DIY Rust Blue Solution?

[Dude]

I've been looking into getting some rust bluing solution and wonder about making my own. Have any of you come up with your own formula? When a teensy bottle costs $30 plus shipping, are the components that expensive or difficult to find? These concoctions have been around for at least 160 years so they can't be too mysterious.

 

[painter]

Found this with a quick search. No FHE.

http://mypeculiarnature.blogspot.com/2014/08/quick-rust-bluing-back-in-black.html
It doesn't look like you'll get blue, but more black.

 

[Mad Michael]

Well, I'll take a tilt at this. I tried to rust blue a fowler. I read the "how to do" in Muzzle Blasts, though it could have been Muzzleloader Magazine, some time in the mid to late 80's I think. The key to this was in having a bluing box that would have a constant humidity and temperature. I would guess the box I built did not have good enough controls on it to maintain the temp and humidity because I did not get the best of results. The fowler is brown today, as I gave up on the bluing.

That being said, Foxfire 5 has a lot of material on rifle building in the Southern Mountains in there is information take from the August 1970 Muzzle Blasts on bluing by Hacker Martin. Refer to pages 335-336 of Foxfire 5 there you will find both the formula for the solution and directions for both browning or rust bluing.

I tried to locate my journals from that time to see if I had written the procedure or source in them that I usually do. The one from that time period seems to have gone walk about, probably packed away as I need to repair a floor in my ham shack (which is also the den, man cave, historical library, computer room, whatever) so many of my radios, books and journals are packed. If so that would place the articles in the very late 80's or early 90's.
Sir, I am your humble servant, Mad Michael

 

[Phil Coffins]

I’ve done some rust blueing with a couple of different store bought brews. Then I bought a book on gun work from the 1930s with several recipes for blueing. Bottom line, the results were just as good as the commercial stuff but the chemicals are spendy and great care must be use in mixing and storage.

 

[Zonie]

I’ve done some rust blueing with a couple of different store bought brews. Then I bought a book on gun work from the 1930s with several recipes for blueing. Bottom line, the results were just as good as the commercial stuff but the chemicals are spendy and great care must be use in mixing and storage.

I think your talking about the book, "FIREARM BLUING and BROWNING", by R. H. Angier, ©1936.
It has hundreds of different mixes for browning and bluing guns. Most if not all of them have some really nasty chemicals in them and I suspect that even in the simpler, less toxic ones the chemicals would still end up costing more than something like Laurel Mountain's browning solution.

To get a "blued" barrel, after the barrel is browned and before any oils of any kind are put on it, boil it in distilled water. That will turn the brown rust into "blueing". Bluing is in quotes because actually it is black.

 

[tenngun]

$30 seems a bit high, track has their brown for 8 and LM for $12, both produce a blue when poured over with boiling water

 

[The Crisco Kid]

One of the problems with all the information that's out there is that it references chemicals by there old names, dragons blood for example, that are hard to figure out just what it is and then trying to buy it in these over regulated days is another problem. I've had very good results rust bluing with Laurel Mtn Forge brown and blueing solution. It's not too expensive and can be mailed. I don't know if all the browning solutions available today will turn blue when boiled or not.

 

[Dude]

I'm looking for black, actually - not blue or brown. Let's see if track has a 'blacking' solution. The price is certainly right. Funny, it's called bluing when it comes out black, but browning is called browning.

Thanks, Painter - good one! I'll have to try that on something small and see how it goes.

Crisco - I've run into that before - having to translate those odd names into something useful.

Zonie - that sounds easy enough (boiling water) to get the black I want. I guess that means browning solution would be the same as bluing, just stopping a step sooner.

 

[muzzlecap]

I have blued several barrels on shotguns. Usually I use Brownells Classic Rust Bluing. I think it's only around $16.00 for a fairly large bottle.

 

[Dude]

Usually I use Brownells Classic Rust Bluing. I think it's only around $16.00 for a fairly large bottle.

Does it end up blue or black?

 

[Phil Coffins]

It also depends on the alloy of steel, the same solution can make one black and another a dark blue/black.

 

[muzzlecap]

It also depends on the alloy of steel, the same solution can make one black and another a dark blue/black.

That is correct. Depending on the particular barrel, and how many coats you apply will result in different darkness of finish. The oil you apply afterwards will also make it appear darker.

 

[Dude]

I can see that. Another variable is the amount of surface finish. I thought that the more polished the surface, the smoother the finished product. Wrong! I used the polishing wheel to make it ultra smooth, and had a helluva time just getting to a thin blue color. But it was smooth!

 

[muzzlecap]

I don't go beyond 600 grit and sometimes not that fine. Gotta leave something for the solution to "bite" into. Now hot tank bluing is different and a high gloss polish is nice.

 

[Bobby44]

I can see that. Another variable is the amount of surface finish. I thought that the more polished the surface, the smoother the finished product. Wrong! I used the polishing wheel to make it ultra smooth, and had a helluva time just getting to a thin blue color. But it was smooth!

My son polished the H out of one he was working on. When he was finally done he it was hunting season, so off he went. That was a dozen years ago and he still has not blued it. Looks like stainless. No rust but he does clean and oil it properly.

 

[plmeek]

Ferric Chloride Solution 42% aka PCB Etchant works great as a browning solution and can be converted to blue/black by boiling the browned part or pouring scalding hot water over it.

 

[Mad Michael]

One of the problems with all the information that's out there is that it references chemicals by there old names, dragons blood for example

Deciphering the old names is relatively simple, finding the products is a different story. Up until 1980 sweet spirit of Nitre was relatively easy to find, it was available in any pharmacy without a prescription. It is correctly ethyl nitrite. The product was used for a lot of things: severe pain, fever, urinary problems, among others. It did have 2 side effects: It killed children and it was somewhat explosive when it got old. No longer available.

Mercury II chloride aka corrosive sublimate aka sublimate of mercury aka mercuric chloride is available,but it is incredibly poisonous. It is also a cumulative poison like lead. No one wants to end up mad as a hatter.

Nitric acid is still available, as is copper sulfate, the iron salts, and alcohol but how are you going to get the relatively small amounts of the products? Even as recently as the 1980's many pharmacies would put up small amounts of chemicals like this and sell them. No longer the FDA, NABP, and the Boards of Pharmacy have said this is illegal. So..........Believe me when I say, buying the bulk product is going to cost you way more than $30 (though I think that is kind of high). Quick google says 500ml of nitric acid is $40, 100gm of Mercury II Chloride is $71, Home Depot sells 2 pounds of copper II Sulfate, aka blue stone, blue vitriol for $20. A litre of Polish Spirytus Vodka Proof: 192 (96% alcohol) runs around $30 in my neck of the woods.

Dragon's blood is the resin from tree sap of a number of trees. While I have seen it in formulas, I have no idea why. Perhaps as a binding agent to hold the product on the barrel but that is a WAG based in it's properties as it is certainly not as a red colouring agent.

Then you need a safe place to mix them and tools you won't be using for anything else.

Buying it is the best bet

I am yer humble servant, Mad Michael

 

[painter]

<snip>

Mercury II chloride aka corrosive sublimate aka sublimate of mercury aka mercuric chloride is available,but it is incredibly poisonous. It is also a cumulative poison like lead. No one wants to end up mad as a hatter.

<snip>

I am yer humble servant, Mad Michael

This coming from Mad Michael makes me chuckle.

 

[rdane]

I’ve used brownels years ago when doing gunsmithing. Rust, boil it, card it with degreased steel wool. Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat. You can make it look like a new Browning shotgun. Deep, deep blue.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

Remember the days when we still had a little freedom? As a kid I could, and did, walk into the local hobby shop and buy small bottles of the chemicals to re-supply my chemistry set I got for Christmas. I'm pretty sure that's where I got the charcoal, sulfur, and saltpeter that began my early fascination with black powder.