LMF blueing

[foresterdj]

I am working on 2 barrels right now, one will be brown when done and the other blue. I am using LMF and trying to follow their instructions to the letter. I have had issues in the past when I did not.  Put the first coat on yesterday 11am. This morning at 0800 did the second light coat. Shop temperature is 65 degrees F and Rh 54%. At 12 noon today I carded the brown barrel with warm wet jean material, dried and re-applied. It was looking streaky but I think will even out.

The barrel for blueing was scalded with boiling water in a PVC trough and while streaky brown going in the entire barrel turned a pretty dark black/blue in the boiled distilled water. I then wiped with warm wet jeans, dried and re-applied. Their instructions say 2 or 3 coats, or until desired.

So here is my question, "With a black/blue base already from the first boil, will I see brown again on top of it with the subsequent applications?" My intuition would have been to just continue with browning until a nice even brown and then boil once at the end, but that is not what their instructions say.

I made a humidity tent over them after this, a small space heater for more heat, and buckets of water with some water poured on floor as humidity source.

I checked at 3pm, the browning barrel is developing some new brown, the blueing barrel still just looks black/blue. It is still only 65F in the tent, even with the little space heater, but Rh is up slightly to 56%.

[Rmjchas]

You may see a very slight red color to new oxide on the barrel you are bluing that will turn black once you scald it.  By doing multiple applications of solution and scalding the oxide gets a much finer grain than you usually see by doing the browning procedure.

[Daryl]

Carding between each coat, whether bluing or browning, will give a smoother finish.

[foresterdj]

I think it turned out good. This after 3 applications with 3 scalding boils and 3 cardings, a baking soda scrub, with rinse, final clean boil and a night of motor oil soak.



Here is my scalding tank.

[Daryl]

Looks like a good job with a simply apparatus.

[Dphariss]

It will turn brown every applications in my expericence and the blue with every hot water treatment.  Its supposed to. At least every one I ever did turned brown. I card with degreased 0000 steel wool after boiling. I use a boil tank and boil for about 10-20 minutes. Also I have blued a barrel browned with plumb brown then boiling water poured over it. But I like the color of boiled better. Where I like the humidity is in the teens most of the time so I have to use a box to keep the humidity up which I also use to fume parts I have coated to speed the rusting. I usually did 5-6 cycles but I also did 4140-4150 alloy at times.
Until I made my own I used to use Wakon Bay Brown and their “Aqua-Fortis” “stain” 50-50. But the stock stain was adulterated (IIRC it had hydrochloric added to the mix)  and would, over time turn curly maple solid dark brown.  But it worked great for this.