Sharp Shooter
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How would you brown a barrel using Birchwood-Caseys browning kit?
How do you brown a barrel?
- Thread starter Sharp Shooter
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If it's a "plum brown" kit just heat the degreased barrel up sizzling hot with a propane torch, and apply the solution to the barrel. I chucked the barrel in a bench vise and started at one end and applied the solution as the barrel heated up. I went a little over halfway, washed that end down after it cooled, and then started at the other end. Keep repeating the process until you get a uniform color.
It takes several coats to get a good color, and it's a long job. You can figure on 2-3 hours anyway. The plum brown works great on small parts you can hold with pliers, but it was a real hassle for me on the barrel.
The next one I do will definitely be cold browned.
It takes several coats to get a good color, and it's a long job. You can figure on 2-3 hours anyway. The plum brown works great on small parts you can hold with pliers, but it was a real hassle for me on the barrel.
The next one I do will definitely be cold browned.
Bountyhunter
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Ha! You either got a long oven or a short barrel.
I do the same thing but have to take it over to a friend who has a pizza oven that is big enough to get a long barrel in.
I do the same thing but have to take it over to a friend who has a pizza oven that is big enough to get a long barrel in.
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Most important thing with Birchwood Casey is the degreasing, the barrel/parts need to be degreased very well or you get streaks, and blotches. I no longer use it, as Laural Mtn Forge is so much easier and is a cold formula. It's only drawback is that it needs humidity to work, and sometimes in the winter or in the Southwest that can be a problem, but is easily remidied with a sweat box. Bill
Bill of the 45th Parallel said:
Yep, it's gotta be clean.
The best thing I found was the Dawn foam dishwashing stuff on a clean sponge and hot tap water. It did a better job than the chemical stuff I used.
And make sure that anything you don't want browned is away from your work area. I left the lid of my new screwdriver set open on the bench and now all of the tips on one side are brown speckled. :redface: :cursing:
Has anybody mentioned that cold browning would work better on the barrel?? :grin:
As others have mentioned, the barrel has to be totally grease/wax free for the Plum Brown to work without making streaks.
I've taken to wearing the heavy kind of rubber gloves sold for washing floors etc at the local hardware stores. These keep the oils from my skin from contaminating the barrel.
I used to use steel wool between coats to "card" down the surface but I found that steel wool does two things. First, it will contaminate the surface with the oil/wax it is coated with to keep it from rusting. Second, it often removes more of the browning than I want to remove.
To get around this, I wash the residue off of the barrel between coats using wet paper towels.
These are oil free and are abrasive enough to remove the deposits left by the PB.
As others said, count on applying at least 3 coats. Four are better.
All of this washing and reheating contribute to the amount of time it takes to brown the barrel with PB.
After 3 or 4 coats, the barrel will still look rather uneven but it does get better.
I would suggest that you let the barrel "rest" overnight after the final washing. The next morning (or so) wipe off any rust that has formed with a wet paper towel, dry it off and then apply a coat of oil like Sheath.
The browning will get noticably darker and will look more uniform.
As others have said, using Laurel Mountain browning gives a better browning but it does take several days to do the job.
Have Fun!
zonie
I've taken to wearing the heavy kind of rubber gloves sold for washing floors etc at the local hardware stores. These keep the oils from my skin from contaminating the barrel.
I used to use steel wool between coats to "card" down the surface but I found that steel wool does two things. First, it will contaminate the surface with the oil/wax it is coated with to keep it from rusting. Second, it often removes more of the browning than I want to remove.
To get around this, I wash the residue off of the barrel between coats using wet paper towels.
These are oil free and are abrasive enough to remove the deposits left by the PB.
As others said, count on applying at least 3 coats. Four are better.
All of this washing and reheating contribute to the amount of time it takes to brown the barrel with PB.
After 3 or 4 coats, the barrel will still look rather uneven but it does get better.
I would suggest that you let the barrel "rest" overnight after the final washing. The next morning (or so) wipe off any rust that has formed with a wet paper towel, dry it off and then apply a coat of oil like Sheath.
The browning will get noticably darker and will look more uniform.
As others have said, using Laurel Mountain browning gives a better browning but it does take several days to do the job.
Have Fun!
zonie
IMHO, get some Wahkon Bay Tru-Brown or some browning solution from Laurel Mountain. Brown it in a steamy bathroom & you can do it in a day.....
I used some Birchwood Casey solution back in 1978. And I still have that ugly rifle with the aweful browning job just as a reminder of how lousy a job one can do if he trys..... :rotf: :rotf:
Many times I have thought of reworking it but it is just a cheap ol rifle, lousy job & a good reminder of where I started.....
When I get discouraged with one, I just get "Ol Ugly" out of the safe & I imediately feel better about what I am working on !! :grin:
Just follow the instruction that comes with the solutions & they will steer ya right. :thumbsup:
I used some Birchwood Casey solution back in 1978. And I still have that ugly rifle with the aweful browning job just as a reminder of how lousy a job one can do if he trys..... :rotf: :rotf:
Many times I have thought of reworking it but it is just a cheap ol rifle, lousy job & a good reminder of where I started.....
When I get discouraged with one, I just get "Ol Ugly" out of the safe & I imediately feel better about what I am working on !! :grin:
Just follow the instruction that comes with the solutions & they will steer ya right. :thumbsup:
paulvallandigham
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I used Birchwood Casey's Plum Brown to do my shotgun, using the technique described above. I have a deep, chocolate brown color that is admired by all who see it. It is deep, and seems impervious to minor nicks, and scrapes. Works for me. I used Q-tips to put the solution on the barrels after heating them with a propane torch to " sizzling hot" , and if I were doing another set of barrels today, I would use cotton swabs, just because I would be able to put more solution on the barrels, faster, with the swabs. After I washed off the residue, which appears to be a dull yellow, under a faucet, which also cooled the barrels, I dried the barrels with paper towel, then degreased them again with alcohol, and then reheated the barrels to " sizzling" and sprayed them with WD40 oil. I let the barrels set over night, and took a good look at them the next morning with good natural light, to see if I had any uneven color or streaks, I think I redid the brown about 3 times before I was satisfied with the depth of color, and it was as even as my eye could see. The oil, BTW, seems to help darken the brown.
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paulvallandigham said:
Paul, another good applicator is little round cotton pads women use to remove make-up. They are about 1.5" across and quilted and make great applicators for browning solutions and stock stains.
Cody
paulvallandigham
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I was using rubbing alcohol washed liberally on it after first using Hoppes #9 solvent to cut the oil. I would wash the cracks around the rib a couple of times to make sure I had removed all the oil from those tight spots, and that the alcohol would dry before applying the heat again. I didn't want any fires, or burning oils, or steam coming up off those barrels. Hope that helps.
Another thing about using Birchwood Casey Plum Brown.
Do it outside. The fumes it gives off smell like something you shouldn't be breathing.
If done inside your house, it will end up smelling like a high school chemistry lab.
zonie
Do it outside. The fumes it gives off smell like something you shouldn't be breathing.
If done inside your house, it will end up smelling like a high school chemistry lab.
zonie
Built my first LR in 1980 and used BC in the basement and was sick for a month...posssibly they have changed the formula since then but from then on, have used a cold brown. What ever place BC brown is used in, plenty of ventilation is mandatory.....Fred
