Who best to perform this for my custom?

If you want the high gloss finish of yesteryear high end guns you might want to look at Gary Reeders bright Chromex...its rated to be one of the best high gloss blueing finishes available anywhere. It looks fantastic and Gary will make sure your happy with it. He also makes it in a subdued matte finish as well.

Try Rebel Gun, in Wildwood, Florida.

Ask for their "high luster blue".

It is the best bluing I have ever seen, bar none. Fast turn around too.

Garrett

www.reedercustomguns.com

Here's their website

Maybe it is just the pictures but the Chromex high polish looks like they rounded the corners of the actions polishing to long. Am I all wrong??????

To me a high quality classic blued finish would be a proper rust blue, anything else is just a short cut.
Steve

okay, where for the best rust blue?

I already have well over 3K in parts for the gun.....a little extra on finish is more than okay.

quote:

Originally posted by 333_OKH:
okay, where for the best rust blue?

I already have well over 3K in parts for the gun.....a little extra on finish is more than okay.

Actually, if you can follow directions to a T, you could do it yourself.

quote:

Originally posted by 333_OKH:
okay, where for the best rust blue?

I already have well over 3K in parts for the gun.....a little extra on finish is more than okay.

Don't know about giving any one the "best" titile as there are many talented craftsmen in the trade. But Pete Mazur and Turnbull certinly are top tier metal finishers when it comes to rust blueing a fine firearm.

You could also check with a very good friend of mine introduced to me by Chic Worthing Dave Norin. Dave is an ACGG member and also the editor of the ACGG magazine.

I know that the Brits love his work in particular and he was recently invited to join their Gun Trade association.

Good hunting!

333_OKH

Believe me, Gary will not polish off any corners getting the gun ready for his Black Chromex, unless you want it that way. Some people do like the edges broken a bit and some don't...thats why it called a custom gun, its whatever the client wants. Rust bluing has a good classic look too.

Thanks again guys. These all look good.

quote:

Originally posted by Woodrow S:
333_OKH

Believe me, Gary will not polish off any corners getting the gun ready for his Black Chromex, unless you want it that way. Some people do like the edges broken a bit and some don't...thats why it called a custom gun, its whatever the client wants. Rust bluing has a good classic look too.

Is the Chromex a different solution than other blueings?

Hello,
Believe you will have a tough time beating the work done by Doug Turnbull and his staff. Have had CCH and blue work done and it is always outstanding and yet reasonable in pricing and very good turn around to boot. Good Luck.

quote:

Originally posted by skb:
To me a high quality classic blued finish would be a proper rust blue, anything else is just a short cut.
Steve

A high luster blueing job done right, is the farthest thing from a "short cut".

A rust blue is and can be difficult and time consuming on some rifles, if not most, but the high polish of a barreled action with no ripples or defects is extremely difficult to perform.
Cheap "high luster" blue jobs that don't start out with the proper ingredients are a dime a dozen, but finding someone to do the the real high-end work is not easy in the least.

Ditto. All the money is in the polish job. If it is done right, any final bluing process will accent it properly. I happen to like rust bluing but a good hot blue on top of a proper polish job is beautiful, too.

The problem with finding someone to doa good polish job is that it ain't cheap. Not because the hourly rate is particularly high but because of the manhours required. Imagine mowing an acre of lawn with a pair of pinking shears and you get the concept.

quote:

Originally posted by triggerguard1:

quote:

Originally posted by skb:
To me a high quality classic blued finish would be a proper rust blue, anything else is just a short cut.
Steve

A high luster blueing job done right, is the farthest thing from a "short cut".

A rust blue is and can be difficult and time consuming on some rifles, if not most, but the high polish of a barreled action with no ripples or defects is extremely difficult to perform.
Cheap "high luster" blue jobs that don't start out with the proper ingredients are a dime a dozen, but finding someone to do the the real high-end work is not easy in the least.

Matt who would you recommend?

quote:

Originally posted by tiggertate:
The problem with finding someone to doa good polish job is that it ain't cheap. Not because the hourly rate is particularly high but because of the manhours required. Imagine mowing an acre of lawn with a pair of pinking shears and you get the concept.

So what would we be talking about $$$

quote:

Originally posted by 333_OKH:

quote:

Originally posted by triggerguard1:

quote:

Originally posted by skb:
To me a high quality classic blued finish would be a proper rust blue, anything else is just a short cut.
Steve

A high luster blueing job done right, is the farthest thing from a "short cut".

A rust blue is and can be difficult and time consuming on some rifles, if not most, but the high polish of a barreled action with no ripples or defects is extremely difficult to perform.
Cheap "high luster" blue jobs that don't start out with the proper ingredients are a dime a dozen, but finding someone to do the the real high-end work is not easy in the least.

Matt who would you recommend?

Unfortunately, the only person I'd recommend for such a job would be my father, but he's retired from such work.
It is an art that has fallen by the wayside, considering most folks are looking for a matte finish or rust blued option on their custom rifles.
To be honest, I really have no idea if there's anyone left to do that class of work anymore, but perhaps some other folks on here could point you in the right direction.

The problem with reccomendations on a high luster blueing job, is that you nearly need to be able to do the work yourself to be able to appreciate how well the smith did his job. If you don't know what you're looking for, you may be blissfully ignorant and happy at the same time. Not necessarily a bad thing, but ya might get rooked for more money that the job was worth.

I have never used him for this, but several friends have had John Gillette at Classic Guns carbona blue guns. It is not the trus mirror shine blue, but it is more shiney than rust blue and does not look matte. I have used John for other things and his turnaround is very good. It may be worth your time to check it ou.

John Gillette- Classic Guns

quote:

Originally posted by 333_OKH:

quote:

Originally posted by tiggertate:
The problem with finding someone to doa good polish job is that it ain't cheap. Not because the hourly rate is particularly high but because of the manhours required. Imagine mowing an acre of lawn with a pair of pinking shears and you get the concept.

So what would we be talking about $$$

That is like asking how high is high? It depends on the condition to start with, whether any previous damage needs draw filing to square every thing back up, or if it is just a matter of final polish. But I think you can start at $500-$600 best case, plus the blue job. Most of the people willing to do it (not many) will only give you an hourly rate and tell you it will be done when it is done.

Rust blue can be either very high luster or low luster, it all depends on 2 factors. Number one being the metal prep, most people will tell you metal does not need to be polished beyond 320 grit....true for some applications, as long as you dont mind seeing some polish marks. I take my luster blue up to 400 grit, then wire whell to even the surface. The next part is where most people screw up rust blue. The key to a nice deep, high luster rust blue is the length of time in the rusting box. The shorter the time, the finner the rust, and the better the finish. Heres a couple of pics of my muzzleloader that is almost finished. Thankfully I can rust blue better than I can take pictures.

Very nice!

JAK Industries
Gunsmith Services
1505-C Vyne St.
Prescott, AZ 86305
(928) 443-9862
Jim Kucia-Owner

This is about as high a shine Im willing to take a slow rust blue. This was done with Gun Godess. This bolt has been oiled lightly and then wiped off. Thats not a streak in the bluing on the safety. Didnt get all the oil off before the picture (I went back and double checked it)

That looks great, Bill. I'm way too lazy to do a whole gun that well.

Black Chromex is a solution of Gary Reeders own making and has been rated one of the best blue type finishes there is by several reputable magazines. Hell, its black..hence the name. Its also more durable than standard type blueing finishes. Again, it is quite nice.

Bill,

The bolt looks very nice. What final grit/polish did you take it to?