strong eagle
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 11, 2016
- Messages
- 869
- Reaction score
- 15
rust bluing, rust browning or rust blackening, how to.
Want to make the best looking locks, butt plates, trigger guards ect. a professional blue, black or brown? Heres how to do it.
Buy mark lee brown or blue rusting solution. If you want black, mix the brown and blue 1/2 to 1.2 in a glass shot glass. Your metal has to be scratch free and smooth. Always emery cloth in the same direction. When the metal is totally scratch free and smooth, wash in warm water and a good dish soap to get all the grease of of it.
All the small parts i put in the oven in a oven glass pie baking plate. heat to 300, also 350 will not hurt the metal. Heat take out of the oven and apply the solution until it stops sizzleing. Back in the oven over and over do this process. Geta old pot of water boiling on the stove. When you get a good coat going after several applications put the metal parts in the boiling water for just a few minutes. Take them out with small wooden kitchen tweezers or tong. Bigger than tweezers.
Rub clean with fine steel wool. back in the over for several more layers of sizzleing coats of the rust solution of your desired color. when that is done again back into the boiling water, this time add baking soda to the water or your parts will keep rusting and be ruined. boil 1/2 hour to a hour. Then under the tap and wash well with dish soap and warm water until clean. Now in another pot put cooking oil and heat it some but dont go nuts about it.
Put parts in the hot bout not boiling oil for as long as you want, a hour or over night. Turn off the heat if over night. No slat in the oil, just oil. take part out of the oil and wipe dry. let the film of oil on them dry into the pores.
Their you are, better than a professional gun smith job and it will last. I heat my shorter rifle barrel in the oven and take them out and set on two wooden blocks on top of the stove and do them the same way as the smaller parts.
For the water bath i built this set up. A 4 ft lenth of 3 inch pvc pipe with a cap on one end. Made a wooden stand for it so it could safely stand up right with the cap on the bottom. When i get to the water part of doing my barrels i fill the pipe with boiling water and some baking soda. Put a towel over the top of the set up. The water will stay hot for a long time as pvc is a good insulator. I only water bath my barrels once unless they need a second trip to look good. Rust bluing is easy if you make the set up and do it right. Dont forget the baking soda. Plum brown by bichwook casey may work with my method as well as it is a rusting agent also. Never used it, but it may work. Mark Lee is the best for me.
Let us know how it turns out. If you leave scratches in the metal, they will be their when your all done. i am doing the main frame of a 1860 uberti colt army as i write this. looks real good so far.
Want to make the best looking locks, butt plates, trigger guards ect. a professional blue, black or brown? Heres how to do it.
Buy mark lee brown or blue rusting solution. If you want black, mix the brown and blue 1/2 to 1.2 in a glass shot glass. Your metal has to be scratch free and smooth. Always emery cloth in the same direction. When the metal is totally scratch free and smooth, wash in warm water and a good dish soap to get all the grease of of it.
All the small parts i put in the oven in a oven glass pie baking plate. heat to 300, also 350 will not hurt the metal. Heat take out of the oven and apply the solution until it stops sizzleing. Back in the oven over and over do this process. Geta old pot of water boiling on the stove. When you get a good coat going after several applications put the metal parts in the boiling water for just a few minutes. Take them out with small wooden kitchen tweezers or tong. Bigger than tweezers.
Rub clean with fine steel wool. back in the over for several more layers of sizzleing coats of the rust solution of your desired color. when that is done again back into the boiling water, this time add baking soda to the water or your parts will keep rusting and be ruined. boil 1/2 hour to a hour. Then under the tap and wash well with dish soap and warm water until clean. Now in another pot put cooking oil and heat it some but dont go nuts about it.
Put parts in the hot bout not boiling oil for as long as you want, a hour or over night. Turn off the heat if over night. No slat in the oil, just oil. take part out of the oil and wipe dry. let the film of oil on them dry into the pores.
Their you are, better than a professional gun smith job and it will last. I heat my shorter rifle barrel in the oven and take them out and set on two wooden blocks on top of the stove and do them the same way as the smaller parts.
For the water bath i built this set up. A 4 ft lenth of 3 inch pvc pipe with a cap on one end. Made a wooden stand for it so it could safely stand up right with the cap on the bottom. When i get to the water part of doing my barrels i fill the pipe with boiling water and some baking soda. Put a towel over the top of the set up. The water will stay hot for a long time as pvc is a good insulator. I only water bath my barrels once unless they need a second trip to look good. Rust bluing is easy if you make the set up and do it right. Dont forget the baking soda. Plum brown by bichwook casey may work with my method as well as it is a rusting agent also. Never used it, but it may work. Mark Lee is the best for me.
Let us know how it turns out. If you leave scratches in the metal, they will be their when your all done. i am doing the main frame of a 1860 uberti colt army as i write this. looks real good so far.
