Mark Lee's Express Blue

[Deuce50]

Getting ready to finish the metal on my first rifle with mark Lee's Express Blue.  I've made a wooden plug to drive in the end of the barrel.  My question is what about all the small holes on the lock and the trigger plate?  Should anything be done to try and plug those holes?  I'd appreciate any other tips from anyone who has used this product!

[rich pierce]

Don’t worry about screw holes. I’ve used it and been happy with it compared to other products. Seems durable.

[sdilts]

I just used it for the first time and did not fill any of the holes. It came out really nice.

[Deuce50]

Thanks guys!  Did you do the neutralizing step with baking soda at the end or just coat it with oil?

Also, what did you use to card it?  I don't really want to buy an expensive wire wheel for this one project.  I've heard non-abrasive blue scotchbrite or even coarse denim work well.

[kutter]

No need to plug the bore, if you are doin that over some concern for the fact that the boiling water will enter it during that cycle.
Just wipe it out when completely done with an oily patch and then dry. Some brown residue will come out but that's just from the clean metal going thru hot water.

Screw holes don't need to be plugged either,,in fact plugging them can cause a blemish of poor bluing around the plug on the base metal a lot of time  as water migrates into the threads and then can't get back out quickly. When you card over than it often spoils the blue right around any plug.
Leave them open, it won't hurt a thing.

A regular 'carding wheel' is the most efficient and easiest to use. They are about .005 dia wire though some are as small as .002 or .003.
Let the wheel brush the surface and burnish the color layer. Run the wheel down around 400/500 rpm and use light pressure.
The loosened oxide from the boiling cycle should easily lift and fall off.
If it doesn't and you start to apply extra pressure , then something is wrong.
Probably the water isn't good enough for rust bluing. Water heavy with chemicals or minerals usualy won't convert the red rust to black oxide for you, or at least not completely. That's when you start haveing a difficult time carding the loose black oxide off.

I save the condensate water from the A/C over the summer. I use that for the boiling stage and have for the last 35yrs. Never a problem with it though some warned that copper from the coils in the A/C would leach into the water.  Never have had that problem.
Some are blessed with being able to use regular tap water. All depends on what chemicals and % are in it. It will tell you soon enough if it works or not.


0000 steel wool works well for carding, de-oil it first as most of it has some preservative oil in it and can instantly ruin the job.
The same type 0000 steel wool is a good applicator for the express rust soln as well. It can sometimes make the soln 'take' on a surface where a plain cloth patch applicator has problems.

Canvas, denim can all be used though they are not very handy around small parts and intricate surfaces, Some nylon brushes will attempt to remove the loose oxide but never seem to fully card the surfaces and burnish them the way a wire brush does.
I use maroon or grey Scothbrite to card but only when doing slow rust Browning,,and then only for the first 2 or three cardings. After that I go to either the carding wheel or 0000 steel wool.
ScotchBrite can take the colors off of the corners on the parts very easily.


I've never had any after rust problems w/ Mark Lee Express Rust soln. Been using it for probably 35yrs.
Before that I used Belgian Blue. That worked beautifully but did have a tendency to after rust. I suspect the Mercury Bi-chloride in it was the culprit.
I stopped using it because of the mercury compound as well.

Slow rust I use Laurel Mtn Bbl Browning soln.
That does have an After Rust tendency for sure. It's make up is Nitric acid, Ferric Nitrate and CopperSulfate.
I' used all sorts of different methods to stop the after rust problems with that over the years, some worked better than others.
Then I found that  after the last boil and card cycle using Laurel Mtn, I put one coating of Mark Lee's Express Blue on and the boiled that and carded it off and had absolutely no after rust. Why I don't know,,some sort of chemical in the M/Lee .

Just some info and findings from 60yrs of Rust Bluing and Browning.

[Deuce50]

Thanks kutter, that's quite the instruction sheet!  Looks like I might have to break down and buy a carding wheel!

[Deuce50]

Any tips on degreasing steel wool?  Just soak it in acetone and let it dry out I'm assuming?

[Stoner creek]

You can wash it in the kitchen sink with dish soap and really hot water. Rinse thoroughly.

[Rwnblack]

I buy steel wool from LeeValley tools.  It comes without grease and ready to go.  Seal the unused wool in a ziplock bag, however.  With out grease it oxides very quickly.  Hit it with a match and you won’t believe how unprotected iron in very fine wool can burn,

I switched to Mark Lee as well great stuff.  I don’t plug the barrel or anything anymore.

[Daryl]

A nine volt battery pushed into a wad of 0000 does very nicely as a fire-starter.
My survival hunting pack, for many years contained 3 35mm film bottles, one with a fresh 9 volt battery and the other 2 with scrunched up wad of 0000 wool.

[Scota4570]

"I've never had any after rust problems w/ Mark Lee Express Rust soln. Been using it for probably 35yrs.
Before that I used Belgian Blue. That worked beautifully but did have a tendency to after rust. I suspect the Mercury Bi-chloride in it was the culprit.
I stopped using it because of the mercury compound as well."

Do we know that the modern version contains mercuric chloride?  I can not find an MSDS. 

[sdilts]

You can get oil free 0000 steel wool at Woodcraft. They have it on sale this month. Also, go to Mark Lee's website for more instructions than comes with the bottle.
https://markleesupplies.com/

[kutter]

"I've never had any after rust problems w/ Mark Lee Express Rust soln. Been using it for probably 35yrs.
Before that I used Belgian Blue. That worked beautifully but did have a tendency to after rust. I suspect the Mercury Bi-chloride in it was the culprit.
I stopped using it because of the mercury compound as well."

Do we know that the modern version contains mercuric chloride?  I can not find an MSDS.

I can only give you my personal experience with the 'new' Belgian Blue as sold by Brownells.

As I posted, I had stopped using the orig stuff because of the mercury compound in it.
When the new Belgian Blue came out I figured I'd give it a try and ordered a small bottle from Brownells.
I did actually think that the mercury bi-chloride must have been elliminated and a substitute put in place. The hype at the time was
all about mercury and it's dangers. This was in the 90's IIRC.

I got the stuff and immedietely tried it out on some test pieces and it worked fine.
I noticed a very familiar odor to the soln when wiped onto the metal,,especially if the metal was a bit too warm.
It's an unmistakable odor that I was very familiar with from using the old (Herter's) Belgian Blue. The same odor came when I used Birchwood Casey
Antique Quick Bbl Brown which at the time also contained Mercury Bi-chloride.
The latter worked just as well as the Belgian Blue for rust bluing.

So to find out if the new B/Blue had any Mercury in it, I polished up a piece of brass and a piece of copper. Warmed both up and applied the new B/Blue to each.
They both showed instantly bright silver colored plating on the surface,,the sure sign (to me) that mercury from a mercury compound was 'plating out' on the non steel surfaces.

This was always a problem when using the old stuff (or the Birchwood Casey Bbl Brown). Any brass, gold, copper inlays, markings, sight beads, ect would be mercury plated during the bluing process.
The carding will not remove the plated mercury. It's on to stay and only (re)polishing will remove it.

I capped the bottle of 'new' Belgian Blue up and never used it again.
It's still down on a shelf somewhere.

More mercury in my shop, on me,,or in me ,,is not something I wanted then or now.

That was then. I don't know if they ever changed it.
I just won't use it. Mark Lee's Express works great for that process.

I do mostly Slow Rust Blue (or Brown) anyway.

That was my experience.. hope it helps.