Browning a damascus barrel

[hammer]

Hello all.

I have browned a couple of plain steel barrels in the past and been pleased with the results.

I now have an English percussion db shotgun that I have re-finished, except for the damascus barrels and ribs where the browning is worn away.  I would like to re-brown these so the twist still shows through.   
The normal browning process will certainly cover this up.

Can anyone advise how I should best go about it??

Thanks,

Peter.       

[greybeard]

Open longrifle forums
Scrole down to member list.
Go to the B on the alphadet at top of the pahe (upper right;
Scroll down till you find Bill Brockway
Open his profile
click on his latest posts.
Scroll down to # 19  and bobs yer uncle

[Captchee]

 I would second the advice on  bill Brockway’s instruction on browning . its not to complicated and gives a reasonable result
 Here is a photo of  one such barrel I did using his method
  The right  barrel in this photo , had yet to be carded


 here is another such barrel  that was of much lower quality then the  above barrel . same process was used but  i used a log wood bath after boiling . sorry its not a real good photo .



 Now where things get real tricky is  when you get down to trying to reproduce an original factory finish  . Each manufacture had their own  process that resulted in  slight  differences in the finish

 Some of these processes as well as  a lot of other good information  can be found here
http://www.damascus-barrels.com/index.html

 Now another very good  process  with full step  by step  instruction  .
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfg2hmx7_194gwgwmqdh



 Here is another very good link that will give you even more information as well as a deeper base of study . it contains a wealth if info as well as a couple diffrent methods of restoration
https://docs.google.com/View?docid=dfg2hmx7_186fpmvhzsb

[hammer]

Wow, thanks guys.    Fascinating stuff.   I am printing down those processes now.    I will pour myself a large whiskey and settle down to read them this evening.

The example pics are just breathtaking.   If I can produce anything even close I will be a happy man.


Thanks again,

Peter.

   

[keweenaw]

Before you start you'll need to make sure that the ribs are tight, everywhere.  If the ribs are loose you'll get discolored areas where the crud leaks out and you'll also get rather corrosive stuff from the browning solution under the ribs where it will eventually do terrible things.

Tom

[hammer]

Thanks Tom, sounds like very good advice.  Wouldn't have thought to check for that. 

Peter.

[Captchee]

Before you start you'll need to make sure that the ribs are tight, everywhere.  If the ribs are loose you'll get discolored areas where the crud leaks out and you'll also get rather corrosive stuff from the browning solution under the ribs where it will eventually do terrible things.

Tom

and take note of any inlays .
 if they are lose you need to tighten them up before you start .