rust bluing results

[bioprof]

Would a section of gutter work to boil a barrel in water? You might also be able to just pour the boiling water over the barrel.

In hindsight, it is a lot easier to brown a barrel than to rust brown using LMF browning/degreaser solution. After doing a pistol barrel, I don't know if I would do a rifle barrel. Very messy too.

 

[Lone Carabiner]

There are different 'grit/grades' and I have used the ultra-fine with good results to 'hand lap' my barrels with good results. :thumbsup:

 

[dlemaster]

Yes gutter will work if you can get the ends to seal up water tight and to take some heat. I few years ago I used some new solder made especially for aluminum at work that I'm sure would be excellent to use on a piece of aluminum gutter.

Different recipes will react differently to the boiling operation. Some require boiling for as long as 20 minutes and other will work with just being scalded by pouring boiling water over the barrel.
I have a friend who rust blued a barrel last Winter using LMF (I believe) and he just scalded the barrel with boiling water and it worked pretty well.
I would recommend that you use only distilled water or possibly rain water to prevent any reaction between the chemicals in the blueing formula and what maybe in the water.

Regards, Dave

 

[Russianblood]

Distilled water won't boil so you would need a thermometer to know you at the correct water temperature. It also reacts violently when impurities are added to superheaded distilled water. Probably not the water you'd want to use.

 

[Zonie]

I never knew that.

I always thought pure water would boil at 212 degrees F at sea level conditions.

It may take a bit of agitation to keep it from superheatin but it will boil.

For those who didn't know, a large number of people are burned yearly when they heat pure water in a Microwave. If the container is very clean the water can be heated hotter than 212 degrees F. without it starting to boil.
In this state, any disturbance will cause all of the water to instantly turn into steam and a glassfull of water will produce a lot more steam than a microwave oven can hold. That results in a super hot steam explosion which will not only burn your hand and arm but your face too if it is close to the door.

zonie

 

[MikeChapin]

Zonie is right about distilled water. We used to use the equivalent of tripley distilled water in the boiler of a powerplant I used to work at. At those tempratures and pressures pure water is acidic. We had to add some impurities in the form of ammonia and phosphates to keep it from eating the piping and turbines.

BTW: Water that pure makes lousy coffee. It sucks out every bit of acid and other nasties out of the grounds that tap water leaves behind.

 

[dlemaster]

If I recall from my water treatment classes several years ago, the water isn't acidic it just has the abiliy to pick up a lot more material from the piping than common water will. In other words if you did a litmus test it wouldn't show as being very acidic, but because it has no chemicals or minerals it will break down the metal faster it has an affinity to destroy the steel in the piping, that is why you add the chemicals and have to have a dearieator to lower oxygen levels to prevent corrosion.

I didn't know about distilled being harder to boil though. I know that the more minerals water holds lowers the temperature that it freezes at. That is why pure water freezes at 32F deg. and sea water at about 28F deg IIRC.

Regards, Dave

 

[Scota4570]

You do definately want to use distilled. Add a few glass beads or steel shot pellets. This will act as "boiling stones" and give a place for the bubbles to start. I doubt it could be a problem in the average gun boiling tank. In new pyrex it can be, particurarly in the microwave as mentioned. Using tap water will cause all kinds of odd colors and problems to arise.

The pH of distilled water is exactly 7.0 by definition, it's not acidic.

 

[Zonie]

The steel shot will work and even just a clean spoon or some similar object for the bubbles to start to form on.

I mentioned the dangers of the Microwave because it heats the water uniformly throughout the glass/bowl etc. This uniform heating is IMO the source of the problem.

I have heated distilled water to a boil many times over a heat source like a gas stove.
The localized heat on the bottom seems to cause enough movement in the water due to convection that the bubbles will start to form on the cooler regions of the pan.

zonie