Tips on setting up a new blueing system

[Spotshooter]

I’m getting ready to move to the new show / building / location ... and will build a room for blueing.
I’m looking into getting the Brownells Blueing System.

For those guys who blue / used to blue / just setup your own and have lessons learned.

What things should I be thinking about doing ?

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Should be thinking of doing it outside under an awning.

 

[jdh47]

Unless you're going to be bluing a lot it's a lot better to have it done by somebody that does a lot. It needs to be done in a room by itself. If your salts sit for a while they creep up the sides of the tank so you'll need a lid and they'll creep out from under that too. During bluing water evaporates and you'll have to add water to 285+ degree hot salts and it likes to get western. As water evaporates it gets hotter so you need to try to keep a constant temp.
Prep is the better part of it and if not done well it'll show. Some steel doesn't blue like it should and will take on a mauve hue. Those salts are nasty and will eat holes in leather and just about anything else except a rubber or a plastic apron.
You'll need a rinse tank, the heat bluing tank with gas element below it. A thermometer that goes up high, 500* or so. you'll be working at around 295-310*. you can use iron wire that's degreased to hang your parts or a wire basket for small stuff. You'll need an oil tank to use after the nasty job is done.

Brownell's has all the stuff unless you want to make your own tanks. They have decent tutorials also so you'll likely get better information than what I can remember.

Rust bluing is better if done well but it takes skill and lots of time.

Oh, your wife is not likely to be impressed.

 

[Kevin Taylor]

It is said you can blue guns with just 3 tanks, by draining and refilling with the next step as you go. You really need hot degreaser, hot rinse, bluing salts, hot rinse, bleed out neutralizer, hot rinse, oil. So minimum 5 tanks. I guess if you are doing one gun at a time 3 could do it.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Should be thinking of doing it outside under an awning.

At least so in warm weather. But I'd have a small dedicated building, as it will rust every nail and screw out of wherever you do it. A cheapo portable building comes to mind. It will need to be right next door to where you do metal prep, imo. Metal begins to oxidize almost immediately.

 

[DickE]

Check out Du-Lite for bluing salts have had far superior results.

 

[Preacher]

Loved Brownells blueing salts when I was in the business...

 

[msinc]

Been doing this for quite a while. Right now Brownell's doesn't have much in stock except the chemical itself. "Tejas Smokers", in {you guessed it} Texas has the venturi and propane regulators to make gas pipe burners and it cost less than Brownell's, google it. Brownell's does have good instructions with the Oxynate #7, easy enough to follow. One thing I had happen with this recent bucket I just got, right when it gets to temp and starts to boil it turns in to shaving cream and boils over. Brownell's is saying, "yeah, it might do that the first couple times you heat it up".......mine has done it twice. I never remember that happening before.
You really should do it outside as posted already, you don't want to be around any of the fumes, much less concentrated ones. If you have to do it in a building you will need a lot of ventilation...to the point you might as well be outside anyways you have to move so much air.
I have tried other brands of chemical and about all I got was poorer. Most are way more costly. I would not worry too much about setting up many multiple tanks with burners. While several tanks make life easy when doing a lot of bluing, most backyard gunsmiths just honestly don't do it often enough to justify the same set up as a gun manufacturer. Start small and add as you go and figure out what you really need.
The biggest problem is getting people to understand the difference {time and money wise} between metal prep and polishing and just turning stuff black!!!!! Best of luck!!!!

 

[Intheshop]

In the wood mill industry,they're called planer sheds. Basically a pole barn with heavy tarp "curtains". Trying to keep up with ventilation and chip evac is a dead end,indoor proposition.

Further,from an insurance standpoint,they are "total loss".

My first impression,or somewhat smarta$$ comment was gonna be,....... what kind of welder do you have? (think,fabrication skills).

 

[hoz53]

I’m getting ready to move to the new show / building / location ... and will build a room for blueing.
I’m looking into getting the Brownells Blueing System.

For those guys who blue / used to blue / just setup your own and have lessons learned.

What things should I be thinking about doing ?

There was a time I thought I’d do bluing. After checking it all out I decided I’d have a professional bluer do what I need. Its good to know about the process though. There are some instructional videos out there about it. Now all I gotta do is figure out who to get to do the work for me.

 

[DickE]

Been doing bluing for years. 3 tank system works ok for me.

 

[tobnpr]

Guess I've been wrong- I figured substantial demand for bluing had gone the way of the dinosaur with coatings like Cerakote that offer better abrasion and corrosion resistance/protection.

I get it, for "purists", or restorations of collectible firearms- but why anyone would choose to blue, over Cerakote- especially for a rifle regularly exposed to the elements is lost on me.

Must be a much larger market for it that I thought.

 

[Spotshooter]

I do Cerakote now, but will be doing a building addition for my shop and plan to build the end section of the garage for spraying / and curing the cerakote - plus having a polish / bluing room.

To be honest, I love blueing finish - and would send my own rifles out..

The problem here is that there is only one company doing Blueing locally, and they are CRAZY EXPENSIVE, so there are a good number of people without a couple hundred miles that need a good reasonable bluing provider for CM barrels and other jobs. I’m OK with a break even proposition, but like one of you said the time required for prep and polish is the hard one today.

Either way I figure that there should be a local gunsmith that a guy should be able to reach out too that doesn’t want hundreds of dollars to blue a barrel.

 

[Dave in WI]

Did it before, but didn't set it back up when I moved into new shop. I have the Brownell's set up and liked it. Could save you some $ on purchase, but probably a pain to ship. I'm on the top of Wisconsin.

 

[msinc]

Guess I've been wrong- I figured substantial demand for bluing had gone the way of the dinosaur with coatings like Cerakote that offer better abrasion and corrosion resistance/protection.

I get it, for "purists", or restorations of collectible firearms- but why anyone would choose to blue, over Cerakote- especially for a rifle regularly exposed to the elements is lost on me.

Must be a much larger market for it that I thought.

Well, I'd say you are not all that wrong...I have been at this for 30 years and have never known what I would consider "substantial demand". In fact, there is barely enough demand to justify doing it and it's always been that way. Kinda like owning a big boat, but there is no fun in it.
Further, from what I have seen over the last twenty some odd years, it didn't "go the way of the dinosaur" because of paint. That was a contributor, as is hydro-dip, but I believe stainless steel has done more than paint to kill bluing.
I have honestly blued as many guns for myself as I have for customers.
Don't get me wrong, before someone jumps up and starts bawling about "cera-kote isn't paint"...I have several cera-koted guns and I like it, but it's paint, period end of story...good paint, but it's paint.