My good wife let me use the kitchen today to ruse small parts on my 375 I'm working on. First attempt not sure this is what it is supposed to look like bUT doesn't seem deep luster I was hoping for any suggestions?

How many "coats"?

8 or 9

Grip cap did great the trigger guard in the sun doesn't look right. Can I degrease an keep going.?

It's really hard to judge and trouble shoot bluing from pictures. 99% of the trouble I see with bluing is the actual polishing itself. Lines crisscrossed or not straight. Different grit weights or polish lines and uneven surfaces. Polishing with worn out wet & dry paper or polishing with dry paper is also problematic and can cause silvery areas.

quote:

Originally posted by elton:
Grip cap did great the trigger guard in the sun doesn't look right. Can I degrease an keep going.?

You can, but I think I would "card" it with the last grit paper you used before the first coat of solution, first.

I'll try that tomorrow

Polish the part(s) you are haveing doubts about with either scotchbrite or go right to 600grit paper and then blend them in with scotchbrite (maroon or grey).

You can take the parts back to the point where they look like there's no blue left on them at this point, but the next coat after this treatment will bring them right back to full or near full color and with out any streaks, discolorations or differences in color that may be spoiling the looks right now.

Make sure you're not dragging oil around the surface of the parts when removing them from the water. Even the smallest amt on a part that gets into the water and on the surface will spoil the results as it coats the surface and gets on the carding material and is spread around.

If you're using steel wool for carding, it's oil packed when mfg'd and really tough to get clear of it.

If you are applying the express blue to the parts by the heat of the boiling water only (removing them from the water and apllying soln),,the thin parts may be loosing heat too fast. Try gently heating the parts with a propane torch or even over the gas flame on the stove if possible. You don't want the soln to sizzle when applied, but you do want it to evaporate immediately behind the brush or applicator. Better a little hot than too cold. The latter will leave you with less than blue/black colors, more streaks in the color when carded.
You can 'sizzle' some soln onto a particularly stubborn part that refuses to color sometimes and get it to 'take'. The technique will however slightly etch the surface in doing so (that's how it gets it to 'take'!.
Good for stubborn (hard) small parts,, screws, safetys, ect. Avoid hot spots on big parts like the floor plate and trigger guard. Nice even heat on those.

When all fails,,go to a nice slow rust blue!

Is express blue the same as Belgium Blue, it looks like the same process is used. I have had good luck with the Belgium blue never tried Express blue

well I left parts in used motor oil all night. Today when I pulled them out, the color had evened out and got to the deep dark luster that I had wanted. Is this a common occurrence? Next on to the barreled action. Elton

I use only Bobsters rust blue; but I do not polish to 600; the rust needs something to bite into, I think. But your pictures look very nice; so I don't see the problem. I only go to 400 grit.

My experience with rust blue emulates dpcd's. Back when I was was a silly boy and still doing bluing, I found that breaking the finish with red Scotch Brite pads would level the finish and open it a bit more. It helped to reduce shiny spots in the blued finish. Like W&D paper they can be a bit tricky to use without getting fishhooks in your finish. Especially if you try to scrub the finish with them and I found that they require a drop and quick pull sort of method to avoid that problem. An open, even finish is best for rust bluing. High polishes are strictly taboo and a lot of guys I know used to etch, or pickle the surface with acid before beginning to blue to open it even more.

In the photo the top is a #320 belt. The middle is the same #320, plus being hit with a #320 foam body & paint pad. The bottom is #320 belt, plus #320 body & paint pad and red Scotch Brite to open and blend the finish. The top will rust blue very evenly and turn a very dark blue black. More to black and will be satin or dull. The middle will turn more of a blue color and have a high likelihood of having shiny or what some people call (silvered areas). It will also show all of the polishing pins and lines. The bottom will be a medium semi gloss black, blue with no silvering and be very even and hide most of the surface polishing marks.

ADD NOTE:
Remember that the polished piece of material in the picture is only 3/4 inch diameter and the photo is showing you A LOT MORE than you would see with the naked eye. What looks OK in the photo looks simply fawking beautiful if you just pick it up and look at it unaided.


rust blue polish by Rod Henrickson, on Flickr