Anybody know whether baking would work instead of boiling when doing a slow rust blue? Sure seems like it'd be a lot less hassle.

I seriously doubt it. The boiling water converts the "rust" to the "blue".

As Craigster said, it would not work, you need the metal in distilled water. There is a chemical reaction going on comverting the red rust to a stable black oxide.

Oh well, wishful thinking while in my morning stupor...

It also occured to me that I'd read somewhere that the water serves to neutralizes the acid in the rusting solution and must clean things up for the next application.

Don't depend on the water to neutralize tyhe acid. In fact you will need to change water after a few boild due to acid build-up.

If your last boil is in acidic water you will have a tough time killing the potential for rust developing later on. One day you pull your gun out and rust specks are there. I always put a tablespoon or so of 28% ammonia in my last boil to make damn sure the acid is neutralized; then a quick fresh water rinse.