• Hey All! Lately there has been more and more scammers on the forum board. They register and replies to members requests for guns and/or parts or other things. The reply contains a gmail or hotmail address or similar ”anonymous” email addresses which they want you to reply to. DO NOT ANSWER ANY STRANGE MESSAGES! They often state something like this: ”Hello! Saw your post about purchasing a stock for a Safari. KnuckleheadBob has one. Email him at: [email protected]” If you receive any strange messages: Check the status of whoever message you. If they have no posts and signed up the same day or very recently, stay away. Same goes for other members they might refer to. Check them too and if they are long standing members, PM them and ask if the message is legit. Most likely it’s not. Then use the report function in each message or post so I can kick them out! Beware of anything that might seem fishy! And again, for all of you who registered your personal name as username, please contact me so I can change it to a more anonymous username. You’d be surprised of how much one can find out about a person from just a username on a forum such ad our! All the best! And be safe! Jim

Ring Marks on Scopes

Sako Collectors Club Discussion Forum

icebear

Sako-addicted
Here's something that may help with unsightly ring marks on used scopes.

I recently bought a Zeiss 3-9x Diavari-C from an eBay auction. The seller disclosed the ring marks and provided pictures, but the ring marks looked worse in person than in the pictures, so I decided to see what I could do to improve the appearance. The scope tube has a low-gloss finish, neither glossy nor matte. First I took a Birchwood Casey gloss black paint pen and painted all the ring marks, with a margin around them. Then I let the paint dry overnight. The painted areas stood out, of course, so the next day I rubbed them with fine bronze wool until the paint was blended and the excess paint was gone. It's important to use bronze wool rather than steel wool - bronze wool is soft and won't mar the finish. I got mine at Ace Hardware, in the paint department. Finally I polished the entire scope tube with automotive polishing compound. Polishing compound is lighter and less abrasive than rubbing compound. When I finished, the ring marks were still there but you had to look for them - the appearance of the scope was very much improved, and with a relatively small amount of time invested.

The Zeiss is now mounted on my L461 carbine, replacing a Burris Compact. I checked the zero with a laser - it looked pretty good so the next step is to the range for final sighting-in.
 
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Hi Ice

Good info. I just wish that you had taken pics as the process went along. I think we all could benefit from seeing what you did. No doubt you have another scope that you could use to repeat and document the process. If not I have a bunch of scopes like this and would be willing to give it a try time permitting.

rick
 
It didn't occur to me until I was almost finished that I might post the information online, so I didn't bother to take pictures. If I can grab one of the original eBay photos for a before picture, I will take a picture of the mounted scope and post both.
 
OK, here are before and after pictures. Not very useful as it's hard to photograph something that's black and round and get any detail in it. The first picture I snagged off eBay; the second is the best I could do with a small digital camera without dragging out the D750 and a bunch of soft lighting equipment. The photos don't really show much, but there is a visible difference between the scope as it was and how it looks now. You can click on the photos to enlarge them for better detail.

Zeiss Ring Marks 1.jpg

Zeiss After 2.JPG
 
OK, here are before and after pictures. Not very useful as it's hard to photograph something that's black and round and get any detail in it. The first picture I snagged off eBay; the second is the best I could do with a small digital camera without dragging out the D750 and a bunch of soft lighting equipment. The photos don't really show much, but there is a visible difference between the scope as it was and how it looks now. You can click on the photos to enlarge them for better detail.

View attachment 16609

View attachment 16610
Nice work for sure. Definitely a noticeable improvement.
 
Many thanks for taking the time to post the pics. I didn't know that the touch up pens even existed. I'm going to order several off of Ebay and given them a try.

rick
 
Hi Folks

I'm seeing some pretty disturbing reviews on the touch up pens. Anyone care to chime in and give an educated review of the product before I dive in.

rick
 
Many thanks for taking the time to post the pics. I didn't know that the touch up pens even existed. I'm going to order several off of Ebay and given them a try.

rick
You might also consider a lacquer stick. They are used for filling in lettering or engraving on guns, among many other uses. I don't happen to have a black one, but I've found the white, silver, and gold ones to be useful from time to time.

And on the subject of touch-up pens, Birchwood Casey also has one that dispenses cold blue. Handy for little spots.

And one final comment - going over the tube on the Zeiss with the polishing compound made a definite difference in the overall appearance of the scope. I'll be doing that again with old, visibly worn scopes.
 
Hi Folks

I'm seeing some pretty disturbing reviews on the touch up pens. Anyone care to chime in and give an educated review of the product before I dive in.

rick
What is being said? The touch-up pen has always worked for me, within its parameters. It's basically a felt-tip marker that dispenses paint. The tip is spring-loaded to seal the reservoir so it doesn't dry out. I've had the one I used on the scope for a whole bunch of years and it still works. You have to know how to use the thing - you can't just apply paint; you have to blend it into the existing finish . That's why I did the additional steps with the bronze wool and polishing compound. Like anything involving paint, a certain amount of skill and thought are required. I'm curious as to what the negatives are.

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention. Before applying the paint, I cleaned up the entire scope tube with denatured alcohol. Paint requires a clean surface.
 
Have tried both the gloss and Matte Birchwood pens myself a few times. I’ve had greater success with matte for obvious reasons. As you’ve stated Icebear, application of light acetone or denatured alcohol gives the best hope for the paint adhering. even though products like this don’t typically last on aluminum or other alloys. Also, shaking the pen thoroughly mixes the product.

I dab with the tip, rather than trying to “paint”, then I carefully wipe all the excess quickly except obviously where the marks are. Then I use bronze wool the next day. Then repeat the process until the improvement is acceptable.

It’s never perfect but it can make for great improvement. Also, sometimes you get lucky when you remount the scope and parts of the imperfections are concealed by the rings, simply by chance.

I like your idea of the polishing compound as a final step. I’ll try this for sure the next time around.
 
A handy tip, a nice piece of glass well matched to the rifle, and a stunning stock - this post is just good all round!

Marcus
Thanks for the comment. I try to be helpful. And since you mentioned the stock, here's the whole Sako. This is one of the best pieces of factory wood I've ever seen on a Sako. This photo was taken when I got the rifle, before I cleaned and waxed the stock and mounted a scope. The pattern on the buttstock reminds me of an octopus . Or maybe the Shadows from Babylon-5.

Carbine 1.JPG Carbine 2.JPG
 
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