I have an Ideal grade LC Smith 12ga that has some serious pitting on both barrels. I would like to fill the deep pits before draw filing the barrels. Any suggestions? All will be welcome.

I have used a TIG welder to fill pits. You have to use a very low carbon mild steel rod. Even soft iron wire will work. You cut a very small piece of rod that fills the pit and is just a little higher than the barrel. Place the piece of rod into the pit. You weld by moving the tungsten around in a circle. Just heat it enough to melt the rod and for it to bind to the barrel. It does not take a lot of heat. You need someone who knows what he is doing so there are no holes burnt into the barrel. This method works very well for filling holes drilled into an action or barrel. I must say that I have not done it on a shotgun barrel but I think it is doable. An alternative would be to fill the pits with glass, sand smooth and paint the barrel or have it Teflon coated.

Frank

Mr Whiton pretty well summed it up. If you plan on reblueing then some type of metal filling will have to be done. Even when done it's possible that your new metal will not blue out the same as the original barrel steel. Draw filing a single barrel gun is pretty easy, draw filing a double shotgun can be a real challenge.

If you just want this as a shooter and can use one of the metal fillers available from Brownell's for instance you can use several spray on finishes also from them to cover the filled metal.

Thankyou gents. I had wondered about the blueing issue. My plan was to rust blue and only the area of the repair until matched. The draw filing will be difficult as the damage is on the top, down to the rib. I would not want to paint on a finish, preferring restoration over simple repair. It's serviceable as is.

I bought the gun as is but its a shame someone would let something like this happen to a gun as noble as an Ideal LC Smith! I hoped to put it back in good shape.

I would think about stripping all the blue off the barrels with a bluing remover where you didn't have to draw file. You will probably get a better overall finish by reblueing the whole barrel assembly. The rust blueing sounds like a good idea.

I ran a small gunsmith business for 27 years and have to agree about folks caring about guns. I've seen some real messes come into the shop. Sometimes it just breaks your heart to have to tell someone that his gun is just ruined. Good luck with your project and let us know how it works out.

I agree with Bob, don't try to spot blue the barrels. Strip and blue the complete barells.

Frank

Do a Google search for Simmons in Ks City, Ks - they are known for shotgun repair and restoration.

kdub, I've looked into pro restoration and it would cost a bunch. I could buy a good Ideal grade for less. This will have to be personal project or I'll have a gun sale.
I think you are probably right Bob about doing a whole barrel job. At present I'm trying to figure out how to get a file between barrel and rib, tight little spot.

I would look into water blasting this is the same technique used to sand blast aluminum not a real rough finish and you have to be ready to hot air dry as soon as possible. Depending on the depth of the pits, I have done a double with sand blasting because of a lot of small pits after cold blue it turns out as a matte finish. The water blasting would have a little more luster as it is not as abrasive.
It does however hide a multitude of sins call it camo if you like.

If it was anything other than a double I would water blast, copper plate three to four coats, buff, then black chrome it.

To get down in the rib area, cut a wedge shaped piece of wood and wrap abrasive paper around it. You will have to clean up by hand as this will wipe the soft solder on the rib and barrel. Anywhere it is on the steel will not blue. If you cut a hockey puck into 2 semi-circles you will have a couple of very handy sanding blocks.

Go easy on the draw filing. Those old barrels are not very thick, and this gun may have been draw filed in the past.

You will have to have it rust blued as the barrels/ribs are soft soldered together, and caustic blueing salts will eat that up.