blue finish

[frontier gander]

Guys whats the "traditional" way of bluing a barrel that holds up good? I know tow has the LMF stuff thats both browning and bluing if you boil it, but thats a bit hard to find a pot big enough to do it in.

Anyone have a recipe or a product that will do it good?  I use perma blue gun paste which has been great but after a while, it starts to wear off.

[galamb]

Rust bluing is one of the  traditional ways.

You don't need a "big pot". A piece of 2" ABS drain pipe, cut in half lengthwise with end caps glued on makes the perfect "trough" for putting the barrel in where it can be immersed in boiling (deionized)  water - which I boil in an electric kettle and then pour into the trough. The barrel itself doesn't need to be "boiled" - boiling does work well for small parts however.

LMF's website fully describes the method I mention above, unlike TOTW which has only a couple of lines regarding the instructions for the product.

[wilkie]

This is a cold rust blue process that has worked well for me for several years.  I use Brownells dicropan im bluing as a cold rust blue, not with boiling water.  I tried it with boiling water but the tap water had some compounds in it that prevented it from working correctly.  The im bluing has nitric acid in it and I remembered from an old recipe in Dixie Gun Works catalog that one of their recipes had nitric acid in it.  To use this process you polish the part the way you want it to look, then degrease it with lacquer thinner, acetone, or similar stuff.  I apply a coat of im bluing with a tooth brush and let it set for a day or two, then use steel wool to remove the surface rust and recoat it.  After about 4 to 6 coats there should be a layer of black oxide similar to the hot caustic bluing.  Wait a few days then coat with oil.  The longer the bluing is on the metal the more durable it becomes.  I bought an o/u shotgun a few years ago that had the bluing worn off under the receiver from handling.  I used this process by degreasing the under part of the receiver and applying the im bluing.  After 4 or 5 coats you could not tell where the original bluing and the im bluing overlapped.

[Hungry Horse]

A good cheap boiling tank for barrels, is a new galvanized chicken feeder, with the end seams soldered up. They easily fit over two, or three burners of a heavy duty camp stove. I've had one for years. Many browning solutions will blue, if boiled after rusting.

                          Hungry Horse

[drago]

How is the inside of the barrel protected when putting it in boiling water to rust it?

[galamb]

I don't "protect" it - boiling water dries rather quickly once the barrel is removed and then a dose of WD-40 does the rest.

I have seen instructions that recommend having the breech installed with the touch hole or nipple/drum hole plugged (to seal the breech end) and plugging the muzzle end with a tapered dowel, cork (pick your plug).

Did try this once and the rapid change in temperature (assume the expansion of the hot air etc trapped in the bore) caused the plug to pop out - never bothered trying that again.

And when you think about it, don't you often clean your barrel with hot water - sometimes with a drop of soap?

[Dphariss]

Guys whats the "traditional" way of bluing a barrel that holds up good? I know tow has the LMF stuff thats both browning and bluing if you boil it, but thats a bit hard to find a pot big enough to do it in.

Anyone have a recipe or a product that will do it good?  I use perma blue gun paste which has been great but after a while, it starts to wear off.

Mix Wahkon Bay Brown with the same brand Aqua Fortis 50-50. Put this on a degreased  and plugged (wood dowel)  barrel in a humid location or a damp box. When it generates a nice coat of rust then boil it for 10-20 minutes in CLEAN water.  Remove plugs, wipe bore with a very lightly oiled patch. Drive in dry plugs, card off with degreased 0000 steel wool. Recoat, rust, boil. In 5-6 cycles you will have a blue that is very durable best blue.. But its likely not correct for a 18th c rifle.
The boil out tank can be made from a 48" piece of 4" square steel tube 1/8 thick. Cut one "flat" out and weld part of it on for ends. Heat on a propane camp stove. Works. Have done quite a few with an identical tank and stove.
Cold blue is a waste of time for durability. If this is the only option check Brownell's they have some cold blues that are supposed to be pretty good. But I would not expect too much.

This is the easiest DURABLE blue. Everything else is either far more complex and less durable or possibly simpler and far less durable. Like immersing the barrel in a tank of molten saltpeter, watching the color till its right. Removing the barrel, washing off remaining saltpeter from the cooled barrel, coating with oil and baking in an oven to burn off the oil. Heavier oil darker color, lighter oil ligher blue. This makes nitrate blue much more durable. This is 19th c technology from "The Winchester Book" by Madis.

Dan

[frontier gander]

think I will just stick to the blue paste 

[Long Ears]

The rust blue process that Dan describes is a fantastic blue. It is almost totally black and not shiny at all. It is extremely durable. I've tried several cold blues and they really lack for metal protection or durability. I sure wouldn't use it on a rifle I had so much work into. Bob

[Kenny]

jack brooks has a really good tutorial for charcoal bluing, I`ve done two barrels that way. they came out beautiful and heated and coated with BLO the finish has held up really good. Seems pretty HC from what ive been able to find.

[HAWKEN]

The simplest way of bluing, that I have found, is phosphoric acid, sold commercially as "ospho".  If painted over rust, it forms a black hard finish that will rust no further.  If painted onto a barrel, in the white, it forms a blue/black hard finish that lasts for a long time.  Degrease and heat the barrel, (I leave it in the summer sun for about one hour), until it is uncomfortable to touch, and wipe or paint from end to end........Robin

[Hungry Horse]

The process Dan describes is traditional, very durable, and the right color blue. Blue paste is none of these things.

                    Hungry Horse