You pros will obviously be bored stiff if you read this, but those of you (like me until yesterday) who are contemplating rust bluing a barrel for the first time might find it informative. I used the formula from RUST BLUE (www.rustblue.com) and followed the directions from the website in addition to comments that I had printed out, mostly from this forum. I had previously blued some small parts; three grip caps for stocks that I had made and they turned out fine. I did those on the kitchen stove, in a stainless pot with a colander, but for the barrel I set up a 3" plastic pipe, also per instructions. I found a cardboard box an inch longer than the barrel and notched the ends, then stuck an extension in each end; a fat pen in the chamber end and a 1/4" dowel in the muzzle. Obviously you need to be careful with the muzzle. These supported the barrel, for part of the cleaning and for spreading the bluing solution.
I scrubbed and cleaned the barrel per the instructions on line, wiped it down and set it in the sun to dry. Brought it in, set it on the kitchen counter, and applied the solution, using cotton swabs about an inch in diameter The solution went on very smoothly and I was able to apply it with 4 strokes the length of the barrel, being careful to not let it dribble at the ends. I let the first coat dry for two hours as instructed, then applied another coat. When dry (10 min.) I carefully dropped it into the pipe, hanging it from a 4" piece of shoe lace, fastened to the threads with a hose clamp, all hanging on a dowel notched into the top end of the pipe. Worked like a charm. I put the pipe and its flange on a pot of simmering water for the proscribed ten minutes, let cool, and pulled it out of the pipe. It was covered with a lite coat of very fine rust, which came of very easily with some 000 steel wool, leaving it black. A problem was that the chamber end was a bit splotchy, which I think was from the lube/coolant used for threading the barrel that had somehow migrated to where it shouldn't be. I should have anticipated this and scrubbed off the threads before the main cleaning. So after carding with 000 steel wool, which went very quickly, I took the barrel once again to the kitchen sink and scrubbed the hell out of the splotchy area with the steel wool, hot water, and soap. I let dry, applied another double coat, and re-steamed, this time for 20 min because the rust wasn't totally even the first time. When cool, I carded the barrel, this time with hot water in the sink, scrubbed it with soap and hot water, let it dry overnite and just finished it by rubbing down with CRC silicone spray. Beautiful, and the splotches were gone.
The rifles that I use for sage rats and prairie gods have stainless barrels because they stay cooler in the sun, but on my hunting rifles I like blued steel and walnut.
Hope this helps someone.
Jerry, AKA Bubba's Gunsmithing and Zygonomic Therapy.
jmbn
Old and in the way
