Brown, blue, or naturally aged?

[bluemule66]

Trying to decide which way to go with my new to me big bore Mountain rifle. It came all buffed out and shiny. I have cold blued barrels before with good luck, got a musket aging naturally and I have browned guns. I like them all. Have never browned anything before. Not on purpose any way! What say you?

 

[Ponderosaman]

Trying to decide which way to go with my new to me big bore Mountain rifle. It came all buffed out and shiny. I have cold blued barrels before with good luck, got a musket aging naturally and I have browned guns. I like them all. Have never browned anything before. Not on purpose any way! What say you?

Nice looking gun. I like the way they look browned, but don’t know if functionally one is better than the other. I do think that since weapons are meant to be used outdoors, some sort of permanent water barrier should be applied.

 

[tenngun]

All look good
Browning was common at the time frame of that gun. Blueing too, and in the white.
To be most HC I might vote with blue as being in the top slot for finish at that time.

 

[andy52]

In the white will become browned with time, so if you decided to brown it, you'll just be speeding up what time and usage will do anyway.

 

[Dale Lilly]

Brown ... with Laurel Mountain Forge cold degreaser/browner. Easy and great results. Follow their directions. Polecat

 

[Phil Coffins]

Looks unfinished in the white.

 

[Tumbledown]

Sand the barrel with 200 grit paper, then coat with naval jelly for 15 minutes and wipe off. It will leave a nice dull gray finish.

 

[bluemule66]

The barrel is like a mirror now. Kind of leaning towards an aged blue or the brown. May be a good opportunity to try browning. The problem is the house is real dry this time of the year in North Dakota.

 

[rchas]

The problem is the house is real dry this time of the year in North Dakota.

I don't usually have a low humidity problem in Virginia, but if I do I'll hang the barrel in the bathroom, and run the shower for a few minutes. It helps if you keep the bathroom door closed!

 

[Fly Navy]

I think either a blue or brown finish would look good on that rifle.

 

[bluemule66]

I'm starting to think I will refinish the wood and get things fitted better, and see how dark I can blue all of the steel. Maybe even darken up the pewter and German silver. I'm feeling kind of dark! Any draw backs? What is the darkest cold blue on the market?

 

[tenngun]

The barrel is like a mirror now. Kind of leaning towards an aged blue or the brown. May be a good opportunity to try browning. The problem is the house is real dry this time of the year in North Dakota.

The naval jelly greys it slightly. A coat or two of cold blue and then the naval jelly till clean will look real good
A brown doesn’t like to mirror on the metal.
Wipe it down with naval jelly before browning or treat it like a hot dog and wipe it down with vinegar
In dry conditions you can build a sweat box, or put it in a steamy bathroom
Simple is a warm damp bath towel hung near but not touching the barrel
Most old guns are brown today but they started white or blue
We get used to seeing brown and so it looks right on a ml, but that’s not what they thought then
Instead of unfinished white looked well cared for

 

[Siringo]

Trying to decide which way to go with my new to me big bore Mountain rifle. It came all buffed out and shiny. I have cold blued barrels before with good luck, got a musket aging naturally and I have browned guns. I like them all. Have never browned anything before. Not on purpose any way! What say you?

I’m building a SMR and historically it would have been blued, but over a few years would have started to turn brown. The finish would have been smooth. I had an 1876 Winchester rust blued and I have been thinking of using this on the SMR. BUT I have to admit browning (I’ve done two) looks great. Cold blues have zero rust preventative qualities and rub off easily. That is an issue for me since my guns get used and are not display pieces. Such decisions!!!

 

[Flintlock]

A rev war era and before gun looks great in the white but to me later guns just look unfinished or tacky. I love the looks of the 19th century rifles when they are browned. Just my opinion but it's the correct one. lol

 

[Wildrangeringreen]

guns that are used and maintained develop a grey patina on the steel over the course of decades. Bluing and Browning are the same process, with one added step for bluing. Both are creating an oxidized layer.

Simple browning and bluing:

1. get the metal to the desired level of polish (the smoother it is, the more difficult it is to rust)
2. degrease the steel to be rusted
3. prepare a mix of water, Distiller's Vinegar, and salt (7:1:2 mix works), apply it to the steel
4. place the steel parts in plastic bags and place them in a warm place
5. reapply the mixture once a day until the steel is evenly rusted
6. card off the rust bloom (the loose, crumbly stuff on the very surface)
7. reapply the mixture and return it to the plastic
8. repeat the process several times
9. Card the final rusting until it's smooth

For browning, you stop here, and soak the steel in a thin oil for a bit, then dry it off and apply a heavy oil or wax (I like wax, you can buff it smooth and it holds up great)

For Bluing, you take your carded part and pour boiling water over it until the red iron oxide converts into black iron oxide, then soak the part in thin oil and coat in heavy oil/wax.

to reblue a part, you degrease it, rust it some more, and pour boiling water on it, that easy.

Or you can do what a lot of militaries did, and polish their pieces bright frequently, to prevent the patina from building up.

It's all personal preference, but I prefer Browned and blued steel, it doesn't shine as much, and that's nice for hunting. For a piece that just gets shot at the range or is a fowling piece, I don't mind the grey patina. Armory bright is too much work, IMO

 

[sportster73hp]

My bess is in the white, colonial left in white and in two years starting to turn brown . A recently finished smr was done in Laurel mountain browning and was brown same day. Took 5 years for a pistol project to get the “old” look i wanted naturally. It’s all in what you want and how long you are willing to wait. Just remember to use some protection against unwanted rust spots or pitting. Simply oiling after use or if in a humid location is enough.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

You might try giving it a good cold blue after degreasing and then wipe on a heavy coat of straight bleach. Let the bleach set for a while to work on the blue. It's a good aging process I learned from a professional restorer. Try it on the bottom of the barrel under the stock to see if you like it.

 

[tenngun]

A rev war era and before gun looks great in the white but to me later guns just look unfinished or tacky. I love the looks of the 19th century rifles when they are browned. Just my opinion but it's the correct one. lol

To me brown just looks right. It remains the most beautiful.
A check of fir trade records for Mm Rendezvous period shows the rifles bought tended to come in blue and white about 2/3 blued this is the first third of the.nineteenth century.

 

[Stony Broke]

I have to agree with my liking of the browned finish. It is the easiest finish to keep up and takes very little attention to keep it looking good !

 

[bluemule66]

I agree a good heavy browning takes almost no maintenance. But a nice blue job will age with the gun. It's easier to go from blue to brown than brown to blue in the future if I choose to also. That said, I like the idea of the rust bluing. I don't have any like that!