Rossi Rifleman

The upper buttplate screw on my new 92 SS is boogered a bit. I emailed Rossi including pics but no respons so far. I looked ar replacing the screw with one from a hardware store but the SS screws from the store are a different color than the Rossi original screw. Anybody find screws that match or close at a hardware store?

How bad is it and do you think the existing screw could be cleaned up. It isn't a screw you are going to need to take out probably more than once if and when you refinish or seal the stock. I'm pretty leery of taking screws out of and reinserting them into wood multiple times.

In all honesty, I wouldn't worry too much about the shade of SS on a buttplate screw unless it was glaringly different and in that case I might try to 'brush' the finish or otherwise alter it a bit.

I'd be a little more concerned that the screw might not be as good a grade of stainless (heat treat or content) and I'm a bit cautious of SS screws in general as they CAN when installed in SS gall themselves into a cold weld.

If the replacements are actually stainless and not plated or coated you can alter the color brighter or darker somewhat yourself.

Thanks for the replies. I'll give fixing the original screws a try - can't make them worse as long as I'm careful with the hammer & punch.

Guzzler - any tips for altering the color on SS screws? Do you use heat?

LDT63 wrote:Guzzler - any tips for altering the color on SS screws? Do you use heat?

Yep, you can use heat and/or heat/oil quench to darken or sand then polish to make them brighter.