Really amateur Q

[tom deinek]

Want to refinsihmy .32 Crocket rifle.

Considering removing blue, applying coats of brown mustard & later wrapping with gauze for wetting with vinegar, all per intructions from another post.

Do I keep the wrapping moist or should I let it dry out between vinegar applications?

tia

 

[Lock Nut]

I use sno-bowl toilet bowl cleaner and a stiff tooth brush. You can strip a whole barrel clean in less than 5 minutes. Just make sure you wear gloves and do it in well ventilated area.
Probably any good strong bowl cleaner will work.

 

[jdkerstetter]

What finish are you going for after you remove the bluing? If you are going to brown it any of the acid based browning solutions will remove the blue for you so you can skip this step.

The exception to this is if you have a highly polished surface under your factory bluing. Then you will want to sand you barrel with emery cloth backed up with a file to give the browning solution something to bite into.

Enjoy, J.D.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Mustard? Vinegar? Wats for dinner?
I have successfully browned right over blue. Just do it, no problem.

 

[tom deinek]

As I said, I'm new to the process.

I assumed the vinegar on the mustard would render a browned barrel. Surely that's what was meant in the instructions (and what the picture with them showed).

I wanted to know if the ten day gauze process required it to be constantly damp or if the gauze was supposed to dry out between applications.

I was gonna use Birchwood-Casey bluing remover at the first step.

 

[jdkerstetter]

As has been stated, bluing does not have to be removed to brown/rust the barrel. You are just adding an extra step and wasting the BC blue remover. It is helpful to remove all oils, waxes, etc. before you brown though...including fingerprint oils.

A good even rust brown takes several applications of browning solution in a humid environment to achieve a nice finish.

I have never tried the mustard brown method and don't plan too. Vinegar is a mild acid and takes too long to work...this is not a fast process anyway, why prolong it? Suspended in mustard, I would think it would give mottled or spotty results, at best.

I haven't heard of the gauze wrap thing and I believe I have read about every longrifle building book out there....or perhaps I have let myself forget about. Anyway, in order to brown you need rust and in order to rust the metal has to be damp. So, the gauze would have to be damp....and wrapped thin so air can still get to the metal that you are trying to oxidize.

If you want a consistant, built-up, durable, rust brown finish buy Wahkon Bay, Dangler's, or any other HCL based rusting solution.

Or do an experiment and let us know the results. I would be more than curious about the time it takes to achieve a good finish....not so curious that I would do it myself though.... :grin:

Hey, isn't that BC blue remover acid based like naval jelly??? If so, that will also rust your barrel if left go. :wink:

Enjoy, J.D.

 

[necchi]

Here's a thread Makeumsmoke posted about his experiance with vinegar and a barrel; http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/245376/post/841478/hl//fromsearch/1/