ever heard of this gun?

[unclecheech]

I was recently offered- in poor condition mind you- a 1970'ish Spanish Escobar (?) side by side. The barrels and receiver have both been spray painted black with some over spray gettin on the butt stock which has been chewed up and the butt plate/recoil pad is missing. The guy wants $70 for it, it is still functional, but there are no serial numbers or insignias on the gun at all. Any idea:
1. Where on this model will there be any info?
2. A fair market value for this poor condition gun?
3. A good way to get spray paint off the barrels and receiver without severely marring the metal underneath.

thanks all

[John Traveler]

Your description of a no serial numbered side-by-side double shotgun fits the product of dozens of small shops in the Eibar region of Spain. For centuries, this was the arms and armor producing center of the nation.  Your gun w/o serial number was imported before the 1968 Gun Control Act that required serial numbers to be stamped on all firearms manufactured or sold in America.

Value is probably in the $100 area more or less.  $70 sounds like a real bargain unless the gun is defective.  You might want to give a very carefull inspection for barrel, firing pin, action, or stock damage.

Removing the black spray paint is relatively painless.  Use mineral spirits (paint thinner) and fine 0000 steel wool.  The bluing underneath will not be harmed.  For faster removal, a more aggressive solvent such as lacquer thinner, acetone, or even paint remover will work, but the stock finish will be damaged.

HTH
John

[Graybeard]

If you plan to actually fire it rather than hanging it on the wall (which is what I'd do with it) make darn sure that paint is not covering up damascus barrels.

[unclecheech]

Thanks for the info. My local smithy stated that the gun was safe, that the value was beteween 300-400 for the condition, and that the gun was made in the 1970's. I have not been lead astray by either this forum or him previously, but when asked if he wanted to purchse this particular gun, he turned me down flat. So, thank you for the truthful info on this, and I will pass on this one as well. Too many problems, don't get me started on the person offering for this up for sale to me....

[Graybeard]

As a shooter I think that's likely a wise move. But $70 is not much money I'd get it and hang it on the wall for decoration it's surely worth $70 for that use alone.

[Questor]

I remember those! I used to live near a big gun shop during the early 70s that sold a lot of them. They were nice looking when new. They were of low cost at the time. But nice looking for what they cost. I never used one.