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Oxpho Blue vs M44 Stevens

ern98
I am a long time user of the Brownells product Oxpho Blue. I do whole barrels and receivers on a regular basis with excellent results.

On the occasion when an item won't take the blueing evenly I heat a pot of water to low boil, with a drop of dish detergent, heating the part thru. Then pull the part and apply the cold blue quickly and repeatedly, lastly rinsing it with cold water and then spraying it with WD40. This usually gives excellent results even on receivers where the hardness is variable.

I am currently trying to blue an old Stevens M44 single shot action. I have done the above twice now and gotten the same results twice. The result is that the applied blueing does not seem to set and hold well. The blueing rubs off from casual handleing and goes thin expecially on the edges.

Does anyone have any thoughts on how I can get a better finish with the Oxpho Blue? If I have to send it out I will probably decide between color case hardening and a plating type finish so hot tank blueing is out.

Thanks for your thoughts...
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Comments

7 comments

Date Votes
  • 5mmgunguy
    Depends on what finish you are trying to achieve. There are finishes that spray on the surface and then baked on. They are very durable.
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  • babun
    I am speaking now not as a gun smith or gun re-bluer. But I believe you need to "etch" the surface of metal. Sounds like that action has some funny closed up surface pores to it. I wonder if a pre wash of a mild acid would help your bonding?? Just thinking out loud, Bob
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  • 1KYDSTR
    I think I would attempt to pack case color harden the reciever as they were that way originally. I have a nice old 44 rimfire that looks great even after the 110 years since it was produced. I think blueing the reciever departs too much from the original production...
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  • ern98
    I'm leaning towards the color case hardening also. Today I got a reference and called and talked to a shop on the east coast, Clark Gunsmithing. They are suposed to be real good at the bone fired process. To my surprise they are also fans of the Stevens M44 and such. They confirmed that the metal that was used is closer to being iron then to steel and is the reason that the Oxpho blueing doesn't want to take well.

    So, lets change the question; has anyone heard of or done business with Clark Gunsmithing of East Haddan, CT? They talk a good talk and I respect the person who refered them to me, but he has not ever done anything thru them. Anyone here know them or had any work done by them?

    Thanks again...
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  • slumlord44
    As I recall some of these were blued and some were case colored depending on when it was made. The metal in the Stevens rifles are difficult to reblue properly no matter what you do. Most that I have seen that have been reblued are purple rather than blue. It is the easiest way to tell that it has been reblued. I don't think any cold blue will work to your satisfaction. Case coloring may be your best option. I have seen many case colored that look good. I bought one that had been re case colored and it looks good.
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  • dandak1
    Wow, if you are going thru all that work for a cold blue, why not try Belgium Blue? All you need is a boiling hot water tank. I have done several stevens favorites and they came out fine. I do not know if the 44 uses the same steel as the Favorite, but it might be worth a try.
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  • 1KYDSTR
    The "steel" in a 44 or 44 1/2 will be much softer on average than the newer Favorites and thus takes a blue for crap, as mentioned. I am not familiar with Clark's but after googling around a little bit they seem to have a solid reputation and I saw some nice pictures of their work. The fact they seem to be leaning toward Bone case is fine as it seems to be "their thing" from the pics I saw. Cyanide would be better but that is just me! Have fun with the restoration; they are beautiful old guns and I wish I had more than just the one Ladies target 44!
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