Cold Bluing brands to avoid after-rust
Sir(s),
have been rebluing a few old nickled weapons with great success after blasting off all the old finish. my only problem is the "after rust" that occurs with many of the cold blue liquids. which, if any, is the best cold blue to use and is there one that doesnt trigger after-rusting. i lubricate the crap out of it (ive tried, oil, grease, and even submerging it in motor oil) immediately after being blued, but i continue to get areas of red after rust 1-2 days later.
please advise
thanks
gary
gkutch1
have been rebluing a few old nickled weapons with great success after blasting off all the old finish. my only problem is the "after rust" that occurs with many of the cold blue liquids. which, if any, is the best cold blue to use and is there one that doesnt trigger after-rusting. i lubricate the crap out of it (ive tried, oil, grease, and even submerging it in motor oil) immediately after being blued, but i continue to get areas of red after rust 1-2 days later.
please advise
thanks
gary
gkutch1
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I have several whole gun reblues with Oxpho Blue that don't after-rust. The guy that did them has his own technique not like Brownell's though. 0 -
Motor oil contains many different types of detergents which are damaging to the blue finish on guns. I left one blued pistol in motor oil for some time and the blue was almost completely removed. 0 -
just after blueing the parts should be sprayed/dipped in a cleaner solution (windex is handy) to kill the acid most cold blues use. then dry and oil. 0 -
I have used Brownell's Oxpho Blue and let the parts sit in my humid
downstairs this summer without rusting. When I ran out of Oxpho I
used Birchwood Casey blue and all my parts started rusting almost
immediately. Had to strip off the blue and go back to Oxpho.0 -
Try dipping in green Dawn then hot water [;)] 0 -
Most cold blues contain copper sulphate. This is what makes them blacken the metal. The other chemicals used actually promote rust. No cold blue finish will hold up well.
You should try rust bluing the guns.
Motor oils won't hurt bluing.0 -
I have used cold bluing quite a lot on small parts, floor plates, bolts and parts of this size, and I have used Birchwood super blue and had good results. First I polish the part with a wire wheel until it shines, then wash the part with denatured alcohol, then get the part warm, maybe 110 to 120 degrees, then rather than wipe the part, I have a small tank I fill with the bluing solution and drop the part in to the tank for maybe 30 seconds, remove the part and rinse under water then pat it dry. After the part is dry I buff with #0000 steel wool, buff until all the black is off, it should almost look shiny again. Then wash again in alcohol, back into the tank, wash buff with steel wool. Do this 3 or 4 times, but on the last time do not use steel wool, use flannel. Let it set all night and then you can oil. I have parts I done 10 years ago and there still good today. Also each time you do remove the part from the tank the part will get darker. Takes a while but it works. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by gkutch1
Sir(s),
have been rebluing a few old nickled weapons with great success after blasting off all the old finish. my only problem is the "after rust" that occurs with many of the cold blue liquids. which, if any, is the best cold blue to use and is there one that doesnt trigger after-rusting. i lubricate the crap out of it (ive tried, oil, grease, and even submerging it in motor oil) immediately after being blued, but i continue to get areas of red after rust 1-2 days later.
please advise
thanks
gary
gkutch1
First (this needs to be said, as I constantly find the old Colts I collect destroyed by people with some mistaken idea that "cold blue" somehow improves a firearm):
I don't know what firearms you are working on -- hopefully they are just some old junk top-break revolvers, or something similarly worthless. If you are working on anything with any collector's value, your "great success" is destroying all collector's value as even severely worn original finish is valued more highly than "blasted off" original finish replaced with cold-blue.
As you know, iron and most of its steel alloys will oxidize (rust) with exposure to (the oxygen in) air. Nickel plating, or traditional bluing methods work to protect the metal and help prevent oxidation. Removing those protective treatments by "blasting" them off results in the bare steel being exposed to air. If this "blasting" you are doing is sand/media blasting, you are likely pitting the surface resulting in more surface area of the steel being exposed and making it even easier for rusting to start.
Cold blues provide no protection against oxidation as they are nothing more then substances that stain the metal. As you've learned, some of the substances in cold blue formulas actually can work as catalysts that will accelerate rusting. As others have suggested, cleaning off those corrosive elements is important in slowing down rusting, but since you are dealing with effectively completely bare steel with a "cold blued" firearm, you are going to have to rely completely on protective lubricants to control rusting.
For protecting bare steel, I'd suggest you may want to consider some of the testing others have done with different oils/preservatives made for firearms, such as: http://www.thegunzone.com/rust.html0 -
As already mentioned, ACTUAL bluing isn't all that rust resistant.
Cold bluing doesn't add any real rust resistance at all. . .its effectively the same as bare metal, and its really only intended for "touching up" worn spots on blued guns.
If you're having trouble with rusting, I think the best "answer" is to try a different finish.
There are reasonably economical bake/spray on epoxy finishes that will give the appearance of bluing, but with much better durability and rust resistance compared to cold blue.
Barring that, you'll have to treat any cold-blued gun as if its bare metal. That means liberally rubbing it down with a GOOD anti-rust conditioner (I like CLP. . .others can work), and keeping it in a DRY area (eg moisture-proof bag with dessicant inside, etc).0
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