Browning A Barrel and Parts Help

Well things are starting to browning up great,I did redo the trigger guard and the rear tang,this time no steel wool.I did fill a plastis pale with hot water,let the small parts hang from a clip that slip over the ramrod and cover every thing with some rags,parts are starting to get real dark in color(brown)seems rubbing with a corse cloth seem to even out the color a lot.I think I will try 2 more coats of the LMF chemical,then was with water and baking soda then apply a coat of oil,thank again for all the replys ::

 

[keving]

I'm not far behind you in the building of my GPR flintlock. I have about five coatings of LMF applied so far this weekend and will continue probably for a couple more days. The coarse cloth works well for me too. Using LMF the first few coats you think your metal will turn out like a lemon but with time and patience you end up with lemonade.

 

[rhs]

Does anyone know what the humidity percentage should be for the best results. It seems that for the price of building a box to hold humidity you could buy a humidfier at Lowes or Home Depot and adjust the humidity for an entire room to exactly what you wanted.

 

[the missing link]

I had the same problem. Couldn't seem to get anything to rust. Light steel wooling was taking everything off. What I did was use a vaporisor in a small bathroom in my basement. I would hang the barrel on the showerdoor brace using a coathanger through the lug and the rest of the parts just sit on a box. Just make sure the vaporisor isn't pointing directly at the parts. I also would only leave the vaporisor on long enough to where you could feel the humidity and then shut off and wait. I was carding every 3hrs.with rough cloth.

 

LMF browning chemical really did a nice job on the trigger guard,and the tang very pleased with the results.I am refitting the steel butt plate and going to brown the butt plate and screws.
My next question is how far to go with the browning process,the gun I am redoing is a t/c 54 flinter,(this flinter was the first year t/c made the Rengade)I was thinking on the lines of re-browning the trigger guard,tang,barrel,under rib only,leaving everything else in dark blue and redoing the stock to a satin finish,what do you guys think.Would like to here some reviews on my idea

 

[keving]

Glad you are happy with the results of your work. I bet you end up browning all the parts now that you know how easy it is. I saw where you said you squeeze the LMF out of your application rag, I have found cotton balls work great because you can control the amount you need by putting the cotton ball on the bottle opening and dispensing only what is needed. I refinished the stock on my percussion GPR and that led me to getting the kit I am now working on because I wanted to finish up one on my own. Even though the flintlock kit came already inletted I worked for a few hours getting my buttplate just right. It came with a good size gap and it took awhile to get it perfect, glad I did'nt have to cut it from a flat stock end. I bet you will like that rifle more than ever now that it is personalised.

 

[davidesau]

Hay Bill!
When doing the lock plate what is the best way to keep rust from forming on any critical area, such as bearing surfaces. I usually just use Plum Brown on small parts. Also,when using a damp box on the barrel,(this is probably a stupid question) should you plug it? I use a tampion usually anyway to keep from touching it. Sure is nice to have an expert on board. Thanks for any advice.
Dave

 

How long does it take before the rusting process come to a stop,seem the small parts were finish the other day apply the mixture of baking soda and hot water.I did card with some 0000 steel wool,just to level out the color, seems this stuff is on to stay.I did use a good gun oil on the parts ,seem the metal just sucks the oil up overnight and still see some signs of rusting with the chemical.
I just started the barrel last night ,draw filed with 220,320 then 400 ,degreased and started to apply the LMF chemical,things are looking good here we are going to have some rain for the next two days should increase the humidity while the parts are hanging. ::

 

[Bill Brockway]

Hounds Tooth -

After browning the lock plates, I just usually polish the back side with 400 grit wet-or-dry, wrapped around a file, to remove the browner that slopped over on the back side. Just takes a few minutes. I don't think it would hurt anything to ignore the brown stains where they shouldn't be. Looks kinda unworkmanlike, though, so I polish them off.

Yes, you probably should stop up the barrels before hanging them in a damp box. I normally don't do it, though. Any little bit of rust that gets in there is not enough to cause accuracy-harming pits. I just clean the barrels with bore paste after I'm through browning. Just don't let them sit around for a week or two before cleaning and oiling the bores.

Bill