In literally 10 seconds on a buffing wheel incorrectly applied, I could screw that up to a point where it might take be eight+ hours of hand polishing to recover my prior results. You can reassemble the gun after. Pour in Ive gotten hot blue salts on me splashed into my hair. I guess Ill have to just be happy drying toilet paper. The parts are then boiled in distilled water, blown dry, then carded, as with rust bluing. At least one of the cold bluing solutions contains selenium dioxide. Craig, torch bluing is a real thing that has been use a lot in the custom gun world, mostly for screw heads but even for complete muzzle loader creations ( the vendor will be quite proud of his work it seems as cost increases considerably to a finished item). In my case I drilled/threaded the metal piece and made a holder with a threaded end. Wait for 10 15 minutes and then take out the components. "Bluing" is the process of oxidizing steel to create a durable, corrosion-resistant layer. WD-40, as mentioned earlier, is a water-displacing oil compound not a penetrating lube, and for preventing rust, WD-40 actually works pretty well, but it doesnt last like cosmoline or waxy oils used for long-term rust prevention. If you do not get crazy and over heat the steel there is no reason to be fearful of the process. When everything is set up, put on your protective gear and then get down to business. Can a softly tempered piece be re-tempered harder without going through the hardening procedure again? "@type": "Article", An ideal temperature is 180 degrees Fahrenheit but it also depends on the manual. Great column, and thanks for all the responses to various questions and comments. This process was repeated until the desired depth of color was achieved or the metal simply did not color further. Never know when it will come in handy. In the nitre bluing process, polished and cleaned steel parts are immersed in a bath of molten saltstypically potassium nitrate and sodium nitrate (sometimes with 9.4 grams (0.33oz) of manganese dioxide per pound of total nitrate). Examples of this finish are common on older pocket watches whose hands exhibit what is called 'peacock blue', a rich iridescent blue. It turns out I have. Once the solution reaches its boiling point, turn down the burner to about one-third of the boiling temperature and let it stay there. -2x containers (one of them preferably being metal for the oil), -unleaded petrol/Acetone/Terpentine/Rubbing alcohol or any good degreaser, -metal object/s (I used mild steel, Please note this method should NOT be used on tempered/hardened steel as you will effect the properties of the metal). Most knives, rifle receivers and barrels are heated to at least 1200F and cooled and drawn at 490F-700F. First, let us go through a couple of bluing concepts that you have to know in order to achieve the desired result. I am using bronze, is it for a polish? I tried heating the barrel in sections (as Brownells says is ok) but did not get a very good result, being unable to get a uniform heat in any =thing approaching more than a few inches at a time. If the sights need to be stripped & blued, follow the same procedure, but dont polish on them. Have proper ventilation and use proper modern safety gear! Wear thick gloves and a face mask before you quench your steel so the water or oil doesnt splash onto your hands. They should send you a stipend for your time. "dateModified": "2022-03-27", Im asking because theres a guy on YouTube recommending Brown Express first, then several layers of Blue over that. 1. polish it very well 2. clean very well 3. quick dip in dilute FeCl (4:1) is what I use 4. rinse in cold running water and pat This article was very, "I've been working with steel since I was a child, and reviewing these proper methods and skills makes my projects, "It surely educated me on several points. This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Hunter Rising. You MUST plug your barrels, gas cylinders, remove your pistons, etc. To shrink, I assumed you heated the steel plate only, to expand the hole in it. You dont want to affect the hardness of your steel in critical areas like actions, bolts, bolt lugs, barrels, chambers, etc. Ill detail why. Add in the 250F+ temperatures of the salts when they hit your skin, and youre both burned thermally and chemically in seconds. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. Gun companies dont/wont do it because they want to make quick money, and today its all phosphates and bake-on appliance paint (you didnt think a guy who calls Glocks cheez-whiz was going to sing the praises of Duracote or Cerakote, did you?). Heat the gun parts. If you drop a piece of paper in there, or hydrocarbon compounds (like oil or grease on your part). A few safety items: Even with safety glasses and a full-face shield, a rubber apron, rubber boots, etc it is possible to get salts into your eyes and all over the rest of you. Todos los derechos reservados. A Pocket Sundial From a Broken Pocket Watch! Prepare the components of the metal surface before you attempt to blue using your tools. What I forgot to mention in all of this is a detail that seems mundane, but it critically important: Wear cotton gloves. (Its Crystalline Potassium Nitrate 100%) $6.18 While I am certain that I could do it myself, you already have all the bits and parts and stuff so it is worth my dollars to buy a gunsmiths time to have this done for me. This is not necessary as long as you can hold your item appropriately and not cover where it is to be heated. After three coats, washing and drying, the finish was not too bad, considering I was (and am) a rank amateur. Hot blueing is a good process, especially if you have a lot of iron to shove through the blueing process quickly. Youll need some shop rolls, ranging from 180 to 400 grit (typical 4-packs are 180, 240, 320 and 400 grit, in 1, 1.5 or 2. I hope to someday have good knowledge to pass on to people, heh. They are still sometimes used by gunsmiths to obtain an authentic finish for a period gun of the time that rust bluing was in vogue, analogous to the use of browning on earlier representative firearm replicas. Thoroughly degrease the area to be reblued with acetone. Its a pretty straightforward process. Similarly, stainless steel parts may be immersed in a mixture of nitrates and chromates, similarly heated. Keep heating the steel until you notice a blue color form on the metal. I wish this article had come out sooner, since I did not know that 0000 steel wool may have oil in it. Degrease a pad of 0000 steel wool with acetone. Pour in some acetone, and while wearing rubber gloves (dishwashing gloves are OK), put in a pad of 0000 steel wool, swish it around and pull it out. Think big scars. Drift the sights back in from the right side of the barrel. When the first patch gets really funky, then drop that in your plastic garbage container (remember, these patches have been soaked in acid solutions! Work on a metal or steel surface, such as an anvil, to avoid any fire hazards. Bluing is most commonly used by gun manufacturers, gunsmiths, and gun owners to improve the cosmetic appearance of and provide a measure of corrosion resistance to their firearms. Hot NaOH is so alkaline it is great as dissolving organic materials. Instead of applying the acid solution directly to the metal parts, the parts are placed in a sealed cabinet with a moisture source, a container of nitric acid and a container of hydrochloric acid. The "hot" process is an alkali salt solution using potassium nitrite or sodium nitrate and sodium hydroxide, referred to as "traditional caustic black", that is typically done at an elevated temperature, 135 to 155C (275 to 311F). To harden steel, start by heating the metal directly with a blow torch until it turns a cherry red color. 6 years ago. The color is not oxides, when steel is heated at relatively low heats (300-600 degrees Fahrenheit) it changes colors from light yellow to a deep blue, after 600 it turns back to a steel color. . Your container should be relatively larger than your object. Bluing is often a hobbyist endeavor, and there are many methods of bluing, and continuing debates about the relative efficacy of each method. New guns are typically available in blued finish options offered as the least-expensive finish, and this finish is also the least effective at providing rust resistance, relative to other finishes such as Parkerizing or hard chrome plating or nitriding processes like Tenifer. The colours range through straw, gold, brown, purple, blue, teal, then black. Youll get a dark spot right there. Colour case hardening occurs when soft steels were packed in a reasonably airtight crucible in a mixture of charred leather, bone charcoal and wood charcoal. This method was adopted by larger firearm companies for large scale, more economical bluing. When youre done and have neutralized & washed off the Express Blue #1 solution, you then should spray down the barrel with water-displacing oil. Hot. I dont use hot salt blueing because much of my work is on older double guns, which have ribs that are soft-soldered into place. Degrease and heat the items to be blued in a steel pan to about 700F. I like using acetone to strip the heavy oil on guns, because it lightens up the oils and makes them easier to strip with a water-based cleaner. I have at least three cold blue solutions in my shop including Oxpho-blue, 44-40 and others. This step should be done before heating the steel, as the steel should be quenched immediately after removing from heat. -something to hold your object with i.e. I didnt drop outta my mommas womb being able to do this stuff. 4 years ago I have in the past few years became more and more. Also buffing wheels pre blue. $3.59. How to colour steel with heat (hot oil finish) is a simple but effective way of achieving a desired colour of choice.The colours are fantastic and often come out in a beautiful two-tone shine. Christopher Graham writes all the content and reviews on this site with the help of his team of hunters and shooters. So I buffed down the barrel with steel wool and started over heating the barrel in the oven before taking it outside to add the solution (which is nitric acid). If youre using acetone to de-oil, dont be afraid to do it more than once. Treating with an oiled coating enhances the protection offered by the bluing. It is caused by a layer of oxide that forms when the steel is heated. This is a great source that you can learn lots of information from and I'll advise it to to a handfuls of others. It had been thoroughly degreased before my first attempt, but in trying to repair a poor result, I apparently contaminated it a bit. tighter your arc, the less the heat input will be. Just use distilled water. Please be careful with the cold bluing solutions. I heat treated a piece of carbon steel to make it less likely to wear (using its edge as a cutting surface in a wood turning application). 4. Once you get the colour you want, go outside to your oil container and fully quench your object into the oil!Note: I know a plastic container is These include hot bluing, cold bluing, niter bluing, and so on. To remove pitting and keep the barrel profile intact requires skill with a file, and that requires hands-on training. Rust bluing is also used on shotgun barrels that are soldered to the rib between the barrels, as hot bluing solutions melt the solder during the bluing process. You might need two applications to clean up more deeply rusted spots. It is not nice stuff. Premium fencing blades are often offered with a blued finish. And for the next (after the next) installment, how to do hard case coloring. It is also used by machinists, to protect and beautify tools made for their own use. Then, you can put the components back into the bluing tank and increase the temperature until you see the blued steel. That means 50-60 revolutions to make a foot. Also Dont get the 275-300F bath on you. Blue Metal Shell 13 in 1 Welding Torch Nozzle Tip Cleaner For Welder Soldering. While the rod may heat some by conduction, it wouldn't get hot enough to start the color-forming process. Accidental exposure to the chemicals could result in serious injuries. It also looks good on AK type weapons of which I have three to park. Even a fingerprint will affect the consistency of the colour. The content is not meant to be a replacement for professional service advice. The process isnt intended for bronze. Then you have to heat the metal. You can make your own desiccant packs with kitty litter (I would recommend the unused variety). This works well for me. Turn the heat on and give a good regular stirring until it gets very hot and starts to steam. }, Ive cut and pasted this to my notes on the cloud. The steel is also used for producing great police flashlights with awesome durability. Many double-barreled shotguns are soft soldered (lead) or silver brazed together and many of the parts are attached by that method also. For modern uses of black oxide, see, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "How To Remove Rust From A Gun Without Damaging Bluing? If you cant, just get them out of the case and allow air to circulate around them. Your tanks better be tight, your stands for the tanks better be rigid, youd better have top-of-the-line fire extinguishers (NB the plural) available to you. Ill wait for and look forward to your article! It is hazardous. So basically, youll want the rifle in the vise with the muzzle pointed to your left. This is often achieved without chemicals by simply heating the steel until a blue oxide film appears. Still, you will find that cold blues dont last. Ill be saving this for the future. What is your opinion of the 2 to 1 lye and potassium nitrate bluing solution? Vegetable oil has a higher boiling point, so the hot steel will take longer to cool and reduce the chance of it cracking. This is all from memory so I might have left some stuff out. Could I use stainless steel earrings that I have got? Different colors can be achieved through variations of this method including quenching in oil instead of water. You want to be in the range of 600 to 650F. Is the torch used to heat metal ..ONLY.with Cold bluing? Large scale industrial hot bluing is often performed using a bluing furnace. The part you want to place in the receiving part is cold often just placed in a freezer for a few hours. Next wash your piece in your chosen degreaser for a minute or so to get rid of all grease/fingerprints that was on the metal. If cold bluing is the only practical option, the area should be kept oiled to extend the life of the coating as much as possible. Theres a reason why I buy up clapped-out guns and stuff where people look at me with a WTF?! I wore latex gloves, as Brownells recommended, but used a pot holder to handle the hot barrel, and that may have been the source. Bluing may be applied by immersing steel parts in a solution of potassium nitrate, sodium hydroxide, and water heated to the boiling point, 275310F (135154C) depending on the recipe. You work on nice guns! I wouldn't recommend either. I plan on doing this on a couple of older beaters first. Get it Feb 25 - 27. Think big scars. It's easy to get it too hot, too quickly - especially with an O/A or oxy-propane torch. "url": "https://shootingmystery.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Shootinglogo.png" Approved. Cold blues will Then you sight down the barrel and you see dips and waves in the barrel profile. So you said the polishing is key for the coloring process. So As one newish to refined firearms ownership, what is the best way to store and protect a pistol or rifle from rusting, especially in areas like Oregon or Washington, Silicon socks, or ? Sign up for wikiHow's weekly email newsletter. Thanks, 8 years ago Bluing involves an electrochemical conversion coating resulting from an oxidizing chemical reaction with iron on the surface selectively forming magnetite (Fe3O4), the black oxide of iron. All blued parts still require oiling to prevent rust. It is slightly caustic, so be careful you dont leave it on the gun for long. Dont mess with hot salts. To heat this, I use a Coleman camp stove and a 15# jug of LPG gas. Sometimes at this point, I come just a fraction away from the heat to go through colours a bit slower. I have to finish my M76 and Galil first and buy the materials. You can also heat the oil to create different effects. Its for mild steel, which must be greased, oiled or otherwise coated with something to stop it from rusting almost immediately. If there is any finish left on the metal, it will interfere with the bluing pr The ideal setup is a pair of long sleeve gloves along with splash goggles and a face mask. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 914,567 times. Being prepared is important if you can not measure the temp. fascinated with blacksmithing, but have not had an income to even get it started. That way, you can still use your oven for the rest of the evening. You can get a IR non-contact thermometer for less than $20 at Harbor Freight. Every true outdoorsmans dream! Some people might not have a tank long enough to contain a barreled action to boil out. I have always wondered about storage in gun soft cases or the foamed Hard cases, and humid or dry, heat and cold. "@type": "ImageObject", If you are new to the subject and are in need of detailed instructions, then youve come to the right place. That surface rust on the barrel could be polished off easily. Use it to try out great new products and services nationwide without paying full pricewine, food delivery, clothing and more. We have all kinds of rifles and shotguns with recievers made from non-Fe alloys again we do not give it a second though or break out the hardness tester. Sorry for the misunderstanding. If youre interested, just ask and I can provide more details. You have a degreased gun, and now you need to get the metal hot enough that the reaction will oxidize the steel as much as possible. "https://www.reddit.com/user/theshootingmystery" "width": "1500", Probably the main one is the content of so-called "carbon, "I was looking at making a set of plate armor and I wanted to see how to harden the breastplate. I want to add rainbow color to safety razor blades that would be used again, how can I do this? This process is also the only process safely used to re-blue vintage shotguns. I saw you reference a coleman stove and propane tank for heating solution. Do NOT wipe/touch your metal with anything after degreasing as the whole purpose of cleaning was then for nothing. this produces better, less turbulant gas flow, which will reduce heat traces. Fortunately, this is easily had at any hardware store: WD-40 is a water displacing product, not a lubricant (contrary to widespread advertising). You are nitre blueing here. NaOH will quickly and completely dissolve aluminum. Most waters in the Rockies clear out to the west coast will have high(er) dissolved solids in them. Hes claiming that method is more durable than Blue alone. I'm a professional knifemaker and use many very high-temp methods including quenching 1,600F steel in pre-heated oil - I know what I'm talking about, 'cause I still have 10 fingers and my eyesight. *700F is very close to the heat treatment temperature of some steels. Usually, you can find the manufacturers recommended ratio in the product manual. I rarely use them. Acetone is also useful for de-greasing the barreled action. (meaning oxygen atoms are able to attach themselves to the outer layer of the steel)We did this with an electromagnet! Blue or Black rust is complete passivation of the steel surface Fe3O4. Then, use a pair of tongs to carry the steel to a container filled with water or vegetable, and submerge the hot metal in the liquid. 500F-600F is often all that is needed and the parts can be done over and over again you just have to clean between each attempt. "https://www.facebook.com/Shooting-Mystery-110244180901951", I think DGs method is a lot safer than mine. I used Brownells Plum Brown, a product that requires that the barrel be heated to 275 degrees to activate the reaction. the cost of all the tanks you need for rinse & boil-out We use cookies to make wikiHow great. Dont pour water in to your bath! I can then get the temp to be 600F spot-on in a lead melting pot. on Introduction. You can experiment ultimately what oils to use. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. You can blue heat-treated parts with no ill effects. 4.3 out of 5 stars 242 ratings-30% $12.99 $ 12. Gas burners can usually do the job for this. It is slow rust blueing. Alternatively. This is not advisable. Bluing only works on steel, cast iron, or stainless steel parts for protecting against corrosion because it changes iron into Fe3O4; it does not work on non-ferrous material. The steel was mild steel and had very little carbon content. If you tempered the steel with a blow torch, set the metal on an anvil or another large steel surface to conduct the heat. The loose oxide was then carded (scrubbed) off, using a carding brush - a wire brush with soft, thin (usually about 0.002in (0.051mm) thick) wires - or wheel. At 700, you start losing your blues and the steel starts becoming a wispy silvery-blue, not a dark brilliant blue. OK, now with the sights out and the trigger group off, you can put on the rust/blue remover on the barrel/action. Now securely hold your piece with whatever you have chosen. Hunter Rising is a wikiHow Staff Writer based in Los Angeles. Now you slide the cold rod in, and the plate cools, gripping the rod. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. Rust bluing was developed between hot and cold bluing processes, and was originally used by gunsmiths in the 19th century to blue firearms prior to the development of hot bluing processes. Check out the video:https://hackaday.io/project/21947-makers-vise/log/60914-coloring-steel-with-magnetism. There are many simple ways to achieve good bluing. That doesnt happen easily or by accident. It is always essential to remove all oils from metals you want to blue, even if the cold blueing solution claims you dont need to do so. As mentioned, cold bluing can be done at room temperature with decent results. The wire is extremely small in diameter, so you have to take that into consideration. it takes a long time to heat up a long (ie barreled action length) tank that is, oh, three barrels wide. 84 or Du-Lite 3-0. Hopefully these concepts suggest caution and diligence for what you are doing. They melt at, oh, somewhere about 280F. Always back your paper when youre polishing over edges and up against features. WebThe gun bluing process Start with 1 gallon of water and add it to a deep fryer that has been thoroughly cleaned. My advice to people here: Unless youre a professional, and youre working in a shop with all the required safety gear (a cold water shower within a couple feet of the tanks, and an eyewash station next to the tanks, and someone working in the same shop every moment youre working on the salt tanks), DONT. I have cut and polished 4 pieces of mild steel to demonstrate different colour stages. Add 5 lbs of regular table salt to the water. Higher carbon contents will take longer to heat. You can improve your results by doing two things: 1. The rust then turns to black-blue Fe3O4. Thermometers and stirring tools are also needed, as well as something to heat up the tanks. "name": "Shooting Mystery", It takes practice. You can make a Caustic Soda KNO3 water bath: 65% Lye (aka sodium hydroxide) Be patient in the first few minutes as the metal needs to reach the temperatures where it changes colour! If you need to use a blow torch, focus the flame tip on the area you want hardened. Not only does it give you an alchemical feeling of satisfactionbut it also gives the metal a finish to stop corrosion. Free shipping for many products! Further, I probably would have used a coarser wet-dry to prep the raw steel (this was a kit Kentucky long rifle) rather than the 1500 grit I used. Both refer to the same chemical process for providing true gun bluing.[1]. RF: Expect a write-up from me on Rust blueing and parkerizing in the next couple of weeks. Dont touch the metal with your bare hands since it could cause severe burns. Very helpful! The difference is immersion in boiling water for bluing. Alternatively, you can press the pad of steel wool between your hands over the container of acetone, and then put it on some paper towels to dry. Share it with us! When youre using hot blueing salts, youd better be on top of your game, or you can seriously injure yourself. At the end of this heating process the crucible is removed from the oven and positioned over a bath of water with air forced through a perforated coil in the bottom of the bath. Here is a simple way to get a blued finish on steel. The part that is to race the other is heated normally up to about 220 especially if it is an aluminum casting like a cylinder head. Haha. It is named after the blue-black appearance of the resulting protective finish. On another thread, we can go into nitre blueing, which is basically heating pins/screws/bits/bobs to 600F in a molten salt bath. A couple bottles of aged bourbon minimum. it would appear these sights are drifted into dovetails. Hardened steel prevents knife blades from dulling and tools from bending and breaking. "logo": { Mea maxima culpa - and I left my comment up rather than delete the thread (for now) just so I could reply and admit the My Dumb, rather than skulk away cleanly >;-), Question Blacksmith products to this day may occasionally be found made from blued steel by traditional craftsmen in cultures and segments of society who use that technology either by necessity or choice.[5]. For the final step, we let the components cool down in water displacing oil. How to Blue Bluing Steel Using Oven Or Torch and Oil Method. Cold blues will react with steel at room temperature, but you get more aggressive reactions when you heat the gun to, oh, 150 to 200F. The "turning blue" process has nothing to do with hardening of the steel, or its compression. I have also had good results with 5w/30 motor oil, I've also used two-stroke oil with good results. Also remember, by adjusting the heat you can get whatever color you want. Heating up a tank on the kitchen stove. This heating forms the blue on the plate. Here is a video by Clevinger Customs illustrating it: I use the Brownells nitre blueing salts, which are a combination of sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate, and potassium nitrate. Bluing, being a chemical conversion coating, is not as robust against wear and corrosion resistance as plated coatings, and is typically no thicker than 2.5 micrometres (0.0001 inches). Battery acid is childs play compared to blueing salts. Besides those, you must also have water displacing oil and cleaning solution (Dicro-Clean 909). -An old container filled with your chosen degreaser (unleaded petrol), -Your desired polished metal object/s (very important! You wouldnt need salts. WHERE or when would the torch get used? The book claims they used wait for it "boiling gasoline" not making this up to clean them. Submerge in water and scrape edge. I can keep a Krylon can always handy for touch-ups. $36.73. Metal parts that look black or blue-black are usually blued (rather than painted). In comparison, rust, the red oxide of iron (Fe2O3), undergoes an extremely large volume change upon hydration; as a result, the oxide easily flakes off, causing the typical reddish rusting away of iron. High temperatures and dangerous chemicals mean that a moment of carelessness can make you pay a heavy price. Although the steel parts, such as anOrdains watch hands, are near enough miniscule, each Salts. Its essential to keep stirring the tank to prevent the forming of hot and cold areas. It would be a good idea to get some gloves on. You will get it. To temper the steel so it isn't brittle, place it in an oven heated to 375 F for 3 hours, and then it let it cool overnight.
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