Anyone ever restore or preserve old gun boxes

[Romeo_alpha01]

[anonymouscuban]

I have no advice but would love to see them. Can you post some pics?

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[Romeo_alpha01]

I have no advice but would love to see them. Can you post some pics?

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I can snap photos when I get home from work and update the post with attachments.

[SDDAVE56]

Someone who restores art, or books maybe?

[Svashtar]

[Romeo_alpha01]

If the old cases are wood I can give some tips, but if they’re paper no. (I’m unclear of the composition of the Beretta case. If it’s wood, does it have a logo or artwork on it? And if so, how is it applied? Is the wood colored or stained?)

I have several old Ruger cardboard boxes for Old Model SA revolvers, and some S&W revolver boxes from the ‘50’s, and there’s not much you can do if the cardboard or paper coverings are damaged or degraded.

The original Walther P88 box is primarily cardboard. The factory gave the box a faux wood grain appearance. I'm not opposed to recreating this box using wood, just not sure what type of wood Walther was trying to recreate. I think it would be a fun project.



The Beretta 92 case looks like this. It houses my target kit (7.25" barrel and wood grips. My case is exactly the same, just has more scratches from being in and out of the safe. The Beretta logo looks either heat transferred or something, but I can't tell. The material is plastic.

[Svashtar]

[Romeo_alpha01]

[Romeo_alpha01]

A beautiful pistol!

For the wood, there are a dozen you could use and match the finish well using stain. Believe it or not, a flooring supply store could probably match it with planks, and then you wouldn’t have to mess with a thickness planer.


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At the flooring store right now. I may have to resort to thinner and wider wood planks. Those who are familiar with types of wood? What wood closely resembles this Walther box? Cherry wood? Oak maybe? Can’t tell, im no expert. I’m also considering wood veneer and maybe silver foil for the lettering. Thanks!

[Fishslayer]

There's a guy on S&W Forum who restores the presentation boxes. He might have some tips.

Just me, but the exterior having a bit of "character" wouldn't bother me a bit if the interior was still good.

Any sort of flocking on the interior can be bad juju on blued guns. My blued guns live in silicon treated socks.

[still919]

I would strongly recommend leaving them as is. Reproduce?...that sounds like a fun project. But, restore?....ehh...I think the value is in the original as is condition, regardless of the present condition.

That's just how I look at it as a buyer. And, the original boxes/cases are significant to me.

[Romeo_alpha01]

There's a guy on S&W Forum who restores the presentation boxes. He might have some tips.

Just me, but the exterior having a bit of "character" wouldn't bother me a bit if the interior was still good.

Any sort of flocking on the interior can be bad juju on blued guns. My blued guns live in silicon treated socks.

I’ll have to look there. Thanks for the heads up!

The exterior on the Walther box is naturally there from old age, but the partition inside the box is torn in three pieces (I’m guessing from the weight of the pistol bouncing against it during handling). The beretta case is perfect inside, but definitely could use some love on the outside as it seems someone just slid the case around with aggression. I wondered if there was a way to buff the scratches out, maybe even protect the finish a bit.

Each case I have has a bunch of silicone desiccant that I rejuvenate and rotate every other week, along with a regular lubing at least every other month if it’s not being shot.