Barrel Browning Help

[katsumushi]

I am trying to brown a barrel on a rifle kit that I have.
Am using Birchwood Casey Brown solution.
Well, I sanded and cleaned barrel, wiped well with alcohol.
I heated small sections of the barrel at a time and used the solution (solution fizzed when I applied it).
Waited till barrel cooled and tried wiping the barrel and the formed crust was hard and looked very splotchy all over.
Used 0000 steel wool and it started taking off the brown.
What am I doing wrong?
Any ideas or advice?
Help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Zonie]

You done good in degreasing the barrel.
Birchwood Casey Plum Brown doesn't work well if there is any grease (or fingerprints) on the steel.

When you used steel wool, unless you totally degreased/dewaxed it, it probably has put a layer of wax on the metal so you should resand and degrease the barrel before trying to use the browning agent again.

OK. Now down to what to do.

Your temperature was about right. The fluid is supposed to bubble and boil off like it did.

If the temperature is correct, the solution will immediately form a brown coating.

If the temperature is too hot the solution will spatter forming a spotty black/brown crust that doesn't coat evenly. If this happens, continue to apply the solution until it forms the (fairly) even color.

If the temperature is too cool, it will not brown the surface and it will probably lay down a layer of copper plating. If this happens the only way to fix it is to sand off the copper.

After you have browned the part, let it cool. Then use water and some clean paper towels to wash off the hardened deposits.
Plum Brown doesn't build up enough rust to need "carding" (hard rubbing with a course cloth or very light rubbing with fine steel wool).

When the deposits are washed off with the water and towels, reheat the barrel and apply another coat of the Plum Brown just as you did before.
After applying each coat use water to wash off the crusty deposits.

I've used this product on several barrels and I've found that applying less than 3 full coats always results in a streaky appearance.
That said, plan on applying at least 4 coats.

After the final coating and washing, dry the barrel and coat it with a layer of oil.
Almost any kind of oil will work but regular motor oil seems to work much better than a vegetable based oil.

After coating the barrel with oil, set the wet, oily barrel aside and let it age for at least 24 hours.

This aging will darken the color of the coating a lot. It will also cause the streaks to blend in with one another to give a much nicer look than you thought you were going to have to live with.

As I said, I've used BC Plum Brown for years but I now use it only for small parts like locks, hammers, cocks, steel butt plates etc.

On those small parts it works very nicely.

 

[duca]

Hi, I have used this solution in the past and liked it. I now use cold browning solution witch I like a lot. when using Birchwood Casey Browning solution,I would heat a section apply the browning solution then wipe and move on. It should turn brown instantly. I do the hole bbl THEN wipe with a soda and water solution. Hope this helps. Good luck,and let us know how you did.

 

[tbarnes66]

Zonie,

If I'm using LMF Barrel Brown & Degreaser for the barrel, is there some advantage to using the BC Plum Brown for the lock pieces? Will they turn out the same color?

Thanks

 

[wayne1967]

I always keep wiping till the sizzling stops. For me this gives a more consistent finish. I always rub it back though with steel wool so it doesn't have a solid rust appearance. I like to hit high spots and edges to give it a used look. Kind of like a used service rifle. Look at an M4 that has been used in battle. All the edges and ridges are no longer black you see metal.

 

[katsumushi]

How much barrel length are you heating up before you put the solution on?
I am able to only heat 3 to 4 inches at a time using a hand help propane torch.
So from what I have understood/read here, after you heat and brown a section you immediately run a dry rag over the done section to get the scale off?

 

[katsumushi]

Zonie,
Thank you for your help, will brown barrel this week and let you fellas know how it came out and some pics.
Thank you all for your help/advice.

 

[rafterob]

after you heat and brown a section you immediately run a dry rag over

No.
Zonie has laid it out pretty well. You want at least three coats. You should be able to heat up a good 18" section at a time, concentrating on one flat. This will heat up the facing flat and at least 1/2 of the adjoining flats. Brown the entire barrel length with one coat. Follow the instructions on the bottle that tell you to repeat the cleaning process. Let dry and then apply another coat. It may take 4 or 5 coats till you have an even coloring. It does not need to look perfect at this point. Do the final wash and let it dry well and then coat it as Zonie stated. Here is where I add some extra steps. After 24 hours lightly rub it (and I mean lightly) with 0000 steel wool. Wipe it off with a clean, soft,dry rag and re-oil it. Repeat that process for 5 days, this allows for ageing of the finish. At the end of the 5 day ageing process wash the barrel with a mild soap solution and dry it well. Then apply a coat of any good paste wax intended for wood floors or furniture. Let it dry and buff it out. For maintenance after shooting and cleaning lightly oil the exterior like you would with any other barrel. About once a year I perform the wash and re-wax operation.

 

[katsumushi]

Thats sounds easy enough, will try it and see how it works for me.
Thank you

 

[M. De Land]

I've become a real fan of LMF browning and Neidner rust bluing. Both far surpass any other processes I have used for bluing and browning both in streak free looks and long lasting toughness. They both really get a bite on the steel. MD

 

[Twowithone]

I bought LMF and my humitity is low period does any one on here ever use a sweat box and how did you make it. Ive looked on the internet and cant find how its made or whatever. My LMF is taking a long time too do anything period. :idunno:

 

[jdkerstetter]

A sweat box can be as simple or elaborate as you want to build it.

Some guys just rig temporary boxes out of cardboard boxes or plastic sheeting suspended like a tent. More elaborate boxes are built from wood or other materials and stand up right and have a hook in the top to hang the barrel from and nails in the sides to hang hardware on.

All work on the same principle. You can rig a pan up with an incandescent light bulb under it or use a crock pot of water with the lid off....anything to introduce humidity.

If you're building one with the intention of reusing it for other projects in the future I suggest you build long enough for the longest barrel you may ever use. Remember to put enough clearence in the bottom for your water/heat source.

Enjoy, J.D.

 

[Zonie]

I agree with JD.
Unless you plan on building many guns, building a sweat-box is not needed (unless you just like building things).

Several of our members have used everything from rain gutters to PVC pipe to plastic tarps to.....

Probably the most common, and one of the best is a steamy bathroom.

If you use the PVC pipe method, it should be laying horizontally, not vertically. If it is standing vertically, the humidity will gather at the lower end rusting that end of the barrel more than the top end.

As for a built cabinet, this is a photo of the one I put together.
Note the heating area at the bottom and the water pan just above it.

A 150 watt light bulb, controlled by a variable light control switch controls the heater bulb.
The bulb above that area provides the heat and air circulation needed to keep the humidity uniform throughout the box.

 

[M. De Land]

Mines pretty similar Zonie . I use a hot plate with an old, small size coffee perculator for heat and humidity. I also installed a small puter fan in the top to circulate both heat and humidity continually.
Topped it off with a small window in the door and a hydrometer/thermometer mounted high on the back wall.
A friend made this for me out of plywood and shellacked it inside and out. I use it a lot.
My cousin has had good success on his muzzle loaders using LMF in his bath tub/shower.MD

 

[Billnpatti]

I have browned a couple of barrels with Plum Brown but usually use Laurel Mountain Forge Browning and degreasing solution. I built a jig to hold my barrel so I could heat the whole thing at one time. I made a base of a piece of 1 X 6 and made two end pieces of 1 X 4 that stood up at right angles to the base. I drilled holes in each of the end pieces to hold a piece of dowell. One dowell is smaller than the bore while the other is larger. The larger dowell will need to be tapered on one end so that it fits tightly into the bore. The larger dowell needs to be long enough to fit through the end piece and loose enough to give the person doing the browning the ability to turn the barrel as you heat it. Sort of like a rotisserie. Then take a propane torch and run it up and down the barrel as you rotate it to heat the whole thing evenly. When it is hot enough to make water sizzle, quickly apply the Plum Brown. Use long even strokes to apply the Plum Brown. You will need to apply at least 3 coats washing between each coating. When it is the color you want, cool it and apply oil with your fingers and let it sit for a couple of days to let the brown harden.

 

[katsumushi]

Hey all,
I "finished" browning my barrel, ended up going with 5 coats of browning, oiled it ,kept it oiled for 2 days.
As I cleaned the barrel I noticed that some areas on the barrel did'nt take the browning solution and you can still see the metal, what can I do to fix this?
Thanks

 

[Billnpatti]

Aparenly, you missed some spots when you were doing your degreasing or else you somehow didn't geet the brownign solution spread evenly. You didn't say what kind of browing solution you used. If you used Plum Brown, you may not have gotten the barrel heated evenly. If it was Plum Brown, just thoroughly clean the thin areas to remove ALL traces of oil and re-heat and apply another coat to the thin areas to even them up. If you used Laurel Mountain Forge solution, you will need to thoroughly clean the thin areas and re-apply some more browning solution and let it work for a few hours and see how your finish looks. You are not in an unusual or impossible situation, just have another cup of coffee, relax and then just start working on evening out the browning. All of us who have browned barrels have run into this problem and we all have just worked on evening out the browning until it gets to where we want it.

 

[katsumushi]

I agree with you, I must have overlooked those areas or I touched them by mistake...
I am using the Birch-wood Casey Plum Brown solution.
Will do as you suggest and get this looking slick.
Rest of barrel came out nice (thanks to everyone's advice).
Thanks