AmericanLongRifles Forums

General discussion => Gun Building => Topic started by: hortonstn on October 10, 2020, 03:49:30 AM

Title: Grey longevity
Post by: hortonstn on October 10, 2020, 03:49:30 AM
I removed a rust brown finish on a barrel with Birchwood Casey blueing and rust remover it left a beautiful grey finish which I liked question is will this finish be durable?
Title: Re: Grey longevity
Post by: Not English on October 10, 2020, 05:27:40 AM
Hortonstn, I'm not familiar the initials Bc blueing and rust remover. I've always used muriatic or hydrochloric acid. I think if you give the barrel a good coating of oil, you should be OK. I would make a point of keeping the barrel oily for awhile so some of the oil will be absorbed. It really shouldn't be any different than what I did to antique a barrel in the white for a fusil.
Title: Re: Grey longevity
Post by: Waksupi on October 13, 2020, 11:21:33 PM
I have a rifle I built around ten years ago, and French Greyed the barrel. It has been building a beautiful  patina over the years, leaning towards brown. Love the look!
Title: Re: Grey longevity
Post by: TommyG on October 14, 2020, 02:36:18 AM
I have done several barrels with LMF rust brown, rubbed back after 4-5 coats, then applied Oxpho-Blue rubbed back, then waxed.  This finish has held up very well for me.  After cleaning the gun, I wipe the barrel down with an oiled cloth.  One thing I did notice, before applying the blue, I would wipe down with denatured Alcohol and ended up with some surface rust after waxing.  I've since switched to Acetone for wiping and haven't had any surface rust since.
Title: Re: Grey longevity
Post by: hanshi on October 15, 2020, 12:30:06 AM
A nice rifle I had sometime back had a grey metal finish I liked very much.  Over the years it did indeed acquire a patina that really looked sharp.  I like that type finish.
Title: Re: Grey longevity
Post by: D. Taylor Sapergia on October 15, 2020, 02:47:04 AM
Rust removers like "Naval Jelly" contain phosphoric acid, as far as I know, and they leave a grey finish.  this finish is not good at preventing rust.
Title: Re: Grey longevity
Post by: Dennis Glazener on October 15, 2020, 03:23:40 AM
Could have been Oxphos available from some paint stores by the gal. I got mine from a Sherwin William's store.

I have used it on bare shinny metal to get a grey finish. It is used to stop active Russian, where it will turn rust into a hard black finish that paint will adhere to.

I told the two rifles I used it on but one of them did show a few rust flecks through the grey after firing it a few times. They cleaned right off but may have formed a patina if allowed to continue.

Main ingredient is phosphoric acid.
Dennis
Title: Re: Grey longevity
Post by: alex e. on October 15, 2020, 03:45:35 AM
All gun finishes are temporary, and subject to wear from use. Greys will turn brown,blues will turn brown. They age like we do.
Title: Re: Grey longevity
Post by: Eric Krewson on October 15, 2020, 04:33:08 PM
I like the gray look but find it doesn't stand up to a lot hands on use, the metal turns shiny again if you touch a spot repeatdly like a buttplate.
Title: Re: Grey longevity
Post by: eggwelder on October 17, 2020, 05:08:50 AM
I did a grey on my first one, i still like it, but the brown is slowly spreading down the neck of the cock, and on the barrel radiating out from the vent. I don`t try to scrub out off. Active rust when it appears, yes, but this stuff, no.
Title: Re: Grey longevity
Post by: Not English on October 18, 2020, 02:39:48 AM
Eric, the shiny spots created by wear are patina in my books. It takes a lot of use to get them naturally.
Egg, I know exactly what you're talking about. I built a rifle 30 years ago that had a white barrel that was polished with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper and then oiled. It was originally done as an experiment because I don't believe that many guns were browned originally in the mid 18th century. It has developed a very definite gray area around the breach/touch hole area and parts of the lock. I have carded it occasionally with 0000 steel wool just  enough to take bake any heavy oxidation/rust. I quite like the results so far. It has a really nice look of use. 
Title: Re: Grey longevity
Post by: Eric Krewson on October 18, 2020, 05:44:00 PM
I do like the patina that grows over the years, this was a very gray barrel, it looks rusty but but that is a light rust patina that forms even under oil and Barricade. Of course it looks much more prominent in the bright sunlight, it is subdued under normal lighting.

(https://i.ibb.co/F8JKNmt/freckling.jpg) (https://ibb.co/xzGDPXQ)

Before it aged;

(https://i.ibb.co/8zJD02X/fowler-selfies-002.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)

image hosting (https://imgbb.com/)
Title: Re: Grey longevity
Post by: Daniel Coats on October 18, 2020, 06:07:59 PM
I removed a rust brown finish on a barrel with Birchwood Casey blueing and rust remover it left a beautiful grey finish which I liked question is will this finish be durable?

I've done this on purpose a few times. Not sure I would call it a finish or durable but one has lasted 18 years so far.
Title: Re: Grey longevity
Post by: Not English on October 19, 2020, 04:50:37 AM
Eric, your photos tend to reinforce my belief about white barrels. Quite a few of the old guns I was able to disassemble had barrels that resembled yours. When the barrels were removed the areas protected by the forestock were still a grayish white.
Title: Re: Grey longevity
Post by: hanshi on October 19, 2020, 10:17:20 PM
I no longer have this rifle but it was built with gray finished metal.  It still acquired some patina and looked sharp!

(https://i.ibb.co/BB2XttY/PICT0379.jpg)