I need a good looking and durable finish for a custom 98 Mauser. Matte black is the color I am looking for. The wood is XX walnut, rubbed oil.

Go to www.robarguns.com. Lou

Perry,

Tip Burns has a QPQ finish he does. It looks very good and is very, very, very durable!

www.burnsgunrepair.com

It's your rifle, but the last thing I'd put on a nice custom Mauser would be a synthetic coating. Done right, slow cold rust bluing will give you the matte black your looking for, and, it's very durable!

Coatings look like crap once they start to show wear, a good bluing looks seasoned and appropriate to the rest of the rifle with wear.

Good point dempsey!

RUST BLUING

Keith

A proper rust blued finish is incredible durable. Even hot blue is more durable than 99% of the population actually requires. I have hunted the world with a hot blued/walnut stocked rifle more days afield, in more countries, under more varied conditions than most of the guys writing about how a rifle such as mine would disintegrate from the elements. More BS has been written about the supposed fragility wood & blued rifles over the past 20 years. That is one reason why I stopped subscribing to all gun magazines.

If you want the ultimate in finishes, then forget coated and go with QPQ a.k.a. "Melonite." It looks very good on a gun, can be applied to carbon or stainless steel, and will wind up being the factory finish on many guns over the next few years. That is my prediction anyway. Some writer (NOT a knowledgeable writer such as our own SDH) will write about it and throw in a lot of hyperbole and ad hype, and within three months every other gun rag will have the same article, but with even more outrageous claims.

I have actually been emailing with our resident metallurgist about the finish this week. I desperately need to have a pistol treated with something and was having trouble deciding between hard chrome and Melonite. I was leery of Melonite due to the wild claims I have read about it. Reminded me of the BS garbage written about shortmags a few years ago. Our fair expert assured me that the finish durability is excellent and had a laugh at some of the alchemy claims. Melonite actually diffuses carbon and nitrogen into the surface of the steel. This is NOT a coating and will not peel off like all coatings will do.

This is the treatment that Butch Lambert has mentioned on a BR barrel his grandson has been shooting. Butch keeps records and accurately measures groups. He is one of just a small handful of people that I will believe when they quote me a group size or rifle accuracy average. He has had incredible barrel life with the QPQ’d tube.

I am considering having barrels Melonited and then somehow getting it back to bare steel so I can rust blue it. This will treat the bore and still give me a rust blued outer surface. For a rifle that will be shot a lot, this will likely at least double or triple the barrel life of a carbon barrel that is inletted full contact with a wood stock. I would also Melonite a barrel on any varmint or target rifle, or any sporter with a SS barrel and/or action.

pics of Melonited guns

explanation of QPQ process

edited to add: for those who don't know, when I referred to "our resident metalurgist" who was helping me understand which metal treatment I should go with for maximum corrosion protection, it is the man in the post below. A public "Thanks!" to you mete!!!

Edit Number B to add: I have a stainless/titanium/carbon fiber rifle and I had a guy Gun-Kote it. The finish is very fragile and any sharp edge is quickly worn back to bare metal. I will never have it done to metal again. It is OK for the stock, but I there has to be something better out there.

I should add that Glock pistols have the German equivalent of QPQ and they certainly have proven to have an extremely durable finish !

quote:

Originally posted by mete:
I should add that Glock pistols have the German equivalent of QPQ and they certainly have proven to have an extremely durable finish !

Agreed ...

Austrian
http://www.glock.com/english/index_contact.htm

Rust blue is a GREAT finish for a custom rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by dempsey:
Coatings look like crap once they start to show wear, a good bluing looks seasoned and appropriate to the rest of the rifle with wear.

Yes indeed, nothing beats the looks of a Brown Termite Food Stock with a matching (constantly) Rusting Brown Action and Barrel.

Just rush over to the SC Lowcountry area and begin Hunting right now with your rifle. Deer Season opened 15Aug. Only problem is Fay has left the area, but there is always good old DEET mixed with Sweat to speed the Browning Process.

Come to think of it, Fay is headed your way. Just take it outside and carry it around for the next week or so and that should get it going.
-----

I had a couple of Blue Steel rifles Teflon Coated back in the late `70s with Z-Coat's SWAT Flat Black. The rifles have held up better than I ever imagined. Only place the Teflon is gone is on the Bolt Face and the backside of the Locking Lugs. The bottom of the Bolts have a slight "Burnished" streak where they rub against the Cartridges in the magazine as they move fore and aft. No Peeling, no Flaking, and no Rusting Blue Steel.

I do not know if Z-Coat is still in Miami or not. And surely there is even higher tech stuff available today. But, I've got "ZERO" to complain about with the Teflon. Of course, I'm not a real fan of constantly Rusting Blue Steel, so my view is different from some folks.

quote:

Originally posted by dempsey:
Coatings look like crap once they start to show wear, a good bluing looks seasoned and appropriate to the rest of the rifle with wear.

+1

I have seen pistols with the Melonite finish and have been favorably impressed.

Has anyone actually had a complete rifle done with Melonite? Temps look high, what about silver soldered parts?

quote:

Originally posted by mete:
I should add that Glock pistols have the German equivalent of QPQ and they certainly have proven to have an extremely durable finish !

I totally forgot about the Glock finish. I take mine for granted; dragging it everywhere, everyday, and outside of making sure the lint in the barrel isn't too excessive, I hardly ever think about it.

But mete is correct, the Tenifer finish Glock uses is phenominal. I have taken my wifes M17 diving up and down the coast of California over many years and all it has required at the end of a dive is a light, fresh water rinse and drying. It still looks great today, some 15 years later. Even when the color wears off, the Tenifer fishish still provides full protection.

Perry, here is a company who specializes in various finishes. You might contact them with your questions.

http://www.finishing.com/Equipment/kolene.shtml

Sign of the times when you have to take your M17 diving. Bottle jackers?

quote:

Originally posted by tiggertate:
Sign of the times when you have to take your M17 diving. Bottle jackers?

Californians!

+1 on the QPQ... picked up my new m70 in .264 win mag that tip burns just finished... the QPQ finish will withstand a file, pocketknife scraping...the black finish looks great

Try Falcon Gun Finishing

(www.falcongunfinishing.com)
They have a lot of color choices, but 2 in particular that look like a high luster blue.

The first is called "satin black", and the other is "gun metal blue"

I have the satin black on one rifle (in a synthetic stock), and it definitely would look good in a nice walnut stock.

The finish is as durable as anything I've ever seen.

I have a 375 wildcat in olive drab green in a camo stock that looks as good today as it did when it was coated 8 or 9 years ago.

Garrett