gents:

can anyone offer some guidance re blueing? my project will involve having the metal redone and I am not sure what sort of choice to make.

slow rust blueing seems quite nice but I don't have enough knowledge to make a fair comparison.

thanks in advance.

Two primary options are, as you probably already know, hot caustic salt bluing and traditional rust bluing. Both processes have their place.

Hot caustic salt bluing is less expensive as it requires a lot less labor and holds up pretty well. It's easy to very the gloss by polishing or bead blasting, depending on what look your after. A sodt blasted finish can be made to look very much like rust bluing. The salts disolve non-ferrous metals and soft solder so it is unsuitable for many older firearms, especially shotguns.

Rust bluing takes a LOT more labor but I find it a lot of fun to do, unlike hot bluing which is just plain work. It is much harder to get high gloss finish but rust bluing is very, very durable and offers a classic look.

I like both. I don't care for painted guns but theirs a place for that too. If you have specific questions drop me a PM.