Rust on barrel before gun bluing

[CovertGunny]

I'm working on re-bluing a gun for the first time. I used Birchwood Casey Rust & Blue Remover to get the old blue off, then I #0000 steel wooled to get it nice and shiny and clean. I used Birchwood Casey Degreaser and washed that off in water, some of the parts after that point turned like rusty yellow brown color. I was not expecting that so I tried Acetone and no water, but no luck really getting it off. Should I steel wool it and then acetone it again? Should I have not have run it under water? Because I did some small pieces with Oxpho Blue and I must say I'm not very impressed with my work I must've done 10-15 coatings and after I gun oiled the parts they still looked not that deep dark blue I was looking for.

Any help for an amateur?

 

[nicholst55]

Once you strip the bluing off and the metal is degreased, it will rust very easily - as you discovered. IMHO, you're not likely to get satisfactory results using cold blue. You might try warming the steel up slightly and immediately applying the cold blue - use large cotton swabs or cotton balls, saturated with cold blue. You really need to flood the part with the cold blue, or you'll get spotty results.

 

[shortgrass]

"Any advise?" Yes! You can't get a pro finish from a 'kit' Seek out a professional bluing shop.

 

[Preacher]

The parts need to be 100% squeaky clean before bluing, even stuff in the water will mess with it unless it has been filtered.
VAN"S instant blue is the only cold blue I've ever seen that was worth much on a complete gun blue..
Keep the barrel warm with a hair dryer, follow instructions to a T, and it should turn out good..

 

[Gun Smith]

After thorough polishing and degreasing, the best way to apply cold blue in my experience is to use white (very fine) Scotchbrite. The fine Scotchbrite helps the solution blend in very nicely. It blends in the blueing much better than oily steel wool.

I have found that Birchwood Casey "Super Blue" is the best I've tried when using Scotchbrite. Saturate the metal with the SB and Scotchbrite and wipe off before it dries with a clean cloth. Do not touch the metal with bare hands.

Works great on .22 barrels; mild steel. I don't know how it works on chrome moly type barrel steels, as I never tried it on one yet. It does work pretty well on O1 drill rod, which has a pretty high carbon content.

I read about this years ago somewhere on the web, so it's not my original idea. I tip my hat to the fellow who discovered it, as it works much better than steel wool or cotton, etc, in my experience.

It works good for small parts, screwheads, and for touch ups too.

Hope this helps. Happy shootin' fellas! Joe

 

[captkaos]

Look into rust blueing, easy to do and looks fantastic when done with anywhere from 5 to 12 applications.

Brownells rust blue solution works well, you will also need a carding wheel (soft wire wheel to knock the rust off between coats) some steel wool cleaned in acetone and a way to submerge the parts in boiling water to convert the rust coats into blue.

I have done a few older pistols this way, they all came out looking a deep blue/black semi-gloss to gloss finish. It's how all guns were blued prior to the 1920's if I remember correctly.

Brownells has a tutorial with the rust blue on the product page.

A 1920's Colt I did. Had lots of fine pitting, no original blue and been sanded a time or two by small children from the looks of it. I didn't polish the metal, just sanded up to 600 grit. If you want it to shine more buff it on a wheel before rust blueing.
Took 9 applications.

 

[boltfluter]

Look into rust blueing, easy to do and looks fantastic when done with anywhere from 5 to 12 applications.

Brownells rust blue solution works well, you will also need a carding wheel (soft wire wheel to knock the rust off between coats) some steel wool cleaned in acetone and a way to submerge the parts in boiling water to convert the rust coats into blue.

I have done a few older pistols this way, they all came out looking a deep blue/black semi-gloss to gloss finish. It's how all guns were blued prior to the 1920's if I remember correctly.

Brownells has a tutorial with the rust blue on the product page.

A 1920's Colt I did. Had lots of fine pitting, no original blue and been sanded a time or two by small children from the looks of it. I didn't polish the metal, just sanded up to 600 grit. If you want it to shine more buff it on a wheel before rust blueing.
Took 9 applications.

Very nicely done. 8)

Regards, Paul

www.boltfluting.com

 

[Grimstod]

As some one said earlier the hotter the part is and even the blueing chemical the better it will blue.