Setups for boiling barrel to achieve blue finish

[Jerry V Lape]

Would like to boil a barrel to achieve a get a blue finish. For those having done this, could you share what you used to hold the boiling water and to heat it?  Not too many 44 inch pans or heaters around.  So I am interested in your innovations. 

[snapper]

I took a gutter cut it to length and screwed end caps on it with epoxy.    3 burner lpg cooker for heat.    Works great and cheap.  That one never got returned by a guy that borrowed it.    So my next one was down spout with opening cut in and a 90 degree elbows on the end again with screws and epoxy.


Fleener

[FALout]

I took pvc pipe and capped one one, hang barrel by steel wire or cloths hanger and wood dowel then pour boiling water into tube and let set.  Hard part is pulling out barrel, my workshop is in basement with limited ceiling height, then dump out water, repeat as needed.
Bob
May not get a real blue finish, I usually brown, card, and repeat till coverage I want then turn it black with boiling water.

[moleeyes36]

Not having a large 3 burner cooker like Fleener has, I did the exact same thing that Bob did.  Heated the water in a large kettle on a propane turkey fryer (every good Southerner has one) and changed it out a couple of times.  I got excellent results.

Don Richards

[Acer Saccharum]

I've only gotten black by rusting, carding and boiling. It's a great finish, but it's definitely black.

[smart dog]

Hi Jerry,
It may have been a suggestion by Dennis Daigger, I don't remember.  I think he hangs the barrel within a PVC tube and then uses a steam generator to blow steam up the tube getting the barrel sufficiently hot to turn the brown, blue.  It is the method I am going to try in the future. 

dave

[L. Akers]

I also use the pvc pipe system.  I rust, hang the barrel in the pipe and fill with boiling water, let soak for 15-20 minutes, then card.
I repeat rust-boil-card until I get the depth of color I want.

[bob in the woods]

My experience with the boiling method was a deep black colour. No blue.  If I want a really nice blue, I'll fire blue / heat blue.  I've heard that it's not a durable finish, nut so far so good as far as holding up is concerned.

[Daryl]

Mr Tom Curran - That is a VERY special rifle.
The stippling with engraving is really nicely done.

[smart dog]

Hi,
Here is real blue created by the process:









dave

[sdilts]

I use a piece of galvanized fence post with an end cap to seal one end. Got it at Lowe's. File a notch in the other end to accept a round rod. Hang your barrel from this and pour boiling water over it. Then use a propane torch to heat the pipe to keep the water boiling for however long you want. I do 10 -15 minutes. This works really well. I can't take credit for this, it was posted a while back by a gentleman on this forum.

[rich pierce]

I’m not sure he’s a gentleman!

[Rwnblack]

I have a tank about 6”x6” 48” long, open on the top.  I use a 220 v hot water heater element mounted through one end.  Has worked great for me for 20 years.  I bought a spare element years ago but haven’t had to use it yet.  I put stick on insulation on it and have a lid to keep the heat and moisture in.

[Jerry V Lape]

Smart Dog
What do you attribute the blue color to versus the black others are reporting? 

Like the suggestion to use a steam generator - I already have one so will try that first as I assume the heating process can be repeated with another system if the steamer fails.  I am not sure I couldn't just set the barrel inside a black pvc pipe out in the sun here in AZ on one of our normal summer days above 110 degrees.  Need oven mitts to hold the steering wheel on my truck if left in sun and a garden hose will heat water in it to hotter than I can handle.  Wonder what the critical temperature for the conversion of the iron oxides might be. 

[smart dog]

Hi Jerry,
The color was achieved by :
1.  the surface of the barrel was highly polished
2. I used Wahkon Bay rust bluing and diluted it a little with alcohol and water to slow rusting
3. I allowed only 2 hours for rusting before carding and the boiling
4. I carded with a soft stainless steel brush turned at slow speed in my lathe
5. Finally, when an even dark color was achieved, I rubbed the bluing back with a gray Scotch Bright pad dipped in water and wrapped tightly around a flat piece of wood. That lightened the color a bit and gave it a slight translucent appearance rather than an opaque one.

dave

[ericxvi]

    I use a 3 inch PVC pipe and a Shark steamer I got at Walmart.
    Ten minutes in the steam turns it black.

[Pukka Bundook]

Very bonny work on that barrel,  Smart-Dog Dave.
Excellent!

[Richard]

I attached the 2" PVC pipe to the outside of the damp box. I use a wallpaper steamer connected at the bottom of the pipe. Steam for about 10 minutes.

[Hungry Horse]

 I use a galvanized chicken feeder with the ends soldered up. I also have never gotten anything but black as a result.

  Hungry Horse

[elkhorne]

A lot of good techniques mentioned but one thing is missing! What brand/type of blueing or browning solution are most using. That could be the difference in a more blueish or black final finish. Also, several have mentioned a steam generator, I’m not familiar with one these. What are they used for and where can you get one? Put these together with the techniques explained here and it should make for some great barrel and parts finishes. Thanks in advance.
ellhorne

[smart dog]

Hi Elkhorne,
I mentioned in my post explaining how I got the blue finish that I use Wahkon Bay rust blue but I dilute it with a little alcohol and water.

dave

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

The browning solution I use is a homemade concoction of nitric, hydrochloric acids with some iron disolved in them, and distilled water.  I use a damp box and achieve a fine grained brown over the coarse of two days with three hour intervals between apps.  I card lightly duringh the brown with a hard roll of canvas, to remove the loose scale (dust).
To blue, I set up my stainless steel tank I had fabricated especially for this purpose...it's 5" x 5" x 54" long.  I have short key stock on the bottom to suspend the barrel off the bottom but I doubt that is necessary.  I use distilled water only...tap water does not give as even a blue...learned the hard way.  To heat the water to a boil, I have a length of 1" square steel pipe drilled with 1/8" holes about 1" apart along one side of the pipe.  I connect a propane nozzle to the mouth of the pipe and a 20 pound propane tank provides the fuel.  I regulate the oxygen intake and get as hot a flame as I can, but it still takes a while to bring that much water to a boil.  I also installed lengths of 1/16" steel sheet from the rim of the tank down along each side to help contain the heat, and it really assists in the time factor.  the tank is covered with an aluminum lid with two wooden handles.
I used to card the boiled steel with 0000 steel wool, and still use it a bit, but my Brownell's wire carding wheel does a better job.  Here's some pics of the colour I get...I call it a black/blue. But it definitely has a blue hue.

[sdilts]

I’m not sure he’s a gentleman!

I was giving you the benefit of the doubt. 

[Tim S]

Jerry,

Here is my set-up to use steam to convert the rust to blue.

This is my sweatbox..

 I use Mike Lea's Rust Blue formula.

Tim

[Pukka Bundook]

A Beautiful blue, Taylor!!