Experimenting with bleach......

[BLAHMAN]

I've read in various publications the meathod of adding a patina to a barrel or a lock, or other metal parts by boiling them in bleach.

I have a 5 gallon pail of industrial bleach, I believe it is 12% (12% of what, I'm not sure). This stuff is used in commercial laundry applications, industrial dish machines, wash wheels, split pockets ect, ect, ect.

In an insane moment I soaked some metal pieces in this stuff for about 6 hours. The metal has a nice grey etched type of appearence to it.

So far, I've done a triggerguard, patch box, lock, thimbles, buttplate and side plate. Tommorrow I'll try the barrel.

What's neat is that you needn't boil this stuff and risk inhaling fumes.

 

[Birddog6]

Just keep in mind it is doing the same thing to the Incside of the barrel, if not adequately plugged. Don't think you hve it plugged, KNOW you have it plugged.
I take a hammer & drive a oiled wooden plug in the ends of my barrels. (Made from dif. sized dowel rods. Must be oversized to compensate for the grooves in the barrel) On the vent I have allen screws of various threads & I silicon them in with red RTV.

:results:

 

[BLAHMAN]

I haven't tried the barrel as of yet and what I plan to do is this: slather some beeswax into the muzzle end, slather some more onto a dowel rod, shove the dowel rod into the bore. The touchhole isn't installed yet.

This bleach makes the the metal a very soft grey. A fella stopped by the other day with the remnents of a Potsdam lock. When I compared the Potsdam lock plate to my lock that I bleached, it looked familiar...I was pretty satisfied with the results.

 

[loophole]

Be careful when you do the barrel to check it after an hour or so--my experience is that barrel steel etches much faster than that used in lock parts. If you want to speed up the process even further, degrease the barrel and apply a coat of perma-blue before you put it in the bleach--serious etching after about 20 minutes.

 

[rich pierce]

Remember that guns do not age the same everywhere. It looks unnatural to have an even pitting all over a barrel or lock. The patina is always more pronounced at the breech of a barrel on the lockside and the tang than the rest of the barrel, and locks are seldom pitted much at the tail. From the pan and forward and everywhere that is hard to clean where flash sticks and hides is where the patina is more pronounced on originals. It is easy to achieve this but you can't just stick the whole thing in bleach. Just do more applications where you want more patina, wax or shellac the areas where you want none (inside the lockplate, bottom of the barrel), and let more of the agent sit and collect in the areas hard to clean.

 

[BLAHMAN]

Well, the deed is done. I plunked the barrel into the bleach bath. Oddly enough, the barrel looks like a damascus barrel.

This is a first time experiment. I'll post some pics in a day or two.

 

[Erastus]

How much preparation was done to the barrel before the bleach. Draw filing, emery cloth, etc. beforehand??
You mentioned plugging muzzle end only, was breach plug installed? Look forward to the pics...

 

[rrgr40]

I'm really not sure on your procedure but I know a little about your bleach. That stuff is toxic and will put a hurt'in on your hind-parts. Be careful! One small point, the potency of that bleach deminishes with age and heat as does most bleaches. Again, be careful!! :m2c:

 

[musketman]

What about after it comes out of the bleach?

Doesn't it have to be rinsed in plain water to stop the bleaching action?

 

[tg]

Another method to gray/patina steel is to coat it with a heavy layer of naval jelly and let set for a couple of days then wipe off with a steel wool pad soaked in baking soda /hot water... can't say how the finish compares to the bleach methos as the only bleached barrel I have is one done by someone else and it is pitted more than I would have cared for if doing it myself, and I do not know how he went about getting what he got.

 

[BLAHMAN]

What about after it comes out of the bleach?

Doesn't it have to be rinsed in plain water to stop the bleaching action?

I rinsed it off in plain old water (No dehydrated H2O). Actually, once the barrel is in the gun,it looks great!
I took some pics, but I'm not too thrilled with them....so I'll try some more pics.

 

[BLAHMAN]

I'm really not sure on your procedure but I know a little about your bleach. That stuff is toxic and will put a hurt'in on your hind-parts. Be careful! One small point, the potency of that bleach deminishes with age and heat as does most bleaches. Again, be careful!! :m2c:

You're getting confused with what is called "Color safe bleach". In the laundry industry, this stuff is used where you don't want damage from regular chloronated bleach. CSB is basically hydrogen peroxide on steroids.

This type of chloronated bleach, the stuff I used, will help break down certain fibers in cloth, chiefly, cotton products.

If you spill CSB on your skin, you will know it imediately. here's what happens: your skin will turn white and it will burn, burn, burn, burn and burn some more. Even after rinsing in cold water, that spot will continue to burn. It tingles like mad! That will last for an hour or so, but the white blochiness will stay for about three days.

The chloronated bleach I use, if spilled on the skin, will feel very, very warm. After rinsing, no big deal.

If you want to get a type of this bleach, visit a hotel/motel and ask who supplies the chemicals to their laundry equipment. % gallons should cost about $50.00, I believe, though I may be mistaken.

You cannot purchase this kind of bleach at the local store, it is only available from a supplier.

I didn't do anything to the barrel, just plugged the muzzle and plopped it in.

 

[Erastus]

I guess you could always just plug the muzzle and toss em in the town swimin pool. That way you get your chlorine and rust browning in one easy step...........