"Blue" Cold Blue

[oakridge]

I'm working on a project and need to blue one item. Cold blue will suffice, but I want it to be blue, not black. Is there any brand that will give a decent dark blue finish right out of the bottle, without heating? Thanks for your help.

[hawknknife]

Oakridge, I've had nice results with Birchwood Casey paste blue in the tube.  It is easy to apply, the more you apply and rub, the darker the color.  Be sure you get the product that  the blue is a sky blue color paste.  Some time back, they changed it to a white paste, so many complaints they returned to the original stuff.
     Where in Mississippi are you?.......Carl Merck

[Gaeckle]

Laurel mountain Forge makes a Barrel Brown & Degreaser that can be used to also produce a very rich dark blue "rust blue" blueing. If you Google cold blue there should be a video showing how to do it

[wet willy]

The LMF "blue" is a fine finish used as directed, especially about using distilled water. Failing to follow their bluing  instructions will result in a very nice brown finish.

[jerrywh]

LMF will come out very close to black if boiled Not Blue.

[oakridge]

Thanks guys. I may have to do a little experimenting to get the color I want. Carl, I live in Natchez. You may remember the Ainsworth inspected Colt SAA I got from you down on Terry Road nearly 40 years ago.

[JTR]

If you want Blue, and not black, this stuff will give you an actual blue color. At least it has for me on a couple knife blades.

The stuff is called Blue Wonder gun black, and I bought it at the local gun shop. Cost was $29.95. According to the instructions you can get a blue color, blue/black or black color.

 http://shop.bluewonder.us/gun-blue-gun-black/

John

[Dphariss]

I would heat blue it.
I am not sure you can count on any of the chemical blues to make blue. And even alloy can change the color.
Dan

[Acer Saccharum]

I use 44-40, not to blue parts, but to rust them. It's very corrosive, and does a great job of pitting.   

[E.vonAschwege]

I agree with Dan - Unless there is something preventing you from heating the piece alone, I would use a propane torch and heat blue it.  You can get the brilliant blue at 550-600 degrees, or go higher for ligher shades.  Past that it becomes grey, then a more durable grey blue afterwards. 

[Dphariss]

I agree with Dan - Unless there is something preventing you from heating the piece alone, I would use a propane torch and heat blue it.  You can get the brilliant blue at 550-600 degrees, or go higher for ligher shades.  Past that it becomes grey, then a more durable grey blue afterwards. 

And if oiled and reheated carefully to smoke the oil off it will darken somewhat, can go to a blue black if needed with a heavy oil. Winchester at one time blued barrels this way then coated them with oil and baked them to darken the Nitrate blue. This process is described in the Madis book on the Winchester.

Dan

[Stophel]

Acer beat me to 44-40.  I have tried it a couple of times. It does produce a much more blue color.  However, it rusts with abandon, and nothing I tried seemed to stop it, so for me, it was unusable!

You could give it a shot, though, and try to neutralize it and stop the rust, you may be able to do it.

 

[Acer Saccharum]

Stoph, I use the 44-40 this way: I blue the parts with 44-40. while they are still wet, I sprinkle some sawdust or lint on the parts to create collection spots for the liquid to intensify. Then I seal the parts in a zip-lock bag with a damp paper towel, and set in a warm place.

Parts come out all crusty and pitted.

If I didn't say it before, I'll say it now: DON'T use 44-40 as a blue!

I think it's primary use is to touch up worn blued arms just before a gun show. But you can always smell the 44-40 on a gun. So if you want to know if a gun has been touched up, just follow your nose.

[oakridge]

If you want Blue, and not black, this stuff will give you an actual blue color. At least it has for me on a couple knife blades.

The stuff is called Blue Wonder gun black, and I bought it at the local gun shop. Cost was $29.95. According to the instructions you can get a blue color, blue/black or black color.

 http://shop.bluewonder.us/gun-blue-gun-black/

John

John, Thanks for the link. I watched the video and it's a very interesting product and procedure. Think I'll give it a try.

And, thanks to everyone else for suggestions. I'll forgo heating it for fear of warping, since I'm not experienced in controlling temperatures.

[dagner]

 oxy blue from brownells -tops .used it for lot of years. either the liquid or cream. I prefer liquid
 dag

[Scota4570]

I agree with Dan - Unless there is something preventing you from heating the piece alone, I would use a propane torch and heat blue it.  You can get the brilliant blue at 550-600 degrees, or go higher for ligher shades.  Past that it becomes grey, then a more durable grey blue afterwards. 

And if oiled and reheated carefully to smoke the oil off it will darken somewhat, can go to a blue black if needed with a heavy oil. Winchester at one time blued barrels this way then coated them with oil and baked them to darken the Nitrate blue. This process is described in the Madis book on the Winchester.

Dan

How big is the part? 

I once did a hooked breech tang for a double in molten saltpeter.  It came out a brilliant navy blue.

I would not do that again.  The salt is super hot, a drop of sweat in it,  and you would be wearing molten lava.  I also feared that any bit of flammable stuff, wood chip or oil,  could cause a fire.  IT seems like it could cause a violent eruption/explosion when the flammable stuff was fed oxygen from the molten saltpeter.  I was under the impression that real niter blue was done his way though.  Probably best to steer clear. 

I have obtained a similar result from using a lead bath to get a heat blue, then quenching in oil.