Hello
In a fit of extreme boredom(currently in-between jobs)I decided to disassemble and cleanup my 1858 Remington copy.
I plan to cleanup and cold blue some of the areas that show wear. Will good old fashioned Birchwood-Casey cold blue do the job or is there something else out there that works better for black powder applications?

Thanks
ZM

Zeke,

For touching up small scratches I use Brownells Oxpho-Blue or their Dicropan T-4 touch up blue. For a quick, black, matte finish touch up, I use Black Oxide 44/40. These work pretty good for the occaisional tiny scratches and marks. I wouldn't use any cold blue to try to cover any large areas, cold blue doesn't provide any more protection than shoe polish. As a matter of fact, I think shoe polish would provide better protection...


Malm

The above comments on cold blue are right on...

Have you ever tried "Express Blue"? I use Mark Lee's #1 formula. See Brownells.

You warm the part to 150* or so, swab on a couple of coats that evaporate immediately, then boil the part in distilled water and card with a soft wire wheel. You won't think it too much trouble after you compare the results to cold blue and you can do it on the kitchen stove (when the wife is away of course)...