Thanks for posting!
That stock... Chef's kiss! Very nice!
Its beautiful watching you restore all those guns.
Good video
Nice work! Sometimes B grade is so hit or miss, but you asked for a miss haha. Solid restoration :)
I so enjoy doing this! I’ve done 5-6 RTI rifles now, NO where to this extent ! But I have a 1874 Gras I’m
Going to start on this week. Thanks as this help a lot!
For sure, glad to hear it!
Just broke down a gras it’s horrible! It’s going to soak in oil for a week! The metal anyway
I ordered a B grade I’m excited to get it in and cleaning it up. I’m not going to refinish it though I want it to stay in as original condition as possible.
great work! I cleaned an C-Grade Enfield, and its really satisfying work to make everything shine again. Did you know that (with an insert) you can shoot .410 thru these?
What do you do for the bores if they are bad?
Don’t forget to add the reddot for the rear sight!
How much would a resto like this cost?
I wouldn't mind trying to get into this. What would be some things I need to buy to get started
Can you do a video on cleaning one of these rifles up but not a full restoration?
That's likely some type of high heat silver solder where the rear sight was
Yeah that's what I've been told, hopefully the sight I get will just go right over it so i wont have to remove it
Boiled linseed oil vs Tung oil?
BLO is great for protecting the wood and bringing out it's natural color, Tung Oil is good for giving the stock a little more gloss without creating a top coat like Tru-Oil or Shellac does. So, after a couple of BLO applications, I start to cut with tung oil to get a little more gloss
Awesome. Makes sense ! I appreciate it greatly
I was doing some research and people recommended putting clear nail polish on the parts you don’t want hydrogen peroxide to rust
Hmmm interesting, did they say it would be immune to high temps like when I use the torch? Like as far as spreading
@@Surplus_Restoration the person didn’t talk about how it held up during the heat, but they were talking about how would at least prevented some of the rust from building up in areas. You don’t want it and stopping the blowing compound from getting places you wanna leave in the white.
@@saviorsloth7784 I’ll look into it, have definitely been wanting to try something to help prevent rust bluing from building up in those areas, I’ve just been sanding and polishing the inside of the receivers to remove and don’t like doing that. Appreciate the tip!
@@Surplus_Restoration I hope it helps, my great grandfather bought back a Gras w/ bayonet from WWII. My father just recently gave me the bayonet. He told me my grandfather (his dad) sold the rifle to a guy for like $20 in the 80s because “it was in some weird French caliber”. So after seeing your video I’m going to spend $200 to get one from RTI.
I am in the EU currently. I can try buying your rear sight here if they ship to Poland and I can send it to you USPS from the base. Send me the info and maybe you can help me out one day.
Really appreciate the offer! I actually just purchased a Berthier rear sight so we’ll see how that comes out first I guess lol
You can make a killing off of rear sights for gras because most of the ones in the US whether from RTI or not do not have rear sights. I bought four Gras over the past 20 years and none of them have rear sights, nor any of the ones Ive seen for sale in the US have rear sights
@@ChodaStanks Yeah so I just finished installing the berthier rear sight to it. I removed the side clamps and installed it by drill and tapping a screw through the spring hole and to the top of the barrel. Then, silver soldered it in place. It's the best alternative I could find and fits really nice! Although, i think it will shoot super high as the berthier rear sights are taller than the Gras. But, it's better than nothing I suppose and looks much better!
most of those rifles from RTI are junk and impossible to restore. The one you restore are in VGC stock with NO cracks, NO missing part little surface rust, almost NO pitting etc ..
Nah don’t think so, I’ve only had a sponsorship with them for a few months and have purchased 35+ guns from them prior and had no hitch with restoring any of them, all came out great. Have had my cracks and been able to fix, missing parts easy to replace and have had crazy amounts of surface rust but been able to remove all of it. Don’t believe me check out my Instagram, I’ve documented every resto I’ve done.
Its not a Gras, its a Chassepot 1866 modified by Gras in 1874. So it hasent the name Gras.
I covered that yes, I haven’t read a single piece saying it’s not allowed to be called a Gras, is there some official manual that says we’re not allowed to call it that you can direct me to?
I stumbled across RTI a few years ago and ended up buying one,,,, then a few more over the years. Doing the same in this video to them. I'll say they turned out very impressive. I can't say how they all shoot but my first one sure lays the deer down. I'm currently looking to pick up a few more but the wife says I need to get rid of the ones I got first. In regards to the wife she's now moved out so therefore I have more room. I'll be ordering some more very soon.
🇺🇸🫡🤠