Blued or Browned ?

[madbrad]

I have a kentucky percussion pistol in .45 cal. To be PC (I know it should be a flint) should it be blued or browned?

 

Do what you like best and PC be dammed.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Norskie]

Browned, if representing early percussion era (1830 to 1850). Blued if representing about 1845 thru the end of the era. But there are many exceptions and much overlap. Do what looks best to you.

 

[tg]

"Do what you like best and PC be dammed.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "

Quite an informative answere to a legitimate question... the type that really helps those looking to study the history of ML guns.

 

[Bartek]

I'm asking here, to not make a new short topic

Sir, if browning is "nothing more in fact as the controled process of rusting", as i read in few books , will the barrel rust more after browning, under the brown coat ?

mest wishes
bartek :hatsoff:

 

[LRB]

That's pretty much a no. If well done with a good even coating, and nutralized well with baking soda, you end up with a layer of oxide which acually offers a measure of protection from more rust. It is even more effective if the barrel is warmed and linseed oil, or wax, is applied to it.

 

[Toomuch_36]

I'm asking here, to not make a new short topic

Sir, if browning is "nothing more in fact as the controled process of rusting", as i read in few books , will the barrel rust more after browning, under the brown coat ?

mest wishes
bartek :hatsoff:

No, not if neutralized as Wick explained.
But to be honest blueing is mearly just another form of chemical oxidation (rust) which has to be neutralized also to stop it from eating up whatever metal parts it has been applied to.

Toomuch
.............
Shoot Flint

 

[SAJones]

Actually a question that has stirred up a lot of debate. I have collector friends that insist bluing is an older finish than browning. I do know that bluing was in use prior to 1800 in swords, fire blue being somewhat popular for better officer's swords. (Yeah, I collect swords, & some of those old blued & gold washed swords are gorgeous.) Old bluing turns brown eventually, and even the old rifles finished in the white will oxidize into a good overall brown. This has led to many denying that blue was used. However, I do think the old gunsmiths probably browned more than blued due to the difficulty of proper bluing. As some have said, do what you want: I brown mine.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

I have a kentucky percussion pistol in .45 cal. To be PC (I know it should be a flint) should it be blued or browned?

Hi MadBrad,

Throughout most of the 1700's guns were either provided with the barrel "in the white" or Charcoal blued. The Charcoal Bluing process heated the finished barrel and gave it a much darker color of Bluing that you see today.

Browning barrels didn't really come about until the very late 1700's, the late 1790's if I remember correctly. British soldiers used powdered brick dust mixed into a paste to polish their muskets so the barrel's shined. They wanted you to see them coming. An exception to that was Roger's Rangers who didn't polish the barrels, but let them darken from use over time. I like the look of the "darkened from use over time" finish myself.

I pickled the barrel of my rifle with the help (and at the urging) of a gunsmith/gunmaker friend of mine. Basically I stripped the bluing off the barrel (took maybe 15 minutes); plugged the muzzle and the vent (used teflon tape so gas could escape but liquid couldn't get in); and then immersed it in a boiling mixture of ½ bleach and ½ water (rolling boil with small bubbles).

We turned it around in the trough after about 7 minutes so it would cover equally. Mixture turned rust red in about 1 minute. After about 15 minutes, we pulled it out, and it looked like it was ruined. Really rust brown with all these tiny little rust balls all over it. Then we took it over to the bench grinder and used a wire wheel on it. In about 3-minutes it was looking good.

The barrel has that brownish patina that a well used rifle gets with age. To make it look a little more used, I took a scrubbing pad to the end where I would be holding it while loading, and also on the barrel where I would be holding it while trailing the gun (at the balance point of the rifle). So there's a couple of "wear" points on the barrel.

The barrel has tiny little pits in it and a brownish cast which I really like. Supposedly this is the method Hershel House used to use on his barrels. Looks like a gun that has browned a bit with age, as opposed to looking like one where the browning was painted on. I oil the barrel after I clean it, but that's the only thing I do to it and it still looks good.

After the turn of the century, I believe most rifles were browned, not blued.

Hope this helps,

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Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup: