What is the best, and easiest to use, cold blue on the market. I need to touch up a Ruger Blackhawk.

i like brownells dicrompan (sp) the best. what works for me is to rub a lot. clean with alcohol, and rub the blue on rubbing it in so to sepak, then alcohol, then blue and so on for about 8 coats. use clean patches each time

Brownell's Oxpho blue creme gets my vote, degrease, warm the part with hot water, apply it with a clean cosmetic pad, leave it on for a minute or so, rinse, burnish with #0000 steel wool, repeat a couple more times and you'll get the nicest, evenest blue job possible with cold blue. Because it doesn't evaporate on the warm metal, it blues extremely evenly.

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/Store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=1108

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Brownell's Oxpho blue creme gets my vote,

Oxpho blue gets my vote as well, If you will wash the steel wool in acetone prior to using it you will get a better finish. Steel wool has a thin film of oil on it and will really slow the blue process down.

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Originally posted by Rolland:
Oxpho blue gets my vote as well, If you will wash the steel wool in acetone prior to using it you will get a better finish. Steel wool has a thin film of oil on it and will really slow the blue process down.

I've read another way to degrease it is to dip it in denatured alcohol and set a match to it. Oil burns out with the alcohol.

Outside, of course.

G96 cream Gun Blue, degrease, no heat required, rub in with cloth or cotton swab!

Thanks Steve,

Ran out of Birchwood Casey.
So, I tried some G96 cream on some tiny barrel marks with a toothpick earlier today before I read this. Rinsed with water.
Color is black-ish, not blue. Takes an oil sheen nicely. Haven't tried it on larger areas yet.
My new friend.
CB

I haven’t tried it, but I’ve read where if you first apply browning to the metal first, then apply the cold blue solution, you will get a deeper blue.

That will also catch the steel wool on fire. It burns ferociously.

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Originally posted by Recoil Rob:

I've read another way to degrease it is to dip it in denatured alcohol and set a match to it. Oil burns out with the alcohol.

Outside, of course.

For quick blue jobs at the shop I use Ox-Pho. I use it often for rusty single barrel shotgun barrels. Quick media blast and immediately start slopping it on with degreased steel wool. In about a minute it will turn a muddy black. Then wipe off with paper towels. For a darker finish dampen a cotton ball with it and rub the barrel hard. Wipe again. Lastly I seal it with a couple of coats of auto clear coat lacquer. Virtually "barn proof".

If the part(s) to be blued were suitable for blasting- I discovered a while back that blasting with 120 grit AlOx, followed by medium glass beads really allowed the Oxpho to turn out a much darker, even finish. I find sometimes that for whatever reason, larger areas tend to have a mottled, uneven appearance and blasting evens it out.

I'm guessing the process increases the surface area for the blue.

if it's just touchup small stuff,
Birchwood Casey bluing pen

if you run a torch over the cold blue, it might get a little darker, then oil it..

most cold blues have a strong smell

G-96 comment follow up.
Oh well. It was black and now it turned to blue-ish after a light rub with 000 bronze wool. Darn.

Should have left it alone. Most cold blues work with selenic acid, which is what the smell is, and copper nitrite. It plates the steel with the copper and then turns the copper black. That is why you sometimes get mottled or copper colors. It's just for touch up small areas. Don't expect a top quality job. And yes, blasting helps make it stay black and even because the color and light reflection and refraction is in the pits. Tiny ones.

Thanks. I may just take it to my stock guy in Bainbridge. He's also great with metal.

It's too easy to rust blue to pay someone to do it, however.

Did you mean copper sulfate? You know I can't just give up on the first try. Got much better results giving the scratch a good rub with dead soft solid copper first. Now it's acceptable. Time will tell if it lasts.

quote:

Originally posted by dpcd:
Should have left it alone. Most cold blues work with selenic acid, which is what the smell is, and copper nitrite. It plates the steel with the copper and then turns the copper black.

Some formulas use that. It's a waste of time to experiment with any cold blue formula though.

Like I said, time will tell.

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Originally posted by dpcd:
Some formulas use that. It's a waste of time to experiment with any cold blue formula though.

That does look good though!

Thank you.