I'm Starting To Get The Hang Of Bluing

[kev74]

I think I'm Starting to get the hang of this. I'm doing rust bluing using a peroxide and salt solution to cause the rust, instead of a humid box or closet. So far, I'm happy with the results. It took me about an hour and a half to do about 15 cycles of rust / boil / card.

Before


After

 

[GOYABEAN]

looking good

 

[kev74]

looking good

Thanks!

 

[MoMan]

That looks pretty nice.

 

[togmaster]

What method did you use?

 

[kev74]

What method did you use?

I've been goofing around with rust bluing, using hydrogen peroxide and salt to stimulate the rust formation instead of some of the more common (but slower) methods.

The steps are:
- surface prep the part (sand, polish, etc. )
- degrease the part
- swab on a solution of hydrogen peroxide and salt, then wait a minute or 2 for the rust to form
-boil the part for a couple of minutes, then dry it off
- go over the part with a soft wire brush to remove the loose stuff, then repeat the previous 3 steps until the desired color is achieved.

I've been kind of winging this as I go along. I read about it on a machining forum as a way to add some rust protection to home made tools. It seems to leave a nice enough finish for gun finish use, and is a lot more durable than cold-blue.

 

[CaseHardened]

I've been goofing around with rust bluing, using hydrogen peroxide and salt to stimulate the rust formation instead of some of the more common (but slower) methods.

The steps are:
- surface prep the part (sand, polish, etc. )
- degrease the part
- swab on a solution of hydrogen peroxide and salt, then wait a minute or 2 for the rust to form
-boil the part for a couple of minutes, then dry it off
- go over the part with a soft wire brush to remove the loose stuff, then repeat the previous 3 steps until the desired color is achieved.

I've been kind of winging this as I go along. I read about it on a machining forum as a way to add some rust protection to home made tools. It seems to leave a nice enough finish for gun finish use, and is a lot more durable than cold-blue.

"Machining Forum" which one ?

 

[kev74]

I think it was Home Shop Machinist

"Machining Forum" which one ?

 

[whauburger]

Looks good. A few years back I bought one of the stand up HF sand blast cabinets on sale and with the 25% off coupon and it works great for prepping work.

 

[Reno]

Looks good. When I was a kid my father used to hot tank blue at his gun store, what a mess. He still tinkers alot, I'll have to tell him about this process.

 

[gun_slinger_boy]

If you really start getting into this stuff I suggest looking here. They have a massive catalog.

https://www.caswellplating.com/#

This was from that other forum that shall not be named but I accomplished this using one of their products. I did this more than 2 years ago and the finish is still perfect. Preparation is everything!

 

[MuttCat]

Nice!

 

[HighlandLofts]

I should try doing this.

 

[MuttCat]

I built my front loader from a kit and had to do the metal finishing. I ended up using Oxpho from Brownell's. I remember heating the parts up with a propane torch and swabbing on the stuff. Went through two small bottles of it, and lastly heated again and soaked the parts with motor oil...10W40, it was handy in the garage. It all looks great still after many, many years.

 

[Saltwater60]

Looks awesome. I’ll be curious to see the durability. Should be pretty durable I’d guess

 

[Robin]

A good rust bluing is much, much more durable and rust resistant than modern bluing.
Robin

 

[gun_slinger_boy]

A good rust bluing is much, much more durable and rust resistant than modern bluing.
Robin

Do you mean hot blue? If so then it certainly is. That's quite a bit more involved but worth it if it's something you really want to protect. Another really simple method for a nice finish and very good protection that shouldn't be overlooked is duracoat. It's very durable after it has fully cured. I duracoated the ak in my avatar pic and also my silencers. Caswell has all of these including cerakote.

 

[kev74]

Besides a couple of muzzle caps, I've done a few home made steel tools. The method above is holding up better than some of the commercial tooling I have. It doesn't rub off easily and hasn't rusted.

 

[Robin]

Rust bluing is a cold bluing using a chemical to produce a controlled rust, some formulations require boiling or the addition of heat to convert the rust color to blue, but either way it requires many coatings and cardings (rubbing down with a coarse cloth) and the finish can be controlled from somewhat coarse to shine bluish black. It is labor intensive requires some patience.
Robin

 

[MuttCat]

I confess being sucker for deep deep blue and walnut....

 

[Podmonkey]

Very nice. Bluing is the most attractive finish by far. Well maybe an oil quenched "flame surfaced" finish is nicer. But I have always loved a blued finish.