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Removing bluing ?

gene4570
I have a Contender barrel that really needs a rebluing job but I thought that it might be nice to keep it "white". What is the best way to remove the bluing ? Are there chemicals that can do this or is old fashioned elbow grease the best way ? Thanks.
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Comments

10 comments

Date Votes
  • b0400879
    Re: 'I thought that it might be nice to keep it "white".'
    Dear fellow,
    In this case, yer asking a lot here of chemistry, faith, etc here. How did you plan to prevent oxidation for a stripped-blue ITW barrel?

    The world is full o' Bubbas - whom desire to repair what is not defective. Thus, be well-advised to stop the above thought "process" & somehow retain some value on that worn TC tube
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  • Hawkshaw
    gene4570---Birchwood Casey makes a blueing remover. Should be available at your local gun store. You are not likely to think that the finish that remains is very attractive though. It is almost guaranteed that it will rust if left that way. BAD IDEAR
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  • djh860
    Naval jelly rust remover. Lightning fast. You can buy it online. I think bluing is a type of rust so it makes sense.
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  • Ned Fall
    Naval Jelly avialable from your local hardware store will remove blueing. Blueing after all is nothing more than controlled rust and Naval Jelly remover rust. It will leave the barrel in a gray color. To obtain a shiny white color, the metal will have to be polished and it will start to rust the moment you quit polishing.
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  • Bill DeShivs
    Bare steel will not rust, if you keep it oiled.
    There are several rust removers available at hardware stores.
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  • steg
    Why waste money? Degrease the blued parts with denatured or full strength isopropyl alcohol and then soak is club soda or coca cola. If you use coke, you will have to rinse the sugar syrup off.....still a lot cheaper than rust remover.
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  • beantownshootah
    Stripping bluing is pretty easy.

    There are several products on the market specifically designed to do that, and of course old fashioned naval jelly (which is gelled phosphoric acid) can do it too. I think CLR will also work.

    Coca-cola contains extremely dilute amounts of phosphoric acid, and while it would probably **SLOWLY** eat away bluing if you had nothing else to use, its certainly not ideal for this application.

    Frankly, at only $5-6 a bottle at ACE hardware, on a per piece level its probably actually cheaper to use naval jelly than Coca-cola, let alone easier and faster. (IE your $5 bottle of naval jelly can strip 50 gun barrels).

    For something like a simple one piece gun barrel, refinishing it would be so easy, that I just can't see any reason to leave it in the white where its likely to rust.

    There are any number of relatively easy to use finishes that should give acceptable results without too much expense. Also, if its just one part, it may be possible to have it reblued relatively inexpensively.
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  • Alan Rushing
    Different stokes for different folks; interesting and all workable.
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  • hslaterpryce
    How about glass beading?
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  • buckmeister2
    a lot of people don't know it, but a scotch-brite pad in medium or coarse will remove the bluing in seconds, literally. I can do an entire rifle barrel in maybe two minutes. Just wrap it around the barrel, and start twisting back and forth with applied pressure. finish it off with a fine pad, and you are in great shape. maybe coke is easier, and i have used NJ, which works. I like to avoid chem whenever possible, though.
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