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Blue Wonder Durability?

SP45
Just tried some blue wonder on a test barrel. Color came out good but a couple of days later I scrubbed it with steal wool and it dulled to a grey color. Is this typical? If so it is OK for touch up where it is not subjected to hard cleaning but not sufficient for blueing a complete set of barrels.
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7 comments

Date Votes
  • He Dog
    You might want to check with Classic95 over on the General Discussion Board. He has done some experimenting with Blue Wonder and has probably more experience than any one around here. He recommends getting the gun a good bit warmer than the instructions I believe.

    He Dog
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  • gskyhawk
    why in the world would you be using steel wool to clean a blued barrel after you had already blued it?
    anyways little over a year ago I picked up a marlin 1894 that had a bad rust spot on top of the barrel , cleaned the spot real good and used blue wonder on it , over a year later and people still can't tell that its been touched up
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  • Iconoclast
    Tom, and what would happen to another blued surface (hot / cold, factory or otherwise) if you took steel wool to it? Something here doesn't add up . . . did you leave out a part of what you intended to say? I've never used steel wool on any firearm except to clean surface rust and once I tried the Blue Wonder cleaner on such an area, I tossed it and have used bronze wool ever since (admittedly *not* after re-bluing with BW). What possible use does one have for steel wool other than rust removal? Not trying to give you a hard time, buddy, but I'm really mystified here.

    "There is nothing lower than the human race - except the French." (Mark Twain) ". . . And DemoCraps" (me)
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  • gun_runner
    Ive used steel wool to shine up my blued barrels. All it did was improve the luster. It also says in the instructions for birchwood casey gun blue to polish with steel wool. Normally steel wool should make a barrel shiny. Blue is not supposed to come off or dull so I dont know what happened. Mabye you should call the guys at Blue Wonder. They seem to be pretty nice and Im sure they will help you.

    Good luck

    Larry
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  • Jake_S-83
    what grade of steel wool was it? if it wasnt 0000, then dont use it
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  • SP45
    I use steel wool with oil to test the durability. The origional hot blue around the touch-up holds it's color but the blue wonder fades to grey. For touch up on a small part it is fine but I would hate to do a complete receiver or barrel and have it fade or look bad. Especially for someone else.
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  • BigBarn
    Jake-S83 said it all! If it aint 000 steel wool, don't use it! I have refinished and touched up the blue on guns of every configuration you can think of, over the last thirty years, and have used 0000 steel wool for everything from polishing the touched up blue, to using it to smooth down a just finished stock, for the last coat of finish. It works fantastic, but you also gotta know what you are doing!
    Best advice, always test a small area too see what the resukts are gonna look like! Saves a lotta time!

    BigBarn

    "Respect the land, and it will respect you"
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