Can a brightly jeweled bolt be coated with something to protect the jeweling while the bolt handle is being rust blued? The protective coating would have to be able to withstanding repeated exposure to boiling water and also be easy to remove. I've tried wrapping bolt bodies with different tapes but none could take the boiling water bathes.

Paint with lacquer or varnish and remove with solvent.
But, are you getting rusting?
Anyway, jeweled bolts are ugly and not for classic rifles.
Unless the customer wants one, and then, jewel after bluing the bolt handle.

I just had to replace the bolt in a Heym SR20 and I hot blued the bolt first, then had it jeweled. It turned out beautiful if you like that sort of thing. The client is happy.

I use multiple coats of lacquer, a couple layers of electrical tape on top where I am carding.

quote:

Originally posted by skb:
I just had to replace the bolt in a Heym SR20 and I hot blued the bolt first, then had it jeweled. It turned out beautiful if you like that sort of thing. The client is happy.

Can you post a photo?

Thanks for the replies. My situation is the client bought a rifle with a jeweled bolt & wants the handle blued. The jeweling is rather deep & will require abrasive stones to remove. The extractor is jeweled, too. I'm not feeling very ambitious and may just forget about the bluing. Customer isn'y always right.

Rust, rust? We don't need no stinkin' rust! Rust has never been a problem when rust bluing. I don't coat or plug the bores & they always come out bright and shiny. I do chase any drops of water that don't immediately evaporate with compressed air, Water never remains on the part being blued.

Have you tried electrical tape? I mask bolt bodies with it when hot bluing all the time. Have also used it rust bluing just be careful adhesive doesn’t migrate to where you need rust. Wouldn’t hurt to apply a fresh wrap every cycle.

Yes, I have tried tape & it was a miserable failure. It could not withstand boiling water. The adhesive melted onto the bolt, and it was hard to clean. Thanks for your suggestion.

Thats why I put it on top of lacquer. I use it to protect the lacquer when carding. The whole works comes off in a lacquer thinner soak.

If the boiling water is the problem, have you thought about using steam to convert to black oxide?

Take off the cocking piece safety lever and the shroud, that part is supposed to be blue and only the bolt jeweled IMO.