another rust blue question

[whitebear]

I didn't want to steal the other thread on rust bluing.  My question is , how wear resistant  is rust bluing in normal use?  Normal use being, shooting a monthly match at the club plinking a couple of times a month and hunting during deer season, that sort of thing.

[necchi]

At least as good as chemical hot blue on modern guns.
If you rub any gun barrel enough no matter what it has on it and you'll wear it down to the steel.
Rust finish and rust blue is the same, care for it properly and it'll last a lifetime.

[eddillon]

Well said necchi (John T.).  A proper rust blue is a great finish and is superior in appearance to any mdern hot blue.

[Dphariss]

I didn't want to steal the other thread on rust bluing.  My question is , how wear resistant  is rust bluing in normal use?  Normal use being, shooting a monthly match at the club plinking a couple of times a month and hunting during deer season, that sort of thing.

Good rust blue is more durable than any hot tank blue, charcoal blue, etc I have ever seen. It produces a really hard oxide coating that is, in my experience very wear resistant. At least on 4150 where I have used it most.

Dan

[Hungry Horse]

 Dan's right on this one. Rust blueing, is tougher than the browning solution used to produce most of it. I did up a production kit gun years ago, with rust blueing, using nothing more exotic than Birchwood Casey plum brown, which in my opinion, is one of the poorest browning systems. The new owner, decided he wanted the gun browned, instead of blued, and tried to remove the blueing. He called me, and said the only way he could get the blueing removed to his satisfaction, was to have the parts sandblasted.

                            Hungry Horse

[kutter]

The old formula Birchwood Casey Plum Barrel Finish was one of the better Quick/Hot Rust Blue solutions around. It and others like Belgian Blue that worked good had mercury bichloride in it.
You could buy it in most any gunshop or a hardware store selling gun supplies and didn't have to mail off to Herters , Dixie or someplace to get a bottle 'Rust Bluing Solution'
B/C changed the stuff some years ago to elliminate the mercury in it. Don't know what's in it now. Haven't had the occasion to use it.

Never used the original for browning,,just rust blue.

[Hungry Horse]

 A  Pacific Northwest  producer called Old Thunder, produced a browning solution, that was better than any others I tried. They did the same as Birchwood Casey, and changed their formula to remove the mercury. Now, its just like everybody else's hit and miss products.

                   Hungry Horse

[frogwalking]

I use Pinkingtosn Classic American Rust Blue which can be obtained from Brownell's or Midway, and probably a number of other sources.  It is not fast, but over a week of daily carding and applications, one has a very nice brown.  Boil it and one has a very nice rust blue.  I just finished a barrel and am still polishing my lock in preparation for blueing. 

[Acer Saccharum]

Card the rust off with a STAINLESS bristle brush, or wire wheel. Brownell's sells one with .003 wires. It does not scuff, nor take the blue off.

[Dphariss]

I use Pinkingtosn Classic American Rust Blue which can be obtained from Brownell's or Midway, and probably a number of other sources.  It is not fast, but over a week of daily carding and applications, one has a very nice brown.  Boil it and one has a very nice rust blue.  I just finished a barrel and am still polishing my lock in preparation for blueing.  

I probably have a bottle of this in the shop some place. In my low humidity the stuff stopped rusting in three coats so I never bothered with it again.
The best I have found off the shelf was Wakon Bay cold brown and AF stain mixed. This is just right for aggressiveness and color.
But I now make my own since I have a lot of acid inherited from a guy who thought he wanted to be a gunsmith.
If the solution is too acidic it will tend to pit the metal more.
Its also possible to fume the metal with or without applying the solution direct to the barrel.
Dan

[Sawatis]

I've used the old Niedner rust blue method...took a while, but the blue depth is phenomenal and seen some of my work from a while back (eh..25 years or so) that looks like new...and this is on heavily used field guns!
Be patient, don't take shortcuts and avoid any oil like the plague.
Good luck
John

[doug.brayman]

Dan's right on this one. Rust blueing, is tougher than the browning solution used to produce most of it. I did up a production kit gun years ago, with rust blueing, using nothing more exotic than Birchwood Casey plum brown, which in my opinion, is one of the poorest browning systems. The new owner, decided he wanted the gun browned, instead of blued, and tried to remove the blueing. He called me, and said the only way he could get the blueing removed to his satisfaction, was to have the parts sandblasted.

                            Hungry Horse

You were able to rust blue with Plum Brown solution?

[Hungry Horse]

 I did get a real good rust blue from ( the old recipe) of Birchwood Casey's plum brown. It was an accident. I was a newbie, building my first kit gun, and was told the only way to stop the rusting for sure, was to use boiling water to rinse the barrel. I soldered up the ends of a metal chicken feeder, and put it over two eyes of the kitchen stove, with distilled water in it. Just as I put the barrel into the boiling water, the phone range. When I got back to the barrel it was as black as night. I removed it, and carded it off, as was pleased with the light blue finish that was left. So, I repeated the process several times until I got the color I wanted. I shot the gun for years, and eventually upgraded to a custom built gun. I kept that rifle for a loaner for several years, and eventually traded it for an aluminum canoe. That blueing never showed any wear. It did start to turn a little brown in the recesses but never wore off.

                    Hungry Horse

[doug.brayman]

I did get a real good rust blue from ( the old recipe) of Birchwood Casey's plum brown. It was an accident. I was a newbie, building my first kit gun, and was told the only way to stop the rusting for sure, was to use boiling water to rinse the barrel. I soldered up the ends of a metal chicken feeder, and put it over two eyes of the kitchen stove, with distilled water in it. Just as I put the barrel into the boiling water, the phone range. When I got back to the barrel it was as black as night. I removed it, and carded it off, as was pleased with the light blue finish that was left. So, I repeated the process several times until I got the color I wanted. I shot the gun for years, and eventually upgraded to a custom built gun. I kept that rifle for a loaner for several years, and eventually traded it for an aluminum canoe. That blueing never showed any wear. It did start to turn a little brown in the recesses but never wore off.

                    Hungry Horse

Thanks, I might try playing around with it a little.

[Hungry Horse]

 I wouldn't guarantee the new formula will work like the old toxic stuff.

                Hungry Horse

[Dphariss]

I have used Plumb Brown, the new stuff with pretty good success for browning. But it takes good heat in the part and refreshing the solution on the swab every swipe on the part if its large like a barrel.
I would cold rust for rust blue though I did one 30 years ago with Plumb Brown.

Dan

[Dennis Glazener]

I have used Plumb Brown, the new stuff with pretty good success for browning. But it takes good heat in the part and refreshing the solution on the swab every swipe on the part if its large like a barrel.
I would cold rust for rust blue though I did one 30 years ago with Plumb Brown.

Dan

Dan,
You are younger than me so I suspect you can remember 30 years ago on how you did this Someone gave me a large bottle of PlumBrown and rather than having it just sit on the shelf I would like to try to rust blue a barrel with it. Any chance you can remember the details or know where I find them?
Thanks
Dennis