Browning for Dummies

[The Baron]

Hi fellas,

I am slowly narrowing in on a flintlock purchase. At present, it looks like all the options I have on the table will be guns "in the white". As I wish to use the gun mainly for hunting turkeys I will need to brown it. But, I am very nervous of getting a new gun and sanding or filing the metal (which, I think, is required?) and trying this myself. Just how difficult is browning, for an ablosute newbie? I don't have a proper workshop, or many tools, so I'll be handicapped right off the start. How does the process work? Do I have to sand or file the parts? Is the browning solution just brushed on and left for a period of time? Please help the clueless!? ::

 

[Birddog6]

Should not be a problem. If the barrel & parts are slick IMHO you should roughen them slightly to open the pores & etc. 180 or 220 grip paper. I suggest useing Mt. Laural browning & just follow instructions. I use Tru-Brown as that is what I have & am told it works the same as Mt.Laural.

I wait for a day I know it is going to rain for at least 2 days, prepare on the 1st day as the humidity is setting in & brown on the second day. I do it Outside under the awning & can brown a barrel in about 20 hrs. & no sweat box needed. I start about 5am & late that night it is finished. I get a very deep dark chocolate brown.

First thing I do is a swab the barrel liberally with a good gun oil. Then I taper a wooden dowel about 4" long, oil the end & drive it snugly about 1" into the barrel. (Not so tight I can't get it out !) Then I take a allen head screw & plug the vent hole (if removable liner) or a toothpick on a non-removable vent & plug it.

Now it must be clean clean Clean !

I put on new clean rubber gloves & I wash the barrel with Fast Orange, then dishwater liquid soap, then I dry it & spray it all off with electrical cleaner. Now support it on the tang & the dowel, being sure all of the rest of the barrel is touching nothing. Little parts I lay on top of a clean cardboard box.

I apply the browning solution with a cotton ball & Q'tips for small areas, in a smooth even stroke starting with the underside of the barrel, I do 3 flats & turn the barrel over. Just dampen wet it, not running wet & do not wipe it over & over, just one even stroke & quit. Small parts the same way. Wait aprox 3 hrs,scale with a Dixcel Wire Wheel from Borwnells on a drill held in a vice. (special wheel for this) Again, just dampen it, too much solution takes it longer to work.

Reapply the solution & keep doing same until you get a good even brown all over, then do it one more time. First 3-4 applications will be blue, mottled, streaked, really lousy looking, then it will turn around & start looking good & better & then really good.

Remember CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN. If you touch that barrel with your fingers you will have a flaw in the browning. If you pick up Anything but the barrel when browning, you have contaminate the gloves & thus will contaminate the barrel.
One time I moved a gun & by doing so I contaminated the glove with oil, thus the barrel next, had to start all over.

Wearing rubber gloves & leather gloves over that, long sleeve shirt & long pants & shoes. After I brown & descale it, I boil 2 qts of water on the stove with 4 tablespoons of baking soda in each. Bring to full boil then pour over the barrel to rinse it good and while you are doing this have the hot tap water running, rinse the soda water off the barrel. Pat dry with paper towel. Now take some Kiwi Paste Dark Brown Shoe Polish & rub it into the barrel liberally. Get in every nook & cranny. Take the barrel to cool & sit for a day. (Do all small parts the same) Next day a pair of pliers & wiggle the dowel (don't brek it off!) & take out the dowel & vent plug & take a jag & swab the bore with oil. Then take a papertowel or rag & make a lil 1" x 1" pad iof it & put more polish on it & rub the heck out of that barrel & parts again. Do this for 3 days & the stuff is ready to use.
After that you can oil or whatever the barrel, & the polish may come off & so what if it does, main thing is it seals it up good & stops the rust & your gun oil will eventually replace it.

I have done LOTS of barrels and parts with this proceedure & it does work. Only dif I do myself is I bead blast the barrel, but it is not necessary & most don't do that part.

Custom Muzzleloaders & Custom Knives

 

[swquiro]

Birddog, I dont mean to take issue with what you say, cause you've no doubt forgotten more about building than I will ever know, but I have browned a barrel or two, one just recently with Laurel Mt. solution. They say on the bottle that with their solution it is not necessary to degrease the metal before applying the solution, and they probably know what they are talking about. I think its still not a bad idea to wipe down the metal with a solvent, just to be on the safe side. I hang my barrels in the basement where it tends to be humid anyway and put a large pan of boiling water right under the barrel after each application of solution. They always turn out fine. I did notice that with the Laurel Mt. stuff I had to wash down the barrel on several successive days with baking soda to stop the rusting process, and regular gun or household oil seemed to help better than linseed. Baron, all in all its a rather simple process. If I can do it, so can you, and you will be happy with the results.

 

Aahh, it's easy! Just what those two above said.

Got a kitchen table? And $10 worth of sand paper and block?(enough for 2 guns) The neat thing about "browning" is if ya don't like it!? just sand it a bit again,,and start over!

Don't worry. When it comes to that phase of finishing you'll be watching day and night! It takes "weeks" of neglect to mess it up!

The first tyme is scary! I'll give ya that,,but a "help yelp" on any "firearms" board will bring a quick answer. :applause: :winking:

 

[Zonie]

I tend to agree with Birddog6 about not contaminating the surface with oil of any kind. This includes your bare hands because of the oil your skin produces.
Perhaps the Laurl Mountain stuff has extra acid in it to desolve the oils, but why take a chanch when some inexpensive latex gloves are available at the Drug Store?

A word on Browning: This process produces the same kind of rust one often sees on garden tools and farm equipment. It is not the same type of rust which is easily removed. It is the dark brown kind of rust which is just about impossible to remove with anything less than sandpaper or a file.
It has a soft non glossy but not totally dull appearance.

Note: If you are browning a lock, it must be totally disassembled. The browning process produces a special type of rust and you don't want rust inside a lock or the tumbler hole in the side plate.
To disassemble a lock, it is recommended that a main-spring vice (available from Dixie/TOTW/ect) is used to prevent breaking the main-spring.
___________________________________________________________

Another method of Browning is to use Birchwood Casey Plum Brown.
Plum Brown is a heat activated fluid which browns instantly. As with most things which work instantly, it is not without its problems.
To use Plum Brown, the metal surface must be absolutly oil free. Even a hint of oil will inhibit the process leaving a unsightly mess.

Heat the metal to 260-290 degrees F and swab the fluid on. Do this outdoors because it gives off some really bad fumes.
Following this first application, wash off the residue, reheat the metal and apply another coat.
It is recommended that the surface be lightly rubbed with steel wool between coats.
If steel wool is used, you MUST remove the oils the factory applys to it (to give it shelf life) or these oils will contaminate the metal. The best way to de-oil steel wool is to soak it in diluted muratic acid or battary acid (sulphuric acid). I have used Brake Cleaner with mixed results.

To obtain an even brown on a barrel, at least three applications are required. Small parts usually only need one coat but the barrel needs multiple coats to "even out" the color.

After the third or forth application, apply some light oil and let it set overnight.

Plum Brown works great on small things like triggers, lock plates and parts, butt plates etc, but when browning a barrel, it is difficult to get the metal to the proper temperature. If the metal is too hot it will spatter the solution on you and make a dark baked on stain which is difficult to blend in with the adjacent surfaces.
If too cold, it will form a copper deposit which must be sanded off or it will not react to the browning solution.

Using Plum Brown to brown the entire gun is possible but it is best used only on small easy to heat parts.

 

[tg]

I have used LMF browning on several barrels as per instructions with very good results, I did find that washing soda mixed with water stopped the rusting quite quickly, a good oiling and or waxing afterward while hot from a blowdryer was the follow up I used. I hang mine behind the bathroom door and do not run the fan while showering.

 

[The Baron]

Hmmmm... so far all of the help (which is GREATLY appreciated) has not yet convinced me I actually want to try browning myself. I've come to know myself failry well and am comfortable in accepting I am not a patient man (they say the first step toward curing a problem is to recognize it exists, right? :haha. So, here's another Q... is there a reputable gunsmith somewhere in Canada (preferably) or even the NY, PA (or other generally northeast state area) that could brown a new gun for a reasonable price? I am leaning toward a 3rd model Bess from Military Heritage. If I were doing that, I'll strongly consider having the barrel whacked to about 32" with all necessary stock and ramrod alterations. Can that kind of work be had without doubling the price of the gun (which will run me about $500 US equivalent)?

I understand that Loyalist Arms does gunsmithing. Maybe one of their guns, customized by shortening and browning, would be a good option? Would I be better off scouring the used market for a similar gun? My mind is still swimming with options, so any comments or advise are of course read with great interest. Thanks guys!

 

It's not that tough and you can do it pretty quickly with BC's Plum Brown if you are impatient (I am too so can identify). I put a piece of 120 grit on a wood block and sand the flats - that's the extent of my polishing the barrel. Coat the bore with heavy oil or grease and degrease the outer barrel and the steel wool with lacquer thinner. I pour most of the bottle of Plum Brown into a plastic cup and drop the steel wool in (wear rubber gloves against the heat and chemicals). I use an oxy-acet torch to heat but an air-propane will work - just takes longer. Put the barrel in a vise and heat until it sizzles water (probably 300-400 degrees?) then slosh on the solution. It stains and streaks pretty badly but just keep applying and scrubbing until the barrel cools somewhat, it will eventually get evenly colored. I get the whole barrel the same color then reheat without washing and repeat until a really deep brown develops. Not counting the polishing, you can do a barrel in an hour or so. Hope that's fast enough for you. ::

 

[TwoShadows]

Amen Anvil....do it basically the same way myself. I sometimes put on a layer of cold blueing under the "plum brown"...gives it a darker finish, and seems to stay a tad darker. I have browned lots of barrels...lots of ways...even unto using urine and doing it the most ancient of ways....but the quick method you describe works just as well, and is over with so I can move on to other matters. Interestimg sidenote: one European gunmaker strived for the same perfect brown on all his rifles to the point that he collected urine from a monastery where the monks existed primarily on a diet of cheese and wine they made themselves. Hows that for trying for consistency?

 

[Deadeye]

I don't put grease in the bore or steel wool in my plum brown but otherwise I do it about the same way. I use a propane torch, do all the small parts first wash them,dry them,put them in a coffee can and spray oil or wd40 on them. Put the barrel horizonally in my vice, brown it 4 or 5" at a time, takes an hr. or so, oil it sit one end in the can, leave overnight. Nice dark even brown.

 

TwoShadows,

That's a good idea to put on some cold blue. I am going to try that on my next rifle...Anvil.