DIY Defarbing and Refinishing

[B P Arn]

That’s a mighty fine looking blue on that Remington!

Have you ever tried a Nitre blue with that setup? A cylinder and screws in Nitre blue would be beautiful contrasting against the dark frame and barrel.

Great work!

NO! NO! NO!!!! Do not nitre blue anything that is tempered or is a load bearing element!

Nitre bluing requires something like 750 degrees to do right. That will destroy a cylinder or frame.

New guns that are "Nitre Blued" or "Charcoal Blued" are no better than the "Color Case Hardening" that is done these days. It is in name only. It is cosmetic only!

I cringe when I see some well-meaning poster demonstrating how to "heat blue" a gun part buy lightin' 'er up with the torch, and maybe dropping it in oil. Do not do that either.

Screws are fine I suppose, but I would rust blue or hot oxide blue only, and rust blue is too much work!

 

[Frod733]

Just to add to this thread. How would one age brass to make it look like aged original brass? There is just something very mellow about old brass that has aged well. It is not stained, colored, but soft and rich in appearance. Just look at some originals and you know what I mean. Is it possible to recreate this?

 

[springfield art]

Just to add to this thread. How would one age brass to make it look like aged original brass? There is just something very mellow about old brass that has aged well. It is not stained, colored, but soft and rich in appearance. Just look at some originals and you know what I mean. Is it possible to recreate this?

I know what you mean; I'm sure many have used the commercial "Brass Black", but the aging you illustrate is something that only time can perform!

 

[Bad Karma]

Just to add to this thread. How would one age brass to make it look like aged original brass? There is just something very mellow about old brass that has aged well. It is not stained, colored, but soft and rich in appearance. Just look at some originals and you know what I mean. Is it possible to recreate this?

Kibler has some tips on his website.

 

[springfield art]

I've stripped and stained a few muzzle loader stocks; the light colored, urethane, replicas that don't look right as "out of the box". Much more authentic looking re-finished.