I finally finished rust bluing two rifles, same ones discussed in my "is Simple Green Caustic" thread. (Actually, I now think the problem I mentioned in the post was a combination of galvanic corrosion- I was soaking the barreled action in a trough made out of aluminum gutters- put the primary cause was the gooped-up varnish just sitting in the bore.) Given the pitting inside the bore I think I would have done less damage had I just left it unprotected.



Anyway, back to my current trials and tribulations: Even though the barrel is probably a goner, I went ahead and repolished the external pitted surfaces and recoated the bores with two coats of thinned varnish. The actual rust bluing went smoothly enough, but cleaning the varnish out of the bore was an unmitigated pain in the rear. It took hours, as even with solvents it really hung in the grooves and I'm sure I wore a bore brush out getting it clean. I may have used to much varnish or done something else wrong, but there's got to be a better way.



I seem to recall someone (Chic, perhaps) mentioning in a previous post that they were spray painting their bores for protection during rust bluing. Seems that would offer sufficient protection and be far easier to get out, but I can't figure out how you would spray paint the inside of a bore.



I'm open to any suggestions on easier/better ways to protect a bore when rust bluing, because I'm never EVER swabbing varnish in a barrel again!

Did you try a paint/epoxy remover as one of your solvents? That should have done the trick.

belaw, I use lacquer. I plug the bore, pour it in and slosh it around, then pour out the unused part. Lacquer thinner takes it out very easily.

Chic:

Do just use the basic laquer you would pick up from a paint store, such as Deft? Do you thin it? Any special instructions?

Does the laquer get soft when boiled? I suspended the barrel on a 1/4" dowel through the bore while boiling, and I think part of the problem may be that the varnish became tender during boiling and tore on the dowel, which allowed water to get trapped under the film inside the bore.

Sorry for nit-picking you with questions, but after ruining one new barrel I want to make sure I've got all the details down for when (if) I get up the nerve to try again!


P.S. I was less than clear in my initial post, but my disgust with varnish as a bore protector has more to do with the damage I inflicted than difficult removal. It sort of stings to ruin a new barrel on your first try.

Belaw,
I use the lacquer straight from the can. I bought a gallon of it because that is the smallest amount they sold. I got it from a commercial paint store. It is tough stuff and the boiling does not bother it. I have two bend steel rods that go in each end to facilitate removing the barrel.

Prior to using the lacquer, I did not use anything and to be honest, I do not know if it does any good. But in my mind it does protect that good bore that cost a fair amount of money.

Chic,
admittedly Ive only done a couple barrels in hot water blue (rust blue just is ironicly funny in houston)..

I get some lacquer spray cans and a wd40 spreay tube, put my thumb over the muzzle and spray.... then go turn the tank on to get hot...

when i'm done, i brush the heck out of the chamber (i dint the first time, and WOW was that cuse FUGLY) and use acetone on the barrel..

then shoot it with light loads...

I'll have to try the liquid lacquer !!!

jeffe

You can also buy some rubber Lab stoppers, insert the stoppers into the muzzle and chamber mouth then apply the rust solution. Allow the process to work for the what ever time it takes in or out of a sweat box. Remove the plugs just before the barrel goes into the boiling water. Pull the barrel from the water, shake out the water from the bore and very quickly place the barrel into a clean padded set of vise jaws and with a de-oiled, clean Dewey rod and clean patches wipe and dry the bore with five or six patches. The hot barred will evaporate what ever is left over. Allow the barrel to cool replace the plugs and continue the process. If done properly A bore scope comparison will show that this sure as heck beats other methods to protect the bore.

Maybe you can tell me what I'm doing wrong. The couple of times I tried rubber plugs in the bore in double shotguns, they blew out in the boiling water. (POP, glug-glug-glug) I've thought about drilling a center hole and using a washer on each end with a center bolt. Sort of like a transom plug.

D'Arcy said to pull out the stoppers just before the boiling stage. The boiling's removing any corrosive salts that could've seeped past the stoppers into the bore, then you wipe out the water immediately.

I have mentioned before that you can buy stoppers that have a brass nut embedded in them and which, when used with a bolt and washer can be forced to expand like a fishing boat plug. They to not pop out in boiling water and they do not let water in.

I get them at the hardware store in the specialty fastener section.

Brent

Brent, I got some of those from a retired gunsmith, only the rods are not long enough for the barrels I use. These were used for M1 barrels. The idea is very sound. It is better to keep the water away from the inside either by a coating and than trying to solve any problems later.

Another example of experience favoring the simple solution!Thanks for protecting us from our own ingenuity, D'Arcy.


Doug

Chic,
The things that I used did not use rods through the entire barrel. God, knows, I'd have trouble then. Most of my barrels are 32". Short barrels, for me, are 28"

I sure wish my digital camera was around. I'd photo a couple of them and post the pictures, but my camera is in the field with a student. I'll try to throw a couple on the scanner if I remember to bring some in with me tomorrow.

Brent

I have not used anything to protect bores. They seem to clean up fine. At ansy rate, I would bet laquer would be great though. Remember, it is nitrocellulose (gunpowder) in solvent. Whatever did not clean out would be burned on the first shot.

Scot,
I did not use anything for a long time. I used a number of methods to clean them. One being as D'Arcy described and another cleaning at the end of the rust bluing. Both of those cleaning process took a lot of gunky looking patches out of the bore coated with residue that I did not feel lead to the best treatment of the barrel.

What often seems to be a simple easy solution is not a solution at all. I have found that once I am done and I dissolve the lacquer, that there is nothing under it but a clean barrel. It may take a little more time and effort at the beginning and the end, but I know the barrel is better than with other methods. I feel I have done the best to protect my clients considerable investment.

As I have stated on similar post I change my water every other boil out. There is very little residue to effect anything. The patches that come out of any barrel are not in anyway discolored, the first one is sopping wet the second may be damp the following three or four are probably not needed. By using A bore scope to actually look for any apparent rust build up I have concluded, at least for me, that this method will protect the bore as well as any other method that I have tired with very little extra work required.

I certainly think there is some measurable exposure the to bore but this exposer is significantly less than what the bore would experience on any wet weather hunt or like wise a rifle coming out of the cold on a Saskatchewan Whitetail drive going into the cab of the guides balmy (90 degrees, windows fogged, radio tuned to the loudest Regina rock station) truck and instanly condensating as it's being slid into the gun case as you head off down the road for another push.

I have scoped bores that were not protected by any method or ones that failed and it is not a very pretty sight. Some still shoot pretty damn good despite the tropical application.

D'Arcy, we may be tilting at windmills with the whole topic. It does certainly sound like what you have done works for you. I have found that timewise the lacquer coating does the job very well with a minimal of effort. I wish the bore plugs that I got from an old military gunsmith fit my rifle barrels. It would be worth giving them a try but it is not worth the effort if something works for you.

I have started changing my water on every boil but I am using a still to make the distilled water and that makes it easier as far as the pocketbook. There are some cheap stills availabe today, around $100. Mine is an old one from a pharmacy.

Why not just run a patch wetted with one of the liquid cold blues down the tube a time or two? Seems like a simple yet effective alternative to me.

Rust bluing shotgun barrels always showed discoloration so I started laquering all bores. I also plug them with wood while handling and rubber while boiling.
Be sure the laquer is dry, fit the plugs to the bores and use laquer thinner to clean up, first with a loose patch, then with a brush, then more patches.
Nothing is too good for a great rifle bore. My conscience demands nothing less.