Blacken Stainless Steel on Leather Sheath

Juggernaut

October 08, 2009 18:40

Have a dilemma of needing to blacken stainless steel that is permanently attached to a leather sheath and I don't believe that there is any cold bluing methods that will blacken stainless steel?
Are there any 'super' enamels that wont come off, as part of the stainless steel being blackened is a belt clip that will constantly come into contact with belts and other material from being attached and removed that might work in this situation that could be recommended?
Thank you.

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  beantownshootah

  October 09, 2009 18:15

  I had this problem and just wrapped the metal bit with a bit of black electrical tape. Not particularly fancy, but pretty easy and fast.
  
  This product claims to blacken stainless steel at room temperature:
  http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/black.htm#stainless
  
  In terms of simple paint, the epoxy-based enamels are reasonably tough. You could try something like this:
  
  http://www.globalindustrial.com/gcs/prod/30137468/i/productInfo.web?utm_source=google_pr&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=AerosolPaint-google_pr&infoParam.campaignId=T9F
  
  You might have to touch it up every once in a while, but if so, what's the big deal?
  
  Edit: In answer to the question, yes, there are ways to blue stainless steel, but these are hot-bluing techniques, and probably not worth the time and money just to blue a belt-clip.
  
  Duracoat or similar type enamel coatings would work for this application. Supposedly Sherwin-Williams Polane paint is similar and would probably work fine too.

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  nononsense

  October 09, 2009 21:13

  Juggernaut,
  
  Blackening stainless steel and having it remain impervious to abrasion from everyday use is still a pipe dream as far as I know. We've attempted several versions of blackening and all have failed to hold up under even mild use for short periods of time. It's always possible that the metallurgists have something up their sleeves but I'm unaware of it currently.
  
  Using any form of paint whether enamel, epoxy or otherwise will begin to thin and eventually lead to loss of coverage from constant abrasion. Duracoat might suffice for short periods of time but will have to be renewed periodically. Ceracoat is more resistant but has to be baked on to achieve any resistance at all. Baking may not be an viable in conjunction with the other material involved. Ceracoat will show signs of wear from abrasion as we've seen from coating just about every part on rifles, shotguns and pistols which are used in the field on a daily basis. Longevity of the coverage depends on the degree of abuse obviously.
  
  There might be some simple or maybe an exotic method to achieve your goal but I'm not aware of any for short runs or small samples.
  
  Best.

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  beantownshootah

  October 10, 2009 10:01

  Agreeing with nononsense 100%, there are also various black oxide processes for stainless that might be OK for low intensity applications. EG:
  
  http://www.engineersedge.com/black_oxide.htm
  
  In your case, for just one small belt clip, I really don't think any of these fancy methods are either practical, worth the expense/bother, or frankly even necessary.
  
  How much wear and tear are you going to put on a belt-clip? You're not being dragged behind wild horses on a daily basis are you? [;)] So, sure, while any paint/coating will chip or scratch with enough wear and tear, I think you'll probably be OK with one of the better ones for a good while before you'd have to touch it up.
  
  As another idea, how about this sort of thing?
  
  http://garage-toys.com/plastidipblack.html
  
  
  
  Again, not particulary fancy, and no, I wouldn't finish a gun in this stuff, but for a belt clip, its probably a reasonable choice.
  
  Its cheap, flexible, relatively resistant to simple scratching/banging, and fairly easy to apply. In your particular application, it could also add a bit of grip and sound-deadening, which are both potential advantages.

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