Re-blue or cerakote.?

[rcol317]

Well after 50 years handling and using firearms I had a bad experience. On a hunting trip in Montana had the bad experience on a couple firearms contacting a little moisture while in the gun case. I caught the rust early, maybe a day or two but still have serious rust on the action and barrel. Cleaned the rust off but now have minor pitting and discoloration. My question is am I better having the action and barrel re-blued or am I better off to cerakote. Seems bluing doesn’t really protect. Do I need to use steel wool to clean up and smooth damage before I send in to re-do what ever? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Rick

 

[shortgrass]

Bluing effects the substrate of the steel, Cerakote is a coating. Properly applied, Cerakote will do a better job of protecting the metal, although it does not look as good to me as a first class bluing. Consider slow rust bluing for carbon steel. Properly done, it is beautiful and offers better protection than hot caustic bluing. Rubbing over the areas that are rusted will not remove the pits, only draw filing will do that and that is best left to the metal fininsher doing the work. Something else that should be considered, If there is rust on the outside, there may be rust on the inside (of the barrel)!

 

[hogpatrol]

Curious as to what type or brand of gun case. I've found the foam egg crate lined ones are the worst for rusting guns. A friend put a rifle in one that had laid open and got wet and the entire rifle rusted. Major FAIL.

 

[rcol317]

The guns were in Midway USA Canvas covered with like a soft fabric inside. Neither case appeared wet but seemed to draw moisture. Was in Montana for a couple weeks dog shooting/fly fishing and rained continuously for a week. I dont think it was the gun case. Was my fault, not taking out daily to check on them. Got lucky no rust to speak of inside.

 

[hogpatrol]

The guns were in Midway USA Canvas covered with like a soft fabric inside. Neither case appeared wet but seemed to draw moisture. Was in Montana for a couple weeks dog shooting/fly fishing and rained continuously for a week. I dont think it was the gun case. Was my fault, not taking out daily to check on them. Got lucky no rust to speak of inside.

Not always 100% but silicone cloths and socks can help with rust prevention in damp and wet conditions.

 

[Prose]

Not always 100% but silicone cloths and socks can help with rust prevention in damp and wet conditions.

Similar experience this spring with a Rem 700 SPS.

Bluing can be saved and maintained even after initial rusting, you just have to stay in front of it. Were I ever to fix this problem, it would be with cerakote. Until then, it gets wax.

 

[Ggmac]

Black chrome , hard chrome over glass beaded . But the paint today is truly amazing ( cerakote)

 

[X Ring Accuracy]

Our choice is Cerakote. It's not perfect, wears on corners and isn't as nice as a bluing. Bluing like Cerakote will not fill in pitting.

 

[rcol317]

Well did a little more research and as the posted responses indicate here, cerakote is probably the best option for my need adnthat's what I think I'll do. thanks for all the input. Rick

 

[Eric Leonard]

is there a cerakote color that would replicate the color of the deep black looking blueing that was on Colt Pythons ,,I have an A prefix Rem 700 BDL 25-06 I am planning on rebarreling in 6.5x284 with a stainless Krieger bbl and would like the bbled action finished to look like it was dark blued without spending 1,000++ $$$ .

 

[Dusty Stevens]

is there a cerakote color that would replicate the color of the deep black looking blueing that was on Colt Pythons ,,I have an A prefix Rem 700 BDL 25-06 I am planning on rebarreling in 6.5x284 with a stainless Krieger bbl and would like the bbled action finished to look like it was dark blued without spending 1,000++ $$$ .

No cerakote will ever look like any type of bluing except the rock blasted remington express type. It will look spray painted.
Watch some videos on rust bluing. Itll get you as close as you can get without extensive knowledge and extensive supplies

 

[shortgrass]

is there a cerakote color that would replicate the color of the deep black looking blueing that was on Colt Pythons ,,I have an A prefix Rem 700 BDL 25-06 I am planning on rebarreling in 6.5x284 with a stainless Krieger bbl and would like the bbled action finished to look like it was dark blued without spending 1,000++ $$$ .

Dusty is correct, Cerakote will look like a coating, not bluing. SS can be hot blued, using the proper chemical solution. I'd do an on-line search for a shop that does SS bluing. You could have the barrel black nitride treated. But you need to understand that black nitride is a heat treating process, done by companies that are not metal finishers, they're heat treaters. Gun bluing, be it slow rust or hot caustic is very dependent upon the degree of metal preparation. I've seen lots of metal (firearms) that have been completely butchered because the person who did the metal prep didn't know what they were doing. Corners rounded-off, screw holes dished out, numbers and lettering washed out from buffing. Having the barrel black nitride treated and the receiver slow rust blued with provide a "as close as possible" match in the finishes. But, it will not be "looking like a Colt Python". And, chances are, If you find a shop that runs a set of hot tanks for SS, the color will not match the blue on the carbon steel receiver. It might be close. Your best bet may be to contact Doug Turnbulls' shop and see what he can do for you. Be prepared to pay handsomely for his services...…..

 

[JRS]

ROBAR

 

[Eric Leonard]

No cerakote will ever look like any type of bluing except the rock blasted remington express type. It will look spray painted.
Watch some videos on rust bluing. Itll get you as close as you can get without extensive knowledge and extensive supplies

no more than the rifle will be shot maybe I could live with a chrome moly bbl,,as long as it is a match grade and shoots tight,,I thought about having the stainless polished and leave the receiver alone as it is still in very good shape but IDK,,I have had this rifle since 76 and dont really want to alter the look much,,it has taken me about 5 years to decide to switch calibers,,no good 25 cal bullets just sux,,

it`s been close to 10 years since it`s been fired ,the throat is eroded so bad a 100 NBT would reach the lands seated at about 4 inches,,,

 

[shortgrass]

There is nothing wrong with a CM, except extra care should be taken to prevent corrosion in the bore. I have seem many (many!) that the owner claimed to have give meticulous care to that were heavily pitted in the bore. All it takes is to leave the rifle set for a day after shooting and the pitting begins, seriously. If you do go all CM , www.gunbluing.com does a very good, professional job.

 

[Eric Leonard]

There is nothing wrong with a CM, except extra care should be taken to prevent corrosion in the bore. I have seem many (many!) that the owner claimed to have give meticulous care to that were heavily pitted in the bore. All it takes is to leave the rifle set for a day after shooting and the pitting begins, seriously. If you do go all CM , www.gunbluing.com does a very good, professional job.

when I get this rifle done I plan on doing a load work up and form 50 pieces of brass to it and it wont be shot except on special occasions,,,,

it`s on it`s 3rd bbl but still has the Redfield 6x Wideview it came with,,but man it wont shoot for crap anymore and I been goin back and forth on stainless and cm and calibers for way too long,,I need to get her back in shape even if I dont plan on using it..



still had original bbl in `83

 

[grandslam 4]

Check out Richtor Precision in Lancaster ,Pa coatings they use are suberb , They except gun parts from
dealer only, I started using Richtor for our CLassic hunter Receivers, Much better than paint or other
coatings , The turn around time is 2 weeks and don't break the bank jlyons1@comcast.net or 610-603-6760

 

[mr.kirk]

Cerakote offers a gloss black in h-series that will look as good as cerakote can get compared to blue. The tungsten color is a good looking choice that will hide hard use a little longer. Dlc or nitrocarburizing is a good alternative if you have tight tolerances. It’s recommended to do the bolt body in cerakote microslick. Do the inside of receiver in microslick if the bolt is tight. H-series holds up better than the room temp stuff. There’s huge selection of colors, unlimited patterns and then you get to the guncandy additives. Or, Turnbull does the best blueing.

 

[mr.kirk]

Guncandy might not fly in Montana

 

[Dusty Stevens]

View attachment 1056413 Guncandy might not fly in Montana

They’d say “you aint from around here are ya boy?”