Looking for information on how this is done and the initial investment to do it. I've heard some of you guy's talking about it and I might like to try it myself. I've got a couple of "practice" guns that can't be hurt.

Any links or literature you can point me to would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Terry

Terry-

I'd start with Gun Goddess blue:

Jim Baiar
Half Moon Rifle Shop
490 Half Moon Road
Columbia Falls, MT 59912

406 892-4409

Jim includes excellent instructions, even a plan for a humidity box. (Mine is designer blue. LOL.)

I picked up a tip from another forum and used a small crock pot as a humidity source, but I put a 40 watt light bulb in the box to prevent condensation.

The goal is to get a fine, even dusting of rust.

Metal prep is pretty critical: I found bead blasting worked well.

Please heed the instructions to keep everything surgically clean.

I found a carding brush, hand held, at some industrial supply place. I think the bristles are .003 stainless, or thereabouts. I also used lots of de-greased steel wool.

The boiling tank will be your biggest expense. (If you need a long one for barrels.) I lucked out here, and borrowed one. LOL.

Also, I used distilled water. Reverse osmosis distilled water is recommended, IIRC.

And you might find it useful to get yourself a couple of five pairs of cloth gardening gloves, to hold the parts when they come out of the tank, and as you card them.

And about 100 of the very light disposable plastic gloves, to use as you apply the blue.

Finally, the Dunlop "Gunsmithing" book is a pretty good resource, too.

flaco

Good luck with this, Terry. I found it very labor intensive, but equally rewarding. You will not believe watching parts go from totally trashed rust to deep blue.

Someone here a while ago had the best idea for a cheap boiling tank- use a section of rain gutter and a propane burner. He mentioned to seal the end caps on with silicone RTV and use screws on top of that as the RTV will come apart by itself when things get hot.

Gun Godess has a lot of fans, including some incredibly talented ones on this forum and I do not think you can go wrong choosing it. Another option to be aware of is Mark Lee's Express Blue. Jack Belk recommended it for beginners as it works a bit faster, and as he put it "You'll learn your mistakes a lot quicker!". Just something to also consider.

I think it was Dago Red that came up with the gutter section. I tried it and it works well. I used hi-temp RTV from the auto parts store and didn't need screws. The only trick is to prop it up securley. It holds about 3 gallons of boiling water and you sure don't mwant it to tip over.

here in the Houston area you don't need a humidor; 100 degrees and 100% humidity work just fine, LOL.

My total cost to date has benn anout 100 bucks, including 4 bottles of Gun Goddess and the $75 carding wheel from Brownell's that I chuck in a hand drill.

Other than that, about $124 bucks for a bead blast cabinet and other metal prep supplies.

I used gutter too, but no silicone. Just bend the ends of the gutter up and fold the corners around. Works good on momma's stove sitting across 2 burners.

Check out http://www.winrest.com

I use and like their chemicals too.

I'm the gutter guy. Works for me. Make some sort of props to hold the barrel off the bottom of the tank. I bent some 9 gauge wire to do this.

Brent

PS. If you can't work the barrel every 4 hrs or so, you may get pitting if you are using a humidity hotbox. Loose the box and you can go 12 hrs or so between boils - this works a lot better with my life style. I just hang in my basement (quite dry and cool).

Dago and Walker, I don't want to tred on anyone's toes for credit - sure ain't worth it. I got beat up by someone here for suggesting that this works and rust bluing isn't too hard to do. Walker, I like your idea about bending the ends. Next time.

If you use the clamp on ends and no screws, the glue lets go when it gets hot.

Brent

PS. Someone should mail TC1 a copy of Jack Belk's notes on rust bluing too. Very helpful and encouraging.

Plinktons Slow Rust Blue, while more difficult than either the GunGoddess or Mark Lee solutions, has an excellent instruction booklet- Plinkton's is identical to the Neidner formula.

Winrest has some great info too...

It's all in the metal prep and degrease. I don't think Belk ever recommended bead blasting because it peened the "pores" of the metal closed and hindered good rust formation. He was a proponent of a hand polish with stones and often used different formulas on one gun. Jim Baiar recommends a light garnet sand blast to help the solution coat evenly- this way you don't have to wait for the solution to etch the steel.

Get the Brownells .0025 Stainless 4 row wheel and a $3-5 1/4" arbor from Sears,HD,Lowes- you can mount that in a drill in your vise or better in a variable speed drill press set to 500 rpm making carding a barrelled action length wise easier on the arms...

Lotsa practice is good too. I'm going to warn you with a Dunlap quote so you don't get spoiled: "If you can obtain the beautiful satiny finish possible about the fifth time you try, you will not curse so much. Afterwards, no other finish will seem very good..." Roy F. Dunlap

I did a couple of muzzleloaders and a couple of mauser take-off barrels plus some mauser actions, bottom metal and assorted parts with Pinktons and Jack Belks instructions. If I remember right I finished the metal before blueing with 220 grit. You don't want a too slick finish. Parts rust better with a courser finish. Carded by hand with de-greased steel wool. Every piece I did turned out real nice. Took about 5 treatments. Key is cleanliness and for dern sure no oil, grease, or even finger prints on the parts. Use un-powdered latex gloves to handle the parts with.

What ever you try, use distilled water the first time. Once you have done it then you can play with
rainwater, airconditioner distillate, ect.
Good luck!

TC1
I used Plinktons with excellent results. The big trick is getting the boiling pan and keeping fingerprints away from your work. For my boiling pan I made mine using a section of galvanized stove pipe from Home Depot. I opened it up on the seam and hammered it square around three sides of a 4X4 then folded the ends up and around the end of the 4X4 like you'd wrap a Christmas present. Set it on two burners of the stove when the wife was out, worked fine.

A couple of things:

First, Gun Goddess is the "hottest" of the formulas. It gives great results, but can get away from you. The Mark Lee solution is not as aggressive, so may be better for a beginner, but the Mark Lee solution also takes more applications that Gun Goddess (which may mean more opportunities for a goof).

Clean, pure water and absolutely grease-free cleanliness are the real keys to success.

As for the use of gutters as a boiling trough, I used the light-weight aluminum stuff from Home Depot and burned a hole through it! I had to double-layer it, which really cut down on my heat transfer. Next time I rust blue I'm going to try and pick up some heavy gauge copper gutter like the high-end builders use. It shouldn't be too expensive since I only need about a 3' section.

quote:

Originally posted by belaw:
As for the use of gutters as a boiling trough, I used the light-weight aluminum stuff from Home Depot and burned a hole through it!

Try Lowe's next time

Mine has made it through 6 or 7 barrels so far and shows no sign of wear. Given that you can boil water in a paper cup, burning through aluminum filled with water is a good trick.

Brent

.

birchwood casey's plum brown also boils to a NICE tough blue...

terry, go ahead and order the brownells tank and lid,,trust ole jeffe.. just make your life easier..

I use a clear INDOOR (outdoor is too tough, i tried) paint down the barrel...

jeffe

quote:

Originally posted by Brent:

quote:

Originally posted by belaw:
As for the use of gutters as a boiling trough, I used the light-weight aluminum stuff from Home Depot and burned a hole through it!

Try Lowe's next time

Mine has made it through 6 or 7 barrels so far and shows no sign of wear. Given that you can boil water in a paper cup, burning through aluminum filled with water is a good trick.

Brent

Hey, no matter how hard it is to do, if it can be fouled up I'm the man for the job!

quote:

Originally posted by belaw:

Hey, no matter how hard it is to do, if it can be fouled up I'm the man for the job!

I hate to think of how many times, I can relate to that....

Brent

quote:

Originally posted by jeffeosso:
birchwood casey's plum brown also boils to a NICE tough blue...

jeffe,

I just tried this on a Mauser floorplate, it came out very nice. And this holds up well, also? Thanks.

Craig