plum brown

looking for some guidance on an issue i’m having when trying to brown barrel under rib and tang. i’m using bc plum brown iv already browned the barrel took 5 coats but it came out nice and dark just what i was looking for. iv also browned the thimbles , trigger guard, buttplate and toe plate they also came out nice maybe just a touch darker than barrel. i can’t seem to get to tang or under rib to take the plum brown at all. it will look like it’s going great get the normal brownish gunk let cool then when going to clean under cold water it all seems to rub right off leaving nothing but the darkened metal behind. i’m using a temp gun and getting it up to 277°-286°, cleaning with bc cleaner degreaser then wipe down with acetone. iv browned two rifles and both came out really nice. also i’m not going above 220 when sanding iv tried multiple passes. i’m wondering if the tang could possibly be some type of cast as it cools quickly, and the under rib hold its heat put instantly changed colors as heat is applied. any help at all would be greatly appreciated as these are the last two pieces i need to complete a new old stock unfired build on a USA cva .50 mnt rifle. i’m headed into work and may not be able to respond back right away but i will try to get pics of parts already browned to show the dark color i’m looking for and then the parts i’m having issues with. i know the bc plum brown isn’t everyone’s first choice but i had great results before so already bought two bottles when i started this build but if i haft to i’ll use another brand if i could match the color i already have on everything else as it’s dark just what i’m looking for. thank you for any input you may be able to help with

May be the type/hardness of the steel. May need to cold brown it with LMF Browning solution.

It is not uncommon for different types of steel to be a little reddish. I put a Hawken-style rear sight on my GPR and could never get it to be anything other than a reddish brown.

just want to update this post for anyone experiencing similar issues as i was having, so today i got a little frustrated and sanded the parts back bright and cleaned as usual this time when heating i did not use my infa red temp gun i simply used a wet paper towel to see when plain water would sizzle on surface not stay one surface and not vanish instantly. just as stated on bottle. either my temp gun is way off of on smaller parts you don’t need to reach the 275° because this go around i suspect the parts were not that hot as they i didn’t allow them to go threw the color changes experienced before. they got to a straw color move oh to very very blue hue that’s when i applied the solution in slow even strokes. presto install turned a nice dark brown “not quite as dark as barrel “ i went with 4 coats the same as barrel. thinking of redoing ramrod ferrols and trigger guard the try and get them a litter color to match the under rib and tang that way all hardware matches and the barrel itself would be slighlty darker. i also need to add that at the end of browning i clean heat again and spray with wd40

kyron4 said:

May be the type/hardness of the steel. May need to cold brown it with LMF Browning solution.

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i believe my next project i will be going with LMF as i like the color of the plum brown but have seen several rifles done with other products and they exhibit an extremely dark rick chocolate brown that to my eye is beautiful

andy52 said:

It is not uncommon for different types of steel to be a little reddish. I put a Hawken-style rear sight on my GPR and could never get it to be anything other than a reddish brown.

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i’m still fairly new to building and am no where near where i would like to be some day and i completely agree after this little experience i do believe the color achieved has a lot to do with the type of steel your working with

Wv_mingo327 said:

just want to update this post for anyone experiencing similar issues as i was having, so today i got a little frustrated and sanded the parts back bright and cleaned as usual this time when heating i did not use my infa red temp gun i simply used a wet paper towel to see when plain water would sizzle on surface not stay one surface and not vanish instantly. just as stated on bottle. either my temp gun is way off of on smaller parts you don’t need to reach the 275° because this go around i suspect the parts were not that hot as they i didn’t allow them to go threw the color changes experienced before. they got to a straw color move oh to very very blue hue that’s when i applied the solution in slow even strokes. presto install turned a nice dark brown “not quite as dark as barrel “ i went with 4 coats the same as barrel. thinking of redoing ramrod ferrols and trigger guard the try and get them a litter color to match the under rib and tang that way all hardware matches and the barrel itself would be slighlty darker. i also need to add that at the end of browning i clean heat again and spray with wd40

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This is how you get better at anything, experiment and pay attention!

andy52 said:

It is not uncommon for different types of steel to be a little reddish. I put a Hawken-style rear sight on my GPR and could never get it to be anything other than a reddish brown.

Click to expand...

Add some cold blue to the plum brown and watch it get darker. It will rust some overnight, so be prepared to card the rusty surface. Makes a great look.

jimairwin said:

Add some cold blue to the plum brown and watch it get darker. It will rust some overnight, so be prepared to card the rusty surface. Makes a great look.

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thank you for that info i was reading about this on another post i think i’m gonna give it a try.id like to darken the hardware up a bit to closer match the barrel

Try giving it more time and applying heat AFTER the solution has been applied.