barrel browning under way

[brain]

decided to brown a practise barrel.
took an oem T/C hawkens barrel, stripped the blue last week and started browning tonight.
using laurel mt forge barrel brown.
going to try and post progressive pics.

 

[MSW]

good luck with your project. i think you'll be happy with the result

MSW

 

[BEP]

If you've never used the Laurel Mountain stuff before, don't let the first couple of coats discourage you. My first go at using that product was on a reproduction Brown Bess. I looked at the first application results and thought "good heavens, what happened?! I've ruined this barrel!". It got progressively better with subsequent coatings. Follow the directions and you will be pleased with the results.

One thing - when you get a deep enough brown and decide to follow the instructions about stopping the process with the baking soda-water mixture, make that mixture almost a paste and apply it generously and give it time to work. Then rinse thoroughly with warm water. You are neutralizing an acid with a base. Remember your high school chemestry - acid plus base yields some type of salt plus water. So it's important to get rid of the resulting "salt" also. I don't know if Laurel Mountain have revised their directions but it seemed to me that they needed to instruct one to be more aggressive in these final steps. But it is a good product; easy to use with a good, durable finish.

Good luck.

Sneezy

 

[brain]

i have 2 coats on now. i actually let the second coat work all night, in fact i just carded it now.
getting ready to do another 2 coats.

so far i think it looks pretty good.

the barrel i'm using isn't a junk barrel, however i really don't care about it. i wanted to get one under my belt before ripping into my green mt barrel, that one i care about :grin:

i assume that both the sights, as well as the ramrod guides also would get browned???

 

[Roy]

I would leave the front sight bright so you can see it better. Everything else mentioned yes. :thumbsup:

 

[kjmillig]

I heard lots of good things about Laurel Mt Forge's solution, but has anyone used Dixie Gun Works' cold browning? A bit cheaper than Laurel Mt, but is it worth saving the few dollars?
I'm getting ready to brown my plains rifle, which also has a blonde stock. How do you think that'll look?

 

[AeroncaTAL]

I purchased some Dixie Cold Brown to use on my Lyman, but ended up cold blue instead. I have played around with the cold brown on some scrap pieces and it seems to work ok. Can't really compare it to other solutions though...
Scott

 

[Roy]

I only use Laurel Mt. I have had good success with it, unless I doing some random small parts then I just use Plum Brown.

 

[SAJones]

Well, Sneezy, might try Laurel Mtn again some day. Had an Ed Rayl pistol barrel & tried Laurel Mtn; after about 4 coats of daubed on solution, still had a real blotchy job. Instructions say don't rub: heed the warning, as my rear sight got a kinda coppery look. Finally took it all off, found the dregs of a bottle of Wahkon Bay solution & used that.

I prefer the Wahkon Bay solution, but they went out of business due to governmental regulatons (so rumor says). Found out another outfit bought the business & is continuing the line, but cost sorta doubled.

Used Plum Brown on my first rifle, but it didn't "bite" as well as the cold browning. It's almost all gone now after only 26 years of shooting.

 

[brain]

the way i gather it, they don't want you to ''scrub'' it on.
one ''wipe'' from breech to bore, then move to the next flat.

i'm 3 coats in, and it's starting to look pretty sweet. i figure one more coat and i'm done with this barrel.

 

[kjmillig]

OK, I think I'll go ahead and place my order for a bottle of Laurel Mt. I won't argue with y'all's experience.
Next question, which suppliers have y'all had the best luck with?

 

[Birddog6]

I suggest you do at least 1 if not 2 more coats than ya think it needs. That way you don't get it all done & later find a place lighter than the rest & etc. :hmm:

I use the Wahkon Bay solution and even a small bottle of it will do 3-4 rifles, so the price doesn't bother me.

 

[brain]

when all is said and done, what ''finish'' do you use on it.
i've heard linseed oil(i have a thing of birch wood casey tru-oil) or bees wax.

is one better than the other?
do they lend different things to a finish?

i have my last(i think) coat on now. and it looks pretty sweet. i really like that way browned barrels look.

i said i was going to post pics, but there's less to see during the process than i though there would be. :redface:

 

[paulvallandigham]

Are you asking about a finish for the metal that you have browned, or finish for your stock? For the browned, wash them down and use baking soda to neutralize all the acids particular in the seams and cracks- use a toothbrush to get into them- and then dry the parts. Oil the lockplate, and either use a rag with oil to rub down the barrel and other parts, or use something like NL1000( Wonder Lube, Bore Butter) on a cloth to rub down and coat the metal parts. I am using Tru-oil for my stock finishes, because it has proven to me to be the best finish to use when I am rubbing in coats of finish on the wood. I have not tried the Laurel Mountain product, but have heard similar good reports about it. If its available the next time I am buying more stock finish, I will give it a try. I also want to try Homer Dangler's product for stock finishing.

 

[brain]

just on the barrel for now.

never even thought about bore butter. i'll just go with that.