I posted a pic of my new Dirty Harry gun in the acquisitions thread when I got it and mentioned that it came in a wooden presentation case, but that the case needed some work.
A long story follows: (If you're not a do it yourselfer, you might not be interested)
Well, I worked on it. I wish I had before pic to go with the after. The box was in excellent shape except it was dirty and had minor scratches. I cleaned it with a furniture cleaner and put a couple coats of wax on it.
The insides were a different story. The padding in the top half of the case is foam rubber, like in a pillow or mattress and the surface was sprayed with a blue 'flocking' which is like finely shredded felt. it was nearly completely gone.
The bottom shaped insert is actually Styrofoam shaped to receive the gun and tools. It too was flocked and most of it was gone.
Whenever these get restored, they are usually covered with a material that looks like the original as the flocking is not very rugged and wears easily. I suppose a perfectionist would try and reflock, but it seems most don't go to that length. I was told that whatever I use, it should be synthetic fiber so it wouldn't hold moisture.
I was in a quandry as to what to cover the inserts with and decided to look for some felt. I went to Saftlers in Whitman and if they don't have fabric stuff, you don't need it. Well, they had felt but only in 10 inch squares. As the lady was showing me around, we passed a rack of colored bolts of fabric and it was called Arctic Fleece. It felt soft and stretchy enough to form in the cavities of the foam and was synthetic, and the color was good. I bought a yard (by 2 yds wide) for about $4, some spray adhesive and went hope happy.
In my readings, I read that the spray on adhesive had solvents that would melt styrofoam, and a small test spot on the back confirmed that it would so I painted the styrofoam with a latex enamel. A test spray of adhesive on the dry enamel showed no damage to the foam.
So I went to work. I sprayed and covered the foam rubber top - easy. Then I sprayed the surface of the styrofoam and working carefully pressed the fleece into the cutouts....it stretched beautifully and left no bunches or tight spots.
When the glue was dry, I put the original papers and registration card in storaged under the foam pieces, pressed the newly covered pieces in the case and VIOLA ! I was done.
Here's the results, with my mint gun in a newly mint case.
I'm VERY pleased with the results.
Sorry for the long dissertation, but I thought some of you might be interested in how it's done should you ever discover the need..
A long story follows: (If you're not a do it yourselfer, you might not be interested)
Well, I worked on it. I wish I had before pic to go with the after. The box was in excellent shape except it was dirty and had minor scratches. I cleaned it with a furniture cleaner and put a couple coats of wax on it.
The insides were a different story. The padding in the top half of the case is foam rubber, like in a pillow or mattress and the surface was sprayed with a blue 'flocking' which is like finely shredded felt. it was nearly completely gone.
The bottom shaped insert is actually Styrofoam shaped to receive the gun and tools. It too was flocked and most of it was gone.
Whenever these get restored, they are usually covered with a material that looks like the original as the flocking is not very rugged and wears easily. I suppose a perfectionist would try and reflock, but it seems most don't go to that length. I was told that whatever I use, it should be synthetic fiber so it wouldn't hold moisture.
I was in a quandry as to what to cover the inserts with and decided to look for some felt. I went to Saftlers in Whitman and if they don't have fabric stuff, you don't need it. Well, they had felt but only in 10 inch squares. As the lady was showing me around, we passed a rack of colored bolts of fabric and it was called Arctic Fleece. It felt soft and stretchy enough to form in the cavities of the foam and was synthetic, and the color was good. I bought a yard (by 2 yds wide) for about $4, some spray adhesive and went hope happy.
In my readings, I read that the spray on adhesive had solvents that would melt styrofoam, and a small test spot on the back confirmed that it would so I painted the styrofoam with a latex enamel. A test spray of adhesive on the dry enamel showed no damage to the foam.
So I went to work. I sprayed and covered the foam rubber top - easy. Then I sprayed the surface of the styrofoam and working carefully pressed the fleece into the cutouts....it stretched beautifully and left no bunches or tight spots.
When the glue was dry, I put the original papers and registration card in storaged under the foam pieces, pressed the newly covered pieces in the case and VIOLA ! I was done.
Here's the results, with my mint gun in a newly mint case.
I'm VERY pleased with the results.
Sorry for the long dissertation, but I thought some of you might be interested in how it's done should you ever discover the need..
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