gun bluing

D Winkler · 02-29-2008

Has anyone ever done this on an old gun?

Birdman,

I know you were toying with the idea of re bluing guns. Did you ever follow through with that?

birdman · 02-29-2008

Yeah, i've toyed with the idea, even built some "cook tanks" to boil in. I think the process would work, but I don't think I could get that deep blue color. The ingredients aren't that good to work with either. You better have good ventilation and a respirator, or don't try it.. I've gone as far as completely polishing the gun free of pits and just need to blue. The most important thing is in the "gun prep", sanding smooth, and making sure no oil is on it before the process.

stalkingbear · 12-08-2008

Birdman covered it pretty well but if I may add my .02 within of course my limited knowledge. To begin with,there are 3 basic methods of bluing-hot bluing,cold bluing,and rust bluing/browning. All bluing styles is a form of tightly controlled oxidation,similar to rusting,resulting from temperture and/or chemically induced "staining" of the surface of chrome moly,ordnance,toolsteel,or other high carbon gunsteel. Hot bluing is the best,longest lasting of the most common types of bluing. It does require lots of equipment,but is not terribly labor intensive. I've hot blued since graduating from gunsmithing school in the very early 80s. Hot bluing is best left to the professional gunsmith due to the costs of setting up and safety factors. I will provide more detail if requested however if you think you REALLY need to do so.
The next process is cold bluing and this is chemically induced only,thus less resistant to wearing off. Althou cold bluing requires little in way of equipment,the labor is actually higher than hot bluing. Surface prep is still a must in cold bluing,as in all types/styles of bluing. Practical application of cold bluing absolutly requires uniform coverage in order to produce good results. The best way to cold blue,in order to recieve rich,even color,is to slightly heat material to be blued after prep and degreasing,and submerge in mixture of bluing and hot water for several minutes. You can do this on the kitchen stove and heat mixture to about 130-150 degrees but BE SURE to turn vent fan on to remove any vapors.
Browning is usually reserved for muzzleloaders or firearms in which "aged" look or classic finish is desired. basicially you brown pretty close in method as cold bluing,except with browning solution instead of bluing.
Rust bluing is the most labor intensive of all,possibly all other methods combined,but it's worth it and anyone can do it with bare miminum of investment. When rust bluing,you apply solution to bare,prepped metal uniformly,let hang in humid place such as shower stall for a day or so,remove and boil to remove prior solution,card with steel wool to remove all rust,and repeat for 15-25 times. The first couple to few applications will look really crappy,blotchy,and just plain rusty looking but as you go,every cycle will start showing deeper,richer,even appearance. Another advantage of rust bluing is it's much more resistant to wear and even rusting as it's blued deeper into surface than all other styles of bluing. I'm SURE I'm missing a lot of points/details but that's about the best I can do without my life sustaining coffee at the moment.

Neil

D Winkler · 12-08-2008

Thanks for the info. I don't know that I'll ever do try it but you never know.

4rum · 12-12-2008

When I was 'in the business', I used Brownell's Oxynate 7 (hot bluing). It works well, but as stated above the work is getting the piece ready to blue. A first rate polishing job on a high end firearm can take years of apprenticeship training. The finished job will only be as good as the cleaning and polishing of the gun BEFORE bluing it.

You will learn a lot of metalergy too. Not all gunmetal blues the same. Try to get the reciever of a pre '64 Winchester Mod. 94 to match the barrel sometime.

Then it's always a thrill to drop in a nice side by side and lift out two singles.

And there's always ... "What's this white stuff growin' up outta th' magazine well"?

02-29-2008	#1 (permalink)
D Winkler Administrator Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Edmond, OK Posts: 755 Images: 17	gun bluing Has anyone ever done this on an old gun? Birdman, I know you were toying with the idea of re bluing guns. Did you ever follow through with that? __________________ Take care of our Forests. The animals I like to kill live there.

02-29-2008	#2 (permalink)
birdman Administrator Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Longmont, Co Posts: 638 Images: 12	Yeah, i've toyed with the idea, even built some "cook tanks" to boil in. I think the process would work, but I don't think I could get that deep blue color. The ingredients aren't that good to work with either. You better have good ventilation and a respirator, or don't try it.. I've gone as far as completely polishing the gun free of pits and just need to blue. The most important thing is in the "gun prep", sanding smooth, and making sure no oil is on it before the process. __________________ "I don't care how or what you hunt or fish, I'm the outdoor equal opportunist"

12-08-2008	#4 (permalink)
D Winkler Administrator Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Edmond, OK Posts: 755 Images: 17	Thanks for the info. I don't know that I'll ever do try it but you never know. __________________ Take care of our Forests. The animals I like to kill live there.

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12-08-2008	#3 (permalink)
stalkingbear Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: central ky Posts: 37	Birdman covered it pretty well but if I may add my .02 within of course my limited knowledge. To begin with,there are 3 basic methods of bluing-hot bluing,cold bluing,and rust bluing/browning. All bluing styles is a form of tightly controlled oxidation,similar to rusting,resulting from temperture and/or chemically induced "staining" of the surface of chrome moly,ordnance,toolsteel,or other high carbon gunsteel. Hot bluing is the best,longest lasting of the most common types of bluing. It does require lots of equipment,but is not terribly labor intensive. I've hot blued since graduating from gunsmithing school in the very early 80s. Hot bluing is best left to the professional gunsmith due to the costs of setting up and safety factors. I will provide more detail if requested however if you think you REALLY need to do so. The next process is cold bluing and this is chemically induced only,thus less resistant to wearing off. Althou cold bluing requires little in way of equipment,the labor is actually higher than hot bluing. Surface prep is still a must in cold bluing,as in all types/styles of bluing. Practical application of cold bluing absolutly requires uniform coverage in order to produce good results. The best way to cold blue,in order to recieve rich,even color,is to slightly heat material to be blued after prep and degreasing,and submerge in mixture of bluing and hot water for several minutes. You can do this on the kitchen stove and heat mixture to about 130-150 degrees but BE SURE to turn vent fan on to remove any vapors. Browning is usually reserved for muzzleloaders or firearms in which "aged" look or classic finish is desired. basicially you brown pretty close in method as cold bluing,except with browning solution instead of bluing. Rust bluing is the most labor intensive of all,possibly all other methods combined,but it's worth it and anyone can do it with bare miminum of investment. When rust bluing,you apply solution to bare,prepped metal uniformly,let hang in humid place such as shower stall for a day or so,remove and boil to remove prior solution,card with steel wool to remove all rust,and repeat for 15-25 times. The first couple to few applications will look really crappy,blotchy,and just plain rusty looking but as you go,every cycle will start showing deeper,richer,even appearance. Another advantage of rust bluing is it's much more resistant to wear and even rusting as it's blued deeper into surface than all other styles of bluing. I'm SURE I'm missing a lot of points/details but that's about the best I can do without my life sustaining coffee at the moment. Neil

12-12-2008	#5 (permalink)
4rum Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 12	When I was 'in the business', I used Brownell's Oxynate 7 (hot bluing). It works well, but as stated above the work is getting the piece ready to blue. A first rate polishing job on a high end firearm can take years of apprenticeship training. The finished job will only be as good as the cleaning and polishing of the gun BEFORE bluing it. You will learn a lot of metalergy too. Not all gunmetal blues the same. Try to get the reciever of a pre '64 Winchester Mod. 94 to match the barrel sometime. Then it's always a thrill to drop in a nice side by side and lift out two singles. And there's always ... "What's this white stuff growin' up outta th' magazine well"?