Stripping and re-bluing Remington action

[Lefty Trigger]

Anybody had any luck stripping of that weird black coating Remington uses and bluing an action? I have a 700 action and that black finish is just horrible looking. I stripped an old Mauser action and polished the steel and hand blued it and it looks awesome but I bet its way better quality steel.

 

[golong]

Not sure what Remington is using, but if it looks like the wanna be black that Ruger uses on the 10/22 try oven cleaner and a wire brush.

 

[JFrank]

@Stan Taylor might be able to advise you, he does blueing

 

[Lefty Trigger]

Not sure what Remington is using, but if it looks like the wanna be black that Ruger uses on the 10/22 try oven cleaner and a wire brush.

Getting it off is easy, more curious if the metal will accept bluing. Some cheap/low cost metals don't blue real well, could be why Remington coats them that or cost reasons?

 

[Lefty Trigger]

@Stan Taylor might be able to advise you, he does blueing

Thanks I might send Stan a PM...

 

[Dave in WI]

If you are talking about the bottom metal..... use Aircraft Stripper

 

[golong]

Getting it off is easy, more curious if the metal will accept bluing. Some cheap/low cost metals don't blue real well, could be why Remington coats them that or cost reasons?

Got it - can't really comment on that part. In the case of the 10/22, I polished it and then cleared it with duracoat but it is definitely a softer material than the 700 action.

Regarding aircraft stripper, oven cleaner is pretty much the same thing. I have used both to strip powder coatings. Only difference seems to be some brands work better than others.

 

[Stan Taylor]

I know someone I know someone that can hot blew it for you the bluing on your action is a acid etched finish if you want regular Bluing you will have to have it polished then run through bluing tanks if you have abdl trigger guard it will have to be painted it's aluminum

 

[Lefty Trigger]

I know someone I know someone that can hot blew it for you the bluing on your action is a acid etched finish if you want regular Bluing you will have to have it polished then run through bluing tanks if you have abdl trigger guard it will have to be painted it's aluminum

Thanks Stan, I don't have a trigger guard as the gun it came off of had the trigger guard made into that el-cheapo plastic stock but I have it in a aluminum chassis. Trying to decide if I want to build something with it or just sell it, I'm more of a Savage guy.

 

[SBS]

Bead blast it, polish it and hot blue. If you don't want to polish it, I think it will blue just fine after bead blasting off the old finish - never had a problem doing that. Military 98 Mausers are not better steel, they are simple carbon steel that has thin case hardened surfaces. 700 actions are chrome moly hardened all the way through and will stand much higher pressures than military 98's.

 

[Lefty Trigger]

Ok, I took the receiver to work and stripped the finish off with a wire wheel and got it to bare metal. Spent several hours sanding and polishing the metal to almost a shine. Bought a Birchwood-Casey re-blue kit and figured I'd have a go at it... this is the results. I think it turned out awesome and it looks really good. The black factory finish on the bolt still looks good so I did not do the bolt. The pictures and the lighting don't really do it justice...

 

[golong]

Looks good from here - nice job.

 

[DickE]

Cold bluing will rub off with use.

 

[SSL]

Cold bluing will rub off with use.

Some brands definitely do, but for smallish projects I have used Brownell's Oxpho Blue for years with excellent results as to wear. Applied correctly, which means starting with bare, polished, degreased steel and re-applying until the solution beads up and refuses to "soak in" any more, it is surprisingly wear resistant. I re-blued a Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 many years ago, including the cylinder, and it still shows no wear or sign of corrosion. The same goes for a Ruger Blackhawk .45 Colt (among many others done) that I completely rebuilt including steel grip frame and ejector rod assembly. Nice gloss and no wear. Since part of the process is burnishing each application with steel wool, it shows just how tough the product is and normal handling takes a long time to show wear.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

It helps to heat it up too

 

[SSL]

It helps to heat it up too

You're right. I forgot to add that. Works a little like the old Plum Brown finish. Just make sure it's a "clean" heat. Heat gun works for me. I do disagree with their claims that it works through/over rust and old bluing. OK if you want a crappy looking job!

 

[Fast14riot]

Has anyone used Van's bluing? I have some for an old rimfire rifle project, just haven't gotten around to it yet.

 

[Lefty Trigger]

I have only used this stuff for screws and such so this was the biggest project I have tried it with and the fact that it cost me nothing but time I'm pleased with it. If it does wear off I'm sure it will take a large amount of time because the rifle receiver is not really handled much and I did not do the bolt because it still looked good.

 

[msalm]

After prepping the receiver, you could have had a few different places just dip it in a hot salts bath. I've used Glenrock Blue in the past with excellent results for a very reasonable cost.