Nazgul58
45 Cal.
Degreased, 2 coats of cold blue scrubbed in with a 3M pad, heated with a heat gun. Scrubbed back to gray after. Holds up well to 3 years of use.
Don
What's the consensus on Kibler rifles Steel finish?
- Thread starter Frontstuffer070
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Degreased, 2 coats of cold blue scrubbed in with a 3M pad, heated with a heat gun. Scrubbed back to gray after. Holds up well to 3 years of use.
Don
Nazgul58
45 Cal.
Photo makes it look blotchy. It isn't blotchy.
Don
Don
You’ve got to really try to make an ugly Kibler.
Love those browned and greyed finishes guys!
Love those browned and greyed finishes guys!
There was a time period when the US arsenals went through a brown, bright, blued phase. Some years certain parts were required to be bright, then browned and lacquered, then case hardened blue (not color cased). Then they would decide everything was to be bright, then every part was colored in some fashion. It can be hard to track at times.
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I've used both on steel. Jax brown takes more work to build up a nice Grey patina. I finaly got some jax black and used it on the lock of my last woodsrunner. It was darker than I wanted. So I rubbed it back. And I'm getting used to it. The rifle is cherry stock and I browned the barrel.
Jax black is pretty much a cold bluing solution.
I think you need to first ask yourself what you intend to do with the rifle. Target, wallhanger, hunter?
I chose browning because it's highly durable and my Woodsrunner will likely see snow and rain throughout its lifetime.
I chose browning because it's highly durable and my Woodsrunner will likely see snow and rain throughout its lifetime.
nice photo,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Mike in FL
50 Cal.
Me, I prefer slow rust browning, regardless of era or HC. A good brown finish, brown like a Hershey bar, makes for what I think is a perfect barrel. It just looks "right.'" Plus I really do enjoy the process. I made a browning box that will support any length barrel. Thick plywood with wire or pine support points that do not contact the visible parts of a finished rifle. I love to see the day to day growing of rust. I use a low wattage light bulb that does not touch the wooden box, and several wet rags, a perfect environment for rust. Carding the barrel daily results in a very smooth unblemished finish. When done, I lined the box with plastic sheeting, fill it with cheap motor oil, and let the barrel soak for at least 2 days. Without the soaking, it will be difficult indeed to oil with gun oil. It soaks in and looks dry in splotches until sufficiently '"full." The motor oil really is a good short cut to a good and fast lasting oiled finish. I forgot to say plug the barrel and vent hole or risk the inside of the bore having rust. And the flats must be absolutely free of oil or even ginger prints. Fun stuff.
Mike in FL
50 Cal.
Oh,forgot. It is okay to unplug the muzzle and touch hole before soaking. I mean do damage is done by the bore being full of oil. Take care at the muzzle when browning if you don't want it browned. I don't do that, but many like a bright muzzle.
Psycho Mike
Free Cdn
I went with the bare / unfinished steel look on my Colonial. I took out the machining marks, gave it a light waxing to resist fingerprints a bit, and I'll let time take care of the aging.
As mentioned in my previous post from a year ago in this thread, I prefer to finish my early(pre-War) flintlocks with a light grey wash on the steel, then left to patina with age. This is a Hubbard(quite similar in design to the Kibler Woodsrunner) of the same period that was finished in a similar fashion acquired over 15 years ago. I really like the patina. My Kibler, only a few years old is well in its way to tskung on a similar appearance.
gustaf
32 Cal
A piece of steel that is almost 200 years old is going to be brown no matter what the original finish was if it was used.
Blued steel that after years of use turns a plum tint color.
I used perma blue and knocked it back to give me a grey iron look on this gun. I think bright is pretty universally accepted period correct option for guns of the 1750-1770’s. Then again if your Fowler doesn’t have metal engraving or your Woodsrunner have carving that’s not PC either, so do what makes you happy.
I like that result. Well done!!
