Cold Blueing

[rancher]

I'm about ready to start cold bluing my barrel and have some questions. First of all I'm using Birchwood casey liqiud perma blue. Now how should I go about it? The instructions say to let it sit for 30-60 seconds before rinsing. So by the time I get one part done the ohter part will need rinsing. This would make my bluing uneven??? Or should I do it in sections??? Please bare with me as this is my first kit or any gun refinishing for that matter. Thanks.

 

[Zonie]

Although I am the first to say, 'go slow when building' I think that applying a cold blueing is not the time for it.
Properly done, you should have the entire barrel coated in less than a minute.

When blueing your barrel, you should degrease it and wear some rubber gloves (like your wife has under the kitchen sink) so the oils on your skin do not contaminate the surface.
You can degrease it with Brake Cleaner, pure alcohol or acetone. (do this outside).

Pour a little of the blueing (maybe 1/2 ounce) into a cup you don't want to keep and dip a small piece (about the size of a .25 cent piece) of #000 steel wool into the solution. (It's best to degrease/dewax this before using it).

Rapidly rub it onto the barrel from end to end covering as much area as you can. Re-dip the pad if it seems to be drying.
Now your barrel will have streaks and look really bad.

Let it set for a little bit, wash it off with water and dry it with a paper towel.
Throw out the old solution and pour 1/2 ounce of new solution into the cup.
Repeat the rubbing with a new pad dipped into the solution only this time rub much harder making a little extra effort to cover the bare/light areas.
Again let it sit, wash and dry it. It should look better.

Repeat this coating/rubbing at least once, and 2 or 3 times is even better.
After the final washing and drying, apply a good rustproofing gun oil and let it sit over night.
In the morning, it should look so good you will start eyeing other guns around the house.

Just a thought about cold blueing though. It is not as durable as rust blueing or browning.
zonie

 

[paulvallandigham]

Steel wool has oil in it to keep it from rusting, so I can't recoommend using it as a swab. Its next to impossible to get the oil out of it, even using brake fluid, unless you really soak the wool. Then, when it air dries, you get rust!

Use a cotton ball, or a large cotton cleaning patch, or a piece of cotton flannel from an old shirt, as a swab. If you are going to use your hands, then by all means wear rubber glove. The cheap gloves worn by doctors can be purchased at your hardware store now for a few cents each. Spend a dollar and have extra on hand.

Make sure no oils get on the gloves, you can clean them with alcohol but don't soak them, or use the acetone. It will start eating the rubber gloves- or at least some gloves are eaten by it. Swab the cold blue paste or liquid on quickly- you want the bartel to rust! It won't rust like turning red/brown, but it will darken to the blue color of the solution.

 

[sixoclockhold]

BC cold blue rarely gives a satisfactory or remotely durable finish on a piece as large as a barrel. it is meant to touch up. despite the recommedations the final result will be a pale gray blue with little wear resistance, no matter how many coats. you had better learn to use the slow rusting blue method same process as cold browning except boil the piece when it is done very durable, elegant deep blue black finish.
jb

 

[ricklandes]

I am not a cold blue fan for the reasons others have shared, however, if you use it try this from brownells[url] http://www.brownells.com/aspx...?p=1112&title=FORMULA+44/40~+INSTANT+GUN+BLUE[/url]
this cold blue is about the best (a paste type is available too)
The rust blue is more durable and really quite easy to work with if you follow instructions provided.

As was well said do not rush with a build. If you do you will wish you had not

 

[paulvallandigham]

WADR, If you use 44/40 cold blue as directed, it rubs off in a couple of weeks.

Get the paste from Birchwood Casey, and heat the barrel up with a propane or map gas torch(s). Water should sizzle off it. You don't need to get it up to 400 degrees or higher, just enough to boil off water,does as well. ( 212 Degrees F. is the boiling temperature of water. ) Put the paste on the barrel while it is hot, and continue to heat the barrel while the paste blues the barrel. Then, while the barrel is still hot, spray it with WD40 to cool it. The oil will burn off with the dryers in the spray. In the process the oil will leave carbon in the bluing and because the steel is heated, it will get down into the pores of the surface of the steel. The blue will slowly turn blacker or darker with repeated applications. That finish is more durable, because it comes as close to replicating the hot blue bath concept involved in rust bluing as anything I know. If you don't have the tanks, and the gas burners to heat up the whole barrel at once, my method comes in a close second, every time.

 

[dlemaster]

I much prefer Brownell's Dichopan T-4
You can get it in a liquid or a cream. It defintely wears better than 44-40, but no cold blue will wear as well as a good rust blue.

Regards, Dave

 

[bob1961]

i used the same stuff to get a old look on my barrel of my T/C....

but i used a clean Q-tip with each dip into the bottle so i didn't contaminate it....i did it with bout 5 coats but didn't let it get to dark blue....this way as time goes by it would whare off and get an older age to it....right now it's a little lighter then the picture but i wanted it like that....as soon as it gets a little warmer here i'll post a picture of it now to show how much lighter it has gotten :v .............bob

 

[renovato]

Rancher, if you haven't started bluing yet, I'd suggest you look into your options. First off, that Birchwood Casey stuff really doesn't work well. It rarely blues evenly on large pieces like a barrel and it wears and fades fast. If you absolutely must use a cold blue, try Wheeler Engineering Premier Gun Blue. It's about as durable as hot bluing and looks great. I used to use Oxphoblue until I discovered it.

There's also another option that REALLY works well, but takes a lot more work. Rust bluing. I use Mark Lee Express Blue for that. You can get it from Brownells. It gives a finish that's more durable than even hot bluing. It's the same finish that's used on expensive high grade European doubles and such. Rust bluing is one of the most expensive finishes if you have it done for you, but you can do it yourself very inexpensively if you have the time.

Basically, you degrease the metal, heat it and apply the solution and it rusts. You boil it, then card off the rust and repeat. Each repetition gets darker and darker until you reach a gorgeous, satin blue/black finish. You'll need to pick up some deionized water from the store, or do like I did and buy a $35 deionizer for aquariums and make your own.

 

[DrTimboone]

My experience with 44/40 has been very positive for aging a barrel. I coat/rub the clean barrel with 44/40 and leave it on. it turns dark blue. I then use a cotton ball to lightly swab bleach on the barrel. I swab again with bleach every 3-4 hours for 2-3 days. the steel becomes red with a thick coat of rust. When sufficiently rusted, I wipe it with a green scratchy pad lightly until I get the color I want, where I want it. Then wash it thoroughly with water. dry it and oil it and set it aside for a day. Gives a pitted grey blue black finish that look like an old gun that was originally left in the white..... The more time andd bleach..the more pitted and old.

If thats the kind of finish you want give it a try. I have had no problem with it wearing off under normal range and hunting use for 2-3 years now.

 

[rancher]

Well I only have three parts done; the buttplate , estuchens (sp, things by the barrel wedges) and the trigger guard. I'm seriously condsidering taking it off and browning it now. Most everything I read leans that way andyhow.