Rust blued barrel jumps the gun (so to speak)

[frogwalking]

In finishing my new 40 cal rifle, I blued the barrel using Pinkerton's old time American rust blue.  I have used it before on pistols, and my son welded me up a dandy boiling tank.  It sits over two stove burners and will hold a barrel 48 inches long including the tang.  Ok, what happened was rather odd.  It takes so long to  bring this big tank to a boil on a standard electric stove, I decided to do all the rusting and carding, and boil it after the rusting was completed, rather than after each carding, which I did last time.  It was low humidity for almost a week before some rain came in and the rusting got going good.  I carded the $#*! out of it, reapplied the solution and did this about 6 times.  WHen I got finished, the barrel was already blue-black and not brown.  I rubbed it down with oil 5 or 6 times, and think it has dediced to stop rusting and be blue for a while.  

Why did it turn blue without  boiling?  I had not seen this happen before.  Do I need to do something else to ensure it does not continue to rust under the oil?


Thanks.

Frog

[Dphariss]

Solutions with nitric will often turn the barrel a blue/blue gray on application then turn red as they rust.
In my experience the carding does not go as well if the barrel is not boiled between coats.
But of course its a your mileage may vary thing.
The last one I did was being a pain so I boiled it, carded it and boiled it again and the color finally got good enough to oil.

Dan

[Acer Saccharum]

I find the color goes real dark with the boiling. Also it is tougher than any finish I've ever used. Stands up to abrasion and water far better than anything I've witnessed so far.

[Lucky R A]

Frog,
      You will need/should apply a base to prevent re-rusting.  Lye or ammonia are most often used with baking soda mixed into a paste and applied is another more labor intensive possibility.   I usually do this even before I boil the barrel on the last coat.  I apply the lye and let it set until the lye dries and then proceed.  I got this tip from Bill Shipman, and no longer have trouble with re-rusting.  You only need to have one barrel re-rust in the gun safe and not find it until it is pitted to take the extra precautions.   

[frogwalking]

 Thanks folks.  Good info.  I used to know everything, but thank God I am over that. 

[omark]

i still know everything,,,,,,,,just cant remember it   mark

[frogwalking]

Its' neutralized and boiled.  It may be darker, not sure.  The only thing that comes off now when rubbed with an oiled patch is black, not rusty.  I may wait a few days before reinstalling the barrel to be sure it is done.  Thanks again.