Browning a Barrel

[Sharp Shooter]

I want to Brown a barrel and some other parts. So first, how do I remove the blueing? Do I use the Birchwood Casey rust and blue remover?

Second, I found some stuff called plum Brown or something like that. Could I brown by barrel and parts at just room temp? I would really like to stay away from trying to heat it if possible. How would it turn out if I tried it with out heating it?

I would also like to age some brass parts of make them look grey or something. What is a good easy method to that?

Thanks

 

[paulvallandigham]

Go ahead and use the remover. It works well.

As for plum brown, it works both cold, and hot. I use a propane torch to heat the barrel, suspended from the tang screw hole by a coat hanger from a rafter in the garage. I heat from the bottom, or muzzle, up, since heat rises. I used cotton swabls held in needle nose pliers, or just some 1-tips to slop the brown on the heated barrels. If the barrel is hot enough for water to sizzle on it, its hot enough to brown. I use a stick in the muzzle to allow me to control that end of the barrel, and turn it as needed.

You can brown the metal cold, but it takes several days of work doing so. I think the finish comes out blotchy cold, and you have to repeat the browning process several times to get past that blotchiness, carding off the surface rust each time. But, with enough work, and many coats, the barrels will brown to whatever shade you desire. It helps Not to use too fine a grit of emery cloth in polishing the metal. Don't go smaller than 320 grit, and something twice as coarse will work better.

Its much faster to heat the barrel with my propane torch and slop on the compound. I continue to heat the whole barrel as I work from the bottom up, and then inspect it for any missed areas as I am coming back down. Then let it cool over night. I often put on a second coat, but I don't think it does much more browning to the barrels. The brown color is a deep chocolate brown, rather than that fox red rust brown so often seen with cold solutions. I also found that if I spray the barrel with WD40 while its still hot, that the oil burns into the pores of the metal, and helps to not only insure a deep browning of the metal, but it makes it a bit darker. I have used the oil to cool down the barrel, and then let the oil drip off the barrel overnight. Then, the barrels are washed with soap and water to remove both the oil and any acid still left the next morning. I can brown the works in a couple of hours, if I take my time, rather than spend days with the barrels in the shower, or a sweat box, and carding rust off, and rebrowning them day after day. The " HOT Brown" I get is very tough and durable, and gets lots of compliments from both MLers, and from regular shotgun shooters at the trap and skeet range. If they only knew how easy it was to put it on, they might consider browning their modern gun barrels, too!

 

[William Joy]

I have tried plum brown on small parts and was very happy with the result. I brown a lot of barrels ( slow rust) but was always worried of heating a barrel for the plum brown......

 

[gmww]

I want to Brown a barrel and some other parts. So first, how do I remove the blueing? Do I use the Birchwood Casey rust and blue remover?

Second, I found some stuff called plum Brown or something like that. Could I brown by barrel and parts at just room temp? I would really like to stay away from trying to heat it if possible. How would it turn out if I tried it with out heating it?

I would also like to age some brass parts of make them look grey or something. What is a good easy method to that?

Thanks

If you want easy check the link below. Its for Laurel Mountain Forge Browning solution for your barrel and other steel parts. http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/212853/

I use this because I don't wish to use a torch also. It's also so easy even I can do it.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Brass is easily " aged " by tarnishing it with any acid. Mustard works. So does the black powder residue on your cleaning patches. New guns have a coating on the brass, usually lacquer, or some polymer synthetic plastic finish. You will have to take that off before aging the brass. Alcohol will clean off the lacquer. Acetone will surely take off the synthetic finishes. Or use steel wool to abrade the coat off.

 

[cowpoke1955]

I second the use of LMF Browning Solution. I've browned three rifles with it. It is very easy to use and gives a great finish. I bought mine from Track of the Wolf.

 

[Sharp Shooter]

Would it work to heat your barrel in the oven if it would fit?

So after I remove the blue and heat the barrel do I just apply the Plum Brown with a rag or what?

 

[paulvallandigham]

I don't know how you would maintain the heat while you put on the browning solution using an oven to heat it. You just need to heat the barrel above 212 degrees F., the boiling point of water for what I do. Most ovens don't have a setting that low! That is easily done with a propane tank torch, which you can buy in any hardware store. You might want a friend to hold the torch to the barrel while you mess with the solution, and turning the barrel, but I have done it all by my lonesome.

 

[Sharp Shooter]

I just dont want to screw things up and make it look bad.

As for the LMF browning, the whole thing about rust browning kinda scares me. When it is all done will it be just as good as the factory blue as far as protecting it?

 

[deanscamaro]

I am a relative newbie and used the Plum Brown on my first rifle kit. Using the propane torch, and continually testing by spritzing water on until it sizzles worked very well. Once it reached that point, I just used Q-tips to put the browning solution on. I missed a few spots, but repeating the same process again, completed the barrel very well in a mottled, burgundy-brown finish that I like better than a consistent flat brown look. I don't believe that taking the heat to that low point produces any problem with the barrel or they wouldn't recommend doing it.

For preparation, I used 180-200 grit emery cloth to get anything previously coating the barrel off. You also have to use some cleaning solution (I used acetone) to remove any skin oil or finger prints before starting the process or it won't take.

 

[Rogue River]

I would go with the the LMF brown because it's easy and works great. I've used the hot brown a couple of times and I could not get a good color, it would come out blotchy. You just put the LMF on and walk away for a day and check it the next morning and if it not right add another coat and walk away for another day. When the color is to your liking wash the barrel in baking soda and dry with propane torch. Wipe any rust scale off with 0000 steelwool or a course cloth. I put and old dowel upright in the vise and drop the barrel over it, heat it hot with propane torch and drench with WD40 and let it set for a couple of days. I then wash it w/soap, dry and wax w/furnture wax. You can't screw it up, the worst case senario is you would have to do it over again, it's a learning experience and it will work. Patience is the word!

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you got blotchy results its because you didn't heat the barrel enough. The metal Browns INSTANTLY when the metal is hot enough.

I had a barrel with some foreign matter in it( possibly zinc, or nickel), and it would not " brown " until I heated that strip up almost red hot before the acid would take and brown it the same as the rest of the barrel. Now, I would have to show you that " streak " for you to see it.

 

[tg]

I would also suggest the LMF cold brown it is very easy to use by following the very good directions that come with it, and you can take it to whatever level you desire, I have done several barrels and the furniture for several guns with it and would use nothing else as it is so easy, you may want to hang the barrel in the bathroom and run some hot watwer in the tub or otherwise increase the humididty if you live in a very dry area, here in NW Oregon this has not been a problem.

 

[Charles D. Prokopp]

I've used both Birchwood Casey's plum brown and Laurel Mountain Forge. Plum Brown is faster, to be sure. If the first coat is blotchy (usually is), a couple more will fix it up. I like to use it for small items like under-barrel lugs. You need to be really careful about clewaning and degreasing, and wear cotton gloves once you get that done. LMF is easy, but not for the hasty-minded. It took me all of a Saturday, with repeated applications to get a brown that looks like dark baker's chocolate. I've noticed that it seems to be a lot tougher than Casey's, IMHO.

 

[mykeal]

Like many here I've also used both LMF cold brown and the Birchwood Casey Plum Brown hot brown. I did several rifles and pistols with the BC solution and a propane torch about 30 years ago. Each barrel took less than a day to finish to the hue I wanted. I still have them and as Paul said the surfaces are all very durable and good looking. Very smooth, uniform and a nice dark brown.

I first used the LMF last fall on a db shotgun that I didn't want to risk loosening the barrels from the center rib. LMF took several days but in the end the result was just a nice looking as the BC hot brown. I have to admit that the interim coats were a bit upsetting as they just seemed to be getting more and more uneven, but after a while it all came together very nicely.

I also used the LMF on a Lyman GPR this spring. It also took several days and had some unsatisfactory interim steps, although it was quicker than my first attempt with the shotgun.

There's no reason to be concerned about heating the barrel with a torch. It needs to be about 260 degrees, but the sizzle test is sufficient. The only issue with BC Plum Brown is to be sure the barrel is clean; use rubber or nitrile gloves to handle it after cleaning, and hang it like Paul said. I ran a long dowel down the barrel hung it from a rafter with wires around the dowel and the breech hook so it was horizontal. This kept the solution from running down the barrel and helped get a nice even finish quicker.

The trick with the LMF is to get a very humid environment. I built a jig on top of a sawhorse to hold the barrel. One end had a fixture that held a long dowel to run down the barrel; the other end of the sawhorse had a similar fixture with a cutout to hold the breech hook. I put the sawhorse in a bathroom and turned on shower to full hot; when the mirror fogged I applied the solution and then left the assembly in the room with the door closed for the required 3 hours.

 

[Goldhunter]

I've used LMF with great success. You do need humidity so build a sweat box or put it in the bathroom like I did (not much humidity here in Utah :wink: ). I hung my barrel from the shower rod, applied the liquid, then turned the shower on HOT for a few minutes to let the room get steamy. Turn water off and close door. It does take a little longer, but I like the process. For me, it kind of goes along with doing the wood and inletting work, going slow and steady.

The LMF instructions are pretty good. You can even turn the brown to a rust blue (dark blue/black), which is in the instructions. I sanded the brown of my GPR when I refinished it this month and attempted the blue. I'm pretty happy. And the Brown the LMF produces is pretty durable.

As always, YMMV. :v

 

[Sharp Shooter]

So if I screw up or something and it does not look how I wanted I can just remove it with the blue and rust remover right?

How do you guys heat and brown the lock and trigger assembley when using the Plum Brown?

Do you guys have any pics you could post of your browned guns?

Thanks

 

[Goldhunter]

Honestly, I've never tried blue/rust remover on browning. :hmm: I just sanded my old finish off.

Here is what my last brown turned out like. The flash made it look kinda red, but it's dark brown. http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/...d/222448/post/585386/hl//fromsearch/1/#585386

 

[MercerLake]

:v With LMF solution just follow the instructions, it will produce a very durable browned surface. After oiling I use Beeswax or Simonize floor wax to seal the pores. Rust on rust is impossible to find, IMHO it protects much better than "modern bluing". I hunt with all of my guns rain or shine with no worries about rust. If you don't like the finish just strip it with the BC Rust and Blue Remover. :v

 

[Rogue River]

In my earlier post I failed to mention on smaller parts using LMF I hang them in a large glass jar w/a couple tablespoons water in the bottom. Punch holes in metal lid to hang parts on wire from lid and screw on jar. Place in sunny window and watch them turn color.