Barrel Finish?

[N.Y. Yankee]

Are there any "home brewed" type of finishes for a barrel other than blueing and browning? I'm wondering about things like wiping mustard on the steel or other products to force a black patina on it, things of that nature. I'm interested in "homemade" finishes.

 

[old ugly]

find scrap metal first,
i have rusted steel with hydrogen peroxide, vinegar and salt. it will put a coating of rust on steel real quik, i tried it on a pistol barrel, it did tarnish the barrel, more of a weathered look than a finish. but i had mixed results. you could experiment with that. just don't get it inside the barrel .
you can find the recipe on line for it.

 

[rickpa]

Naval jelly will give a nice grey finish to a barrel. I used cold blue on my last rifle then scrubbed it off with a maroon Scotch Brite pad. Did it twice and got a nice grey weathered looking finish.

 

[tenngun]

Polished and naval jelly

 

[Musketeer]

Mustard would work, as would vinegar and similarly acidic food items, for a mottled gray patina. Ferric chloride solution will turn steel (as long as there's not too much chromium, nickel, etc.) nice and black (used as both circuit board etchant and etchant for bringing out the pattern in pattern welded steel). If you look up videos on forcing a patina on a carbon steel knife blade, those methods should work on traditional muzzleloader barrels and locks.

 

[Onojutta]

I know a guy who uses chlorox mixed with water to give steel an aged look. He spritzes it on with a spray bottle, lets it work for a little while, then wipes it off. You have to be careful with that though because the bleach will eat steel after not too much time. I once soaked a knife in bleach water to sterilize it and it pitted the blade badly and needed ground down and refinished. I would definitely experiment first on some scrap and try different ratios of water to chlorox. I don't know what he uses.

Here's on old thread on the subject:

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/aging-with-bleach.46755/