re-blue at home or have gunsmith do it?

[mattri]

Rifle is an old Stevens 325C, it's completely stripped down and cleaned.

Looking at bluing it at home vs dropping it off at a smith.

I have no materials/experience bluing.

What would it cost to get everything together to hot blue at home?

What would it cost to drop it off and have a smith do it?

I know prices vary but what would be a ballpark?

 

[Taildrag15X]

I don't know of a gun smith that has tanks any more for hot blue. I used my Mateial Finisher (fancy words for painter/powder coater) as he did all the Black Oxide work for my shop also after Century Arms moved their refinishing plant.

His only problems with doing "blueing" was the parts would not be "polished" well enough or brass sight pins (shotgun barrel) still in/dirty bores which leads to a crappy finish and an unhappy customer.

The Brownell's Cold Blue will work, parts need to be totally clean and copper/brass/oil free, helps if you can bake them to get the oil out, or a good soaking in Acetone. We used it for touch up to a reworked part or a one off to save turn around time at the finishers.

Cost for a Hot Tank System would make you just go buy a "mint" what ever it is, I saw no money to be saved having one in house, EPA permits alone on the touch up spray booth still makes me loose sleep.....

 

[MGYSGT]

I had my old 22 hornet hot tanked last year. He polished it and blued it. WOW! Cost me $190

 

[Preacher]

A smith that has a lot of blueing experience will do you a better job than any home done job will ever be.. $150.00 to $200.00 is a good going rate, and you can buy spray paint a lot cheaper than that...

 

[ARshuter]

I charge between 150.00 and 200.00 depending on finish wanted, 400 grit to 1500 grit. Prices seem to vary by location.

 

[Larryh128]

Give me a PM & I'll give you a #. Getting set up to do your own
blueing is too expense.

 

[tenring]

Hot tank bluing at home is not an option. Couple years ago, I had a H&R single shot .223; barrel got rusted. I bought a Blue Wonder kit, followed the instructions, and finished it myself. It actually looks pretty good. It took about 12 applications with propane torch. I think the kit was $20.

 

[mattri]

Thanks for all the replies. Theres a shop in Des Moines that has a pretty good reputation- going to use them.

 

[bronco_buster]

Why not rust blue?

 

[ridgeway]

I just used Brownells Oxpho-blue cream to blue a recoil lug for my XP receiver and it really did a superb job. If I needed to do an entire gun, I'd probably give it a try. very nice stuff.

 

[tightneck]

Why not rust blue?

Rust blue is certainly the easiest way for the doityourselfer, and gives the most eye pleasing finish, IMO.

 

[mattri]

I dropped everything off yesterday, will be a few weeks before l get it back. Will try to post pics.