Copper instead of brown?

[willy]

I'm using Birchwood Casey brown and the lock plate and hammer came out great.
BUT!! the barrel took on a copper look.
Gave it two passes so far and it still has the copper look.
Do I keep recoating it or strip it and start over?

[Long John]

I have used that product on about a dozen rifles.  I have never seen it produce a copper color.  Are you getting the barrel hot enough that the solution sizzles as you apply it?  It is a hot brown product not a cold browning solution.  The solution should sizzle as you apply it. 

The most important thing is to get the steel super clean.  I use one wash with hot soapy water and hot water rinse and then wash down real good with lacquer thinner making sure that you are wearing cotton gloves that have been washed. 

I do my browning on the back deck, outside.  I use a propane torch playing the flame up and down the barrel for a length of a foot or two until the steel is hot enough to make water sizzle.  I apply the agent with one of those little foam paint brushes.  Once I have applied the agent to one flat I rotate the barrel 1 flat and do the next flat the same way; playing the flame up and down for the same 1 or 2 feet until sizzling hot and then apply the agent.  Rotate 1 flat and repeat until the entire surface is browned.  Then I play the flame on the next 1 or 2 feet making sure I have about 6 inches of overlap.  I repeat the process until the whole barrel has been browned.  It usually takes about 1/2 an hour to apply the agent to a 48 inch barrel.   Once the agent has been applied to the entire barrel I wash it off with lot's of hot soapy water and a burlap rag until it is nice and smooth.  I dry the barrel off and then apply lot's of WD-40 and use a little 0000 steel wool or burlap to clean up the surface.   The following day I heat the barrel up with a propane torch and melt bees' wax into the surface of the steel and I am done.

If you get uneven color its because the steel was not clean.


Good luck.

JMC

[willy]

Thanks for the info.
I'll give it another try making sure it's hot enough this time.
Thanks

[Captchee]

LM will do that if its rubbed on.
 i would strip it back ,clean it up real well And start over .there ara a number of browns on the market .
 myself i  mostly use cold browns and a sweet box .  when i hot brown i use Clorox . which produces a very nice brown and a real even black if you boil it after browning

[Swampwalker]

Willy, I would encourage you to try a cold rust brown such as Laural Mountain Forge's product - it's very controlable, forgiving of mistakes, and the finished product is far better.  The hot instant brown does not wear well.
Regards, and good luck!
Dave Balsley

[willy]

Well I wiped it down today and it looks pretty good.
Three coats making SURE it was hot enough this time.
Next one I do I will try the LM  formula from the recmendations from most you guys on these forums.
The only reason I went with the Birchwood Casey is the lack of humidity this time of year.
Thanks for the input guys.

[timone]

I bought a Center Mark tradegun in the white years ago and finished the barrel using Homer Dangler's browning solution.  It turned out a copper color instead of the usual brown I had been getting on other rifles.  Homer's finish is a cold finish and done over a period of time with repeated coats, carding in between coats.  it didn't bother me at the time so I left it copper looking.  It also was a transparent copper color that you could see the polished surface of the barrel.  So it seems to me that perhaps it is not the finish solution but possibly the prep or the finish of the metal.

[Pete G.]

The BC stuff is good for a smooth finish. The others can be a little rough. Depends on what type of gun as to what looks correct.

[California Kid]

Cold brown can be made real smooth and glossy or a rougher finish. All depends on the techniques used and the desired result.

[Acer Saccharum]

A damp box will cure what ails ya. It will also fix that 'glossy brown' look. Makes it nice and rusty and crusty if you leave it cooking a long time.

[California Kid]

Acer, then you have to splain how to fix rusty and crusty. HA! HA! Into the Yuenglings EH?

[Roger Fisher]

I for one use the cold brown and let 'em go til they start a decent pit then rub 'em back with burlap rub rub rub.  I refer to a shooter rather than a 'looker'!

Mine do not meet muster as fancies

[Acer Saccharum]

no beer, just damp, time and aqua fortis.