Prep for browning

[19283]

Howdy fellers,

I'm polishing my lock up to 240 grit in preparation for browning with Homer Dangler browning solution. All was going well until I started on the frizzen, which as most of you know, is harder than a mother-in-law's heart. I'm assuming I need to de-temper it, for lack of a better term? If so, how hot, and how do I quench it? We have ovens at work that can get up to 800C, so heat isn't a problem :grin: Also, do I also brown the frizzen spring? One more question. What does one do with the trigger and trigger plate as far as finishing? It appears they are just left in the white, but I wanted to check with the experts.

Thanks!

 

[Vaino]

Don't anneal the frizzen....brown as is...except the mating surface w/ the pan.. Don't brown the frizzen spring. I just apply cold blue to the shiny surface. The trigger and trigger plate are filed and then gone over w/ 220 grit paper.....I do brown both......Fred

 

[Col. Batguano]

Most cold browning solutions contain de-greasers in them, so that isn't necessary, though a wipe with alcohol or acetone certainly won't hurt. Most will penetrate a hardened frizzen back and rust it up. Just try not to brown the face, or, more importantly, the sole if you can help it. Certainly not the pan or the fence. You want to be able to wipe fouling off of them cleanly. Cold brownning leave the surface somewhat rough, like the texture of parkerizing, or even rougher.

Polishing finer than 220-320 grit won't make the finished surface any smoother. In fact, it may have the opposite effect, because you need to leave the solution on there longer to allow it to penetrate and start rusting things. A rougher surface allows it to go to work faster, so you can card it after a shorter period, and the pits will be shallower. Rather counter-intuitive, but true.

Another color to consider is gray, particularly if you engraved your lock, cock, and frizzen. Browning makes engraving harder to see.

 

[Zonie]

Don't mess with the frizzens hardness.

Annealing and rehardening it is the same as opening Pandora's box.

Hardened steel parts will rust but they are usually more resistant than soft steel.

If you don't mind something that I think looks good and a bit different, use a cold bluing on the front of the frizzen, the springs and the trigger.

It's blue/black color will blend in nicely with the browned lock parts and it does a fair job of representing heat bluing without the use of heat.

Also, never try to brown (rust) a spring.
Rusting creates thousands of small pits and each one is a place for a crack to start to develop.

 

[19283]

Thanks to all for the advice!

 

[Ken Cormier]

I am with Zonieon this