browning tones

[Scott Semmel]

I recently finished my annual ritual of cleaning and wiping down all the guns in my safe that have not seen recent use. It is a bit disconcerting to revisit all the mistakes that lie in my seven builds but there is always hope that the next one will be an improvement over prior efforts.
My question comes from my seeing the brown on the barrels side by side, there are slightly different levels of smoothness to pitting and I know the reasons for that, but one barrel has a really nice plum brown color all the others are various shades of chocolate. I always use the same regent to brown, Whatkons Bay, either store bought or my own made from the formula Mr. Williams shared on this forum some years ago. Problem is I don’t remember how I got that plum tone. The finish is quite smooth, no pitting and, if I remember correctly, it is a Douglas barrel the rest of my barrels are GM’s, Rice and Getz. Does the color difference come from the steel or from something I have control over?

[J. Talbert]

A lot of variation can be achieved with the same browning solution depending on the techniques used to apply it.  The humidity, temperature, length of time between coats, and the carding technique would be the biggest factors.
The best deep plum brown finish I have gotten was by applying the  solution fairly often, (every 8 to 12 hrs. as I recall) and carding with a very fine wire wheel.  This was with Homer Dangler's browning solution, which is what I have used for years.

Jeff

[smallpatch]

Like Jeff said.  The variables are temperature, humidity, and frequency/quantity of application.

The hotter, more humid, the faster it goes as well as more aggressive, so more texture.  The cooler, slower, more frequent carding and reapplication, the smoother the texture.

You can have a very rough, almost leather grain look, clear down to a smooth almost "blued" look.

Controlling the variables and consistency, will get the look you want.

[Scott Semmel]

I have a grasp of the level off smoothness versus pitting and how to control those issues I use a controlled humidity and temp box to brown. It is the color of the rust finish that is dramatically different in the one barrel I mentioned, it has the muted purplish undertones of plum. It was an old Douglas barrel and I'm beginning to think it must have been the properties of the steel that gave it a color unlike those developed on newer barrels.

[paxtonboy]

I prefer to brown or rust blue in the winter, (less relative humidety in Pennsyltucky), then I can adjust the humidity.  Be patient, the slower the rusting process, the smoother, and deeper color in the final product.  I also prefer to burnish the barrel as apposed to carding. 
 
It has taken me up to a month to get a good finish.   

BTW a short piece of gutter with endcaps and a universal water heater element makes a great barrel boiler.  Scott S

[smallpatch]

Scott
That color you're talking about seems to come out in the slower, smoother method as well.  I have one as you describe, and it looks like a purple/brown, almost blued end result  Very smooth and shiny.

[keweenaw]

When I'm trying for those slick, plum colored finishes I rust for very short amounts of time, no more than three hours, with a temperature of maybe 75 degrees in my rusting cabinet that has a pan of water in the bottom and circulating air via a computer fan.  If it were cooler and drier you could go for longer times but I've found I get a more even color with the short time periods.  Different steel alloys will vary a bit in color but the 8620 most locks are cast from and the 12L14 most barrels are made from give very similar colors if you do them at the same time.  Of course the amount of time you rust will also depend on the rusting agent you are using.  I like Oscar Gaddy's formula used full strength for about 4 coats and I then switch to the same formula diluted to half strength for 3 or 4 more coats to really even up the colors.  I try to never, ever get a pitted surface to my work.

Tom

[paxtonboy]

Scott
That color you're talking about seems to come out in the slower, smoother method as well.  I have one as you describe, and it looks like a purple/brown, almost blued end result  Very smooth and shiny.

Yup that is it. 
  I use a pc of 1" mild steel round stock for burnishing, just slide it along the flats.  I dont know if it helps, but I figure that the oxide is a good rouge to help polish the barrel.
  I could probably do it faster but I'm young, so I have  pleanty of time.  Hehehe