Browning solution woes

[vulture]

Back in the 70's when Green River Rifle Works was operating in here in Roosevelt Utah, they came up with a formula for an acid browning solution that produced one of the finest end results I have ever seen. I got some of this stuff from Doc White a number of years after they closed their doors, and browned a couple of rifles I put together, but as all things tend to do my supply came to an end. This stuff was made from some pretty strong chems, in fact they are classified as industrial poisons, which means there is no way to duplicate it without obtaining a hazardous materials license. I say this because of the difficulty I am having getting parts to brown. It is very dry, and right now pretty cold, here where I live so the products on the market really need help, like adding moisture to the air, which given my space is really difficult. I have now tried three different products out there, did all I could to clean the metal beforehand, including sand blasting. With GRRW's solution all I had to do was bead blast the metal parts, make sure I didn't touch with bare hands afterwards, apply, and bob's your uncle a great deep rust brown. This was dead of Summer, dry season, no added moisture, two or three applications. With the liability problems with live with no days I know we will never see any product to equal it, unless I could find a chemist that would run me a batch....

 

[ZUG]

-- OK -- I got your message -- so what are you asking or are you just stating the obvious???

 

[Bob McBride]

LMF works great but like you say, if you’re browning in winter expect several weeks to finish and to have to raise the humidity in the space you are browning in.

 

[rich pierce]

I use a 3” pipe longer than the barrel and tang as a barrel browning chamber. Cap the pipe on the bottom end. Drop a wad of damp cotton cloth in there and poke it to the bottom. Put a strong wire about a foot long through the front barrel lug hole. Put on a coat of LMF. Now go to a stairwell and have somebody hold the pipe. Carefully lower the barrel in there. Before the tang touches cloth but after the muzzle is a couple inches below the top of the pipe, bend the wire over the edge of the pipe to suspend the barrel. Stand it up in a corner and put a damp cotton rag over the top.
Do not let it go more than 4 hours like this at room temp! It will rust like crazy.
If it is rusting faster at the breech, with the next application of LMF you can flip the barrel and suspend it by the wire from the tang hole.

 

[stewart.leach]

I did much as Rich Pierce describes, using 6" white plastic pipe from Home Depot. As the process had to be done in our rather chilly basement I warmed the pipe with a brooder lamp shining on the bottom of the pipe. For small parts I used a plastic tub from Wally Mart as a humidity chamber, again warming it with the lamp. In each instance I learned to keep track of the time in order to get nice smooth surface texture.

 

[Robby]

I use Homer Dangler's recipe. I scrub the solution on with an old piece of green Scotch-Brite my wife has cast off, so it's lost a lot of its abrasive quality, let it sit for a bit and the barrel starts to turn color, gently wipe it down then apply the solution as recommended. No humidor, and it works every time.
Robby

 

[Crawfish]

It is very dry in my Georgia basement in winter. I have a powder room off my basement shop. I set up a hot plate, and an old cast iron pot in there to see how well browning my barrel would work.
I kept the pot simmering, and the temp got up to 80 degrees with humidity meter pegged at 80%. Used LMF, and it worked very fast and well With the door closed. You do have to check often on the water level in the pot.

 

[LawrenceA]

Hang it in the bathroom after a shower

 

[JBeardNC]

I did one once before in a small bathroom. I carved a tapered rod and wedged it in the muzzle, then tied a cord to that. It was then hung from the shower rod and I would run the shower for a bit to steam it up the room . It worked really well with LMF Browning solution, my first time ever doing it.

 

[JBeardNC]

I also had really good results lightly media blasting some knife blades,(instead of sanding) before browning. It gave a softer feeling texture to it.

 

[Jim Wag]

Hi
I drilled a hole in a scrap piece of
2 x 8
Plugged the hole with a 33"
Dowel
Stood the barrel over the dowel
Easy to work on and steady

Like Rich Pierce says
Put a pipe over it
I used a piece of 4" PVC

Jim in La Luz

 

[Flintandsteel]

A plywood box with rags in the bottom, add a heat lamp if needed.
LMF will produce the nicest brown with many options for finish from smooth plum purple to leather grained chocolate brown, depending on applications.

 

[BJHabermehl]

A plywood box with rags in the bottom, add a heat lamp if needed.
LMF will produce the nicest brown with many options for finish from smooth plum purple to leather grained chocolate brown, depending on applications.

I have a plywood coffin in my basement with two cleats running down the sides for dowels that can be moved as needed. I used to use two light bulbs and pie plates for heat and humidity. Now I use a coffee warmer hot plate and a pan to fit with water. The barrel lays horizontally in the box on the dowels over the pan and hot plate. The box has a lid with a stick thermometer through it. I don’t know the relative humidity is but it is sufficient in my 50 degree basement. The temp runs 70 to 80 plus depending on how cold the basement gets. I use old stock Wakon Bay reagents. I laid in a lifetime supply when I heard they were discontinued.