Nearing the end of a a rust blue cycle. This is my first time doing a Rifle action, barrel and small parts. I'm thrilled with the results so far. Hope it stays that way.

At the end of the process the parts are given an oil bath and left to soak a while. What Oil do you fellas prefer to use ? I've been told from various sources to use 30w motor oil, Transmission Oil, or Boiled Linseed Oil. Are any of those ok or preferred ?

Thanks for the help.

I use ATF.

Nothing modern; I use only linseed oil. No bath required; the parts do not need to soak; apply when the metal is hot and it will soak in and spread. You are performing a 19th century procedure and should only use what they had, and sperm oil is banned. I have never had after rust.

Straight soluable oil. It’s alkaline, PH 9.
Best to apply to hot steel.
Never had after rust.

I use Boiled Linseed oil.
Just wipe it on the warm metal and leave it for a few days.
It drys ,,kind of.

At that point I go over the parts with a cloth pad with something like CLP or RemOil on it.
That removes the dried Linseed and covers it with the petro gun oil.


It has elliminated any After-rust tendency as well for me. That only seems to come about with some Slow Rust Bluing solns,,,not Express Rust.

Using any other type of oil post bluing has never stopped after-rust for me. Nor has any of the neutralizing tricks.

I do not remove the linseed oil; I wipe it on and remove excess; it soaks into the pores.
Again, just like they successfully did, in the 19th century; nothing has changed nor does it need changing. It is not the oil that prevents after rust; after boiling or steaming, there should be no acid on the metal anyway. No idea what after rust is.

Certain acids, like hydrochloric and sulfuric, tend to leave residues that will allow the rusting to continue unless they are neutralized in an alkaline bath. That is why I use Nitric Acid in my formulas. Rust bluing creates a spongelike surface texture of magnetite. If you looked at it under a microscope it would appear pockmarked with tiny pores. These pores lead to the parent metal. If you don't seal the pores, moisture can get to the metal and initiate rust. The black oxide surface cannot oxidize further. Therefore, it is necessary to seal the pores to maximize protection. Boiled linseed oil is the traditional product used. Wipe on and then off, leaving none on the surface. After a few days cure then coat with a non-detergent oil like plain motor oil or tranny oil. An alternative is a couple of coats of Johnson's Paste Wax.


Bob
www.rustblue.com

Ok so several votes for Boiled linseed oil. My only experience with Boiled linseed oil gave me the impression its a tacky/sticky mess. So does it become problematic to wipe off after drying ?

Bob, you mentioned a method using Johnsons paste wax. Do you use the wax first before coating with oil ? Or the other way around ?

Thanks for all the advise so far!

saw a video where this fellow was restoring what looked like a cast iron base to some dodad. He just heated the part and dunked it straight into the linseed oil.

Blued up nicely :-)

I'll answer; no the linseed oil does not make a tack sticky mess; if it did, then you left too much on or you didn't put it on when the steel was still hot. It is easy to wipe the excess off, and as Bobster said, it remains in the pores and it will never rust. I use no modern oil on rust blued steel. I do not want to ever open up the pores; a step in the wrong direction. Now, if you wait and apply linseed oil to cold steel, then you will get a mess.
I only use Bobster's blue formula; others may not work as well.
As for Johnson's paste wax, you apply it to the hot metal and it will liquify and soak in. I see no need for any additional oil, and I do not use any.
As for heating and quenching in linseed oil; yes, but that is another topic. Heat bluing; not rust bluing. It does smell good though, like burning linseed oil.
I had a thread on this subject a few days ago, and a picture of the results.

just how effective is this rust blue in protecting the steel from the elements?

BLO first then paste wax. If you wipe off excess BLO it will cure non-tacky. Repeat wax once a year of use. It will hold up in the wettest conditions.

quote:

Originally posted by K W Johnston:
Ok so several votes for Boiled linseed oil. My only experience with Boiled linseed oil gave me the impression its a tacky/sticky mess. So does it become problematic to wipe off after drying ?

Bob, you mentioned a method using Johnsons paste wax. Do you use the wax first before coating with oil ? Or the other way around ?

Thanks for all the advise so far!

Ok so I heat the metal parts first, brush on the boiled linseed oil, then wipe off all the excess....then do you put the Johnson Paste wax on cold or re heat the metal again to apply wax ??

If I choose not to use the Paste wax, can I give everything a coating of non detergent motor oil?

Apologize for all the questions. I'm just trying to learn as much as possible, and get a better understanding of the best methods.

I say again, thanks for all the help.

NO motor oil!: it contains additives that are not for guns. I am not sure who wanted to use motor oil; it is for engines. Not guns. It will Never dry; not what you want on a rust blued part. I use Rotella 15W40 for all my engine rebuilds.
Rust bluing will protect for 150 years; it is already rusted.
Your steel is already heated from the steaming/boiling/rinsing. Do not let it cool; you want (I do anyway) the clean hot steel pores to soak up the linseed oil and dry in the pores. Motor oil will never dry. That is the key to it; like finishing a stock, you have a bare surface full of pores; put something in it that will dry in them.
I use only linseed oil. Wax is for additional protection if you are going to Alaska in the rain. I have found no need for wax, although I use a lot of it for stocks and glass bedding.

I spray mine, while still hot, with g96. Hever have had any rust afterwards.
Phil

This is a very interesting thread. Never thought about motor oil not drying. The science of not using it makes sense. When you say linseed oil, can I assume BLO (boiled linseed oil)?

Yes, boiled linseed oil just means it has some drying agent in it. It has nothing to do with "boiling".

I tried waxing one of my rust blue jobs and it just didn’t look nice, made it look dull and lifeless.
I find an oil finish gives a brilliant sparkle but you do have to re-apply from time to time.
Will have to try the BLO thing.

You have to seal it with BLO or another drying oil/wiping varnish first. Otherwise, the wax gets in the metal pores and turns white. Thus, making it look cloudy. Formby's Furniture Finish is actually pretty good. It dries harder and is more water resistant than BLO. I did order some real BLO from Sweden (Ottoson Fargmakeri). It is prepared the old way using wood ash as the drier. The mixture is stirred and simmered for several hours until it darkens and thickens. It seems to dry about like commercial brands.

quote:

Originally posted by metal:
I tried waxing one of my rust blue jobs and it just didn’t look nice, made it look dull and lifeless.
I find an oil finish gives a brilliant sparkle but you do have to re-apply from time to time.
Will have to try the BLO thing.

Bob

Yikes!! Just looked up the Formby's Furniture Finish. Expensive stuff!

I'm definitely going the boiled linseed oil route. Picked up some today at Home Depot that's a Klean Strip Brand. Hopefully it's just as good as the much more expensive Brownells version.

May or may not do the Johnsons Paste wax afterword. I Have a partial can at the house already....had forgotten how bad that stuff smells

I love the smell in the yellow can.

But it doesn't smell nearly as good as Hoppe's #9!

I can agree with that.

Hoppe's #9 and G96 both smell wonderful to me!

I had to skip a few days working on the bluing. Kids will do that to you. Picking up with the last few cycles over the weekend.

After rust bluing I've always applied Birchwood Casey Sheath/Barricade to the warm metal and left for 24hrs. before wiping with a micro-fiber cloth.

quote:

Originally posted by metal:
Straight soluable oil. It’s alkaline, PH 9.
Best to apply to hot steel.
Never had after rust.

i like this idea - neutralising and oil bath in one. Do you still use ammonium chloride or a traditional formula?

My old homemade recipe from Angiers book was ammonium chloride (salammoniac) with a dash of hydrochloric. It worked ok, gave a reasonable blue with a slight plum tone.
I use Gun Goddess now.

I spray some Ballistol down the bore, wipe it out, and spray some more on the metal, and then wipe that down with a soft cloth. I don't know what's in Ballistol but it's good stuff, and it is alkaline.

I have read some of the period English literature on the subject and never encountered the BLO method. They do recommend carding with brown cardboard after an oil soak, but I have not tried that (I guess that's why it's called "carding"). This gives the metal a final polish. The soaking part is to ensure every nook and cranny gets oiled.

I finish Damascus barrels with a proprietary formula that contains beeswax. For this, the barrels are first heated by placing them on the dash of a vehicle sitting in the sun, to the point where the wax flows easily. Damascus is more likely to rust, unless it's the black and white variety, but even then, the white part is bare steel so it needs protection. I have not tried this beeswax method on rust blueing.

There are a lot of similar theories about treating freshly case-colored metal, most involving some kind of varnish. I use clear cerakote, either gloss or satin depending on what look you are trying to achieve.

quote:

Originally posted by Kolo-Pan:
just how effective is this rust blue in protecting the steel from the elements?

It is extremely effective. I have no idea where it is now, but I recall reading an article several years ago about protecting from rust with rust. It described how modern technology uses oxidation on bridge's where the steel structure itself is underwater.

A question for those who use BLO. How do you heat the gun parts before applying BLO? To me, it seems the part would have to first come out of the steam tube or boiling water bath, then carded. This would leave the part cold.

I boil my parts and card after the final application of bluing solution and rusting. So, to get the part hot again, I guess I'd either have to boil again & wipe with BLO as soon as the part comes out of the water & is dry OR the part could be heated with a torch or heat gun.

Thanks for your help.

Roger

After I card, I wash the parts in hot water; (they dry quickly) that leaves them hot and they will soak up the oil like a sponge.