what if during the course of rust bluing say a barreled action after say the 3rd or 4th pass you have to stop for a couple of days or if things are going fast you want to go to bed, do you boil or steam and leave or card it off when you stop? also is there any need to protect the finish at this point ,obviously can't oil.

Boil and card. I've let stuff sit for 3 or 4 days after carding before getting back to it. Never bothered about protecting the finish, no problems.

Ditto. Steaming or boiling will neutralize the rusting and render the work neutral.

quote:

Originally posted by craigster:
Boil and card. I've let stuff sit for 3 or 4 days after carding before getting back to it. Never bothered about protecting the finish, no problems.

Bob Veasey
www.rustblue.com

thanks guys takes some of the stress off !

Some solutions seem to cause after rust more than others. Some don't.
A lot depends on techniques and conditions I'd guess.

Look at leaving a bbl w/ 3 or 4 coats on it and just freshly carded off as a completed job (even though we know it isn't in this instance).

Then ask yourself how long you would trust that completed bluing project to hang unprotected in your shop before you think rust might start forming on it all by itself.

That's how long you can leave a bbl in between coats and walk away w/o worry of rust and/or pits forming.
It varys with the soln used and the conditions the work is being done in.

In humid conditions and in combination with some solutions, after-rust can form over night.
Natural rust may start forming on the absolutely clean steel part in the same amount of time under some conditions.

Think about the bore also. That's one area you can't just draw file back and do over if this gets out of hand while you're away.

I don't see why you couldn't oil it, if that was a concern. You just have to de-oil exactly as you did when you started. A bit more work, but not really very onerous.

More than likely though, if you boiled it well and carded, it would be fine for quite some time unless your environment is extremely warm and humid.

I'd toss a sheet of paper over it if the environment is particularly dusty (as my wood shop can be). Some dust attracts moisture and could conceivably cause some small pitting that would jeopardize the surface.

thanks for the advice!