Cold blueing is OK for touchups, at best. Holy crap, did that reaction hurt like hell. 2. I saw you reference a coleman stove and propane tank for heating solution. Blue or Black rust is complete passivation of the steel surface Fe3O4. Im asking because theres a guy on YouTube recommending Brown Express first, then several layers of Blue over that. I have at least three cold blue solutions in my shop including Oxpho-blue, 44-40 and others. You need to adjust the boiling point of the salts for your altitude. "https://www.facebook.com/Shooting-Mystery-110244180901951", To remove pitting and keep the barrel profile intact requires skill with a file, and that requires hands-on training. Ill be saving this for the future. 500F-600F is often all that is needed and the parts can be done over and over again you just have to clean between each attempt. Blacksmith products to this day may occasionally be found made from blued steel by traditional craftsmen in cultures and segments of society who use that technology either by necessity or choice.[5]. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. I have to finish my M76 and Galil first and buy the materials. The easier of the two methods, hot bluing only requires some degreasing agent, a heating apparatus (a blow torch is perfect for this), and any kind of oil. 2023 All Rights Reserved by Shooting Mystery. Larger flames produce less heat while smaller flames produce a higher heat. Thank you all who had a part in the production of this important information! Process that partially protects steel against rust, This article is about the historical uses of black oxide. Ill go into parkerization later this week. You can experiment ultimately what oils to use. This is a great source that you can learn lots of information from and I'll advise it to to a handfuls of others. It is usually sold in a 1lb bottle for $3, you'll need 3 or 4 pounds probably. Dang it all. How do I harden a steel hammer so that is lasts longer and is more durable? $36.73. His enthusiasm for handling firearms and hunting gear inspired him to create the Shooting Mystery blog. First, let us go through a couple of bluing concepts that you have to know in order to achieve the desired result. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/8\/81\/Harden-Steel-Step-1-Version-3.jpg\/v4-460px-Harden-Steel-Step-1-Version-3.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/8\/81\/Harden-Steel-Step-1-Version-3.jpg\/aid1214287-v4-728px-Harden-Steel-Step-1-Version-3.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":728,"bigHeight":546,"licensing":"

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\n<\/p><\/div>"}. They should send you a stipend for your time. There wasnt a whole lot of pain just yet until my buddy took the safety bottle of vinegar solution used to neutralize the alkaline NaOH salts, and then the pain was there. I have cut and polished 4 pieces of mild steel to demonstrate different colour stages. "logo": { Remove the bolt & trigger group this might require a pin punch on some guns to pull the trigger group.From what little I can see in the picture here . Different colors can be achieved through variations of this method including quenching in oil instead of water. Old school smiths use something called washing soda to strip oil off guns. WD-40, as mentioned earlier, is a water-displacing oil compound not a penetrating lube, and for preventing rust, WD-40 actually works pretty well, but it doesnt last like cosmoline or waxy oils used for long-term rust prevention. Its a good process for processing lots of guns, but I simply cannot recommend it for people who just want to do a gun here or a gun there.. "@context": "http://schema.org/", In the nitre bluing process, polished and cleaned steel parts are immersed in a bath of molten saltstypically potassium nitrate and sodium nitrate (sometimes with 9.4 grams (0.33oz) of manganese dioxide per pound of total nitrate). WebStep 1: Preparing Your Materials You will need: -2x containers (one of them preferably being metal for the oil) -oil -unleaded petrol/Acetone/Terpentine/Rubbing alcohol or any good Blow torches only heat a small concentrated area. This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer, Hunter Rising. Youll have a hot caustic degreaser tank (about 10 minutes), then a cold rinse tank, then into the hot salts for, oh, 15 to 20 minutes, then out into the hot rinse, then into a cold running rinse tank, then into a water displacing oil tank for 20 minutes or so. Free shipping. Apply heat to your object and heat up gently and equally. ", not only fun, but also profitable. There are many methods you can use to blue the steel. Once you strip the blue & rust, then you can see what youre dealing with. Contemporary heat-treatable steels did not exist or were in their infancy. Hot NaOH is so alkaline it is great as dissolving organic materials. Keep them in that state while you heat them but be sure to not boil up the tank. Wear thick gloves and a face mask before you quench your steel so the water or oil doesnt splash onto your hands. Just dont. Its much cheaper anyways. Then you can express blue it with a propane torch and a tank of boiling water. My apologies for the background noise in the first half of the video We had compressors running where I Reply Very true. You should note that the blue layer is rather delicate so dont treat it roughly. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Then wipe off all excess oil and look at your beautiful finished object! To remove them, you put the action/barrel into a sturdy vise (padded with soft jaws) and you use a piece of brass rod to drift the sights out. With a simple heating and quenching process, you can make your steel last for much longer! -something to hold your object with i.e. Enjoy! Isn't the point of the acetone to degrease, why would i grease? It is not nice stuff. Repeat 3 times. Any more advice is welcome SteelJunkee Joined May 6, 2018 Messages 891 Ill wait for and look forward to your article! Its essential to keep stirring the tank to prevent the forming of hot and cold areas. Dont scrub the solution onto the gun, just run a patch that is not dripping wet down one complete run on the barrel/action in one smooth stroke. Heating will make the metal better in absorbing the bluing liquid. If you havent done it before, wait until I mention some items about it. Not every manufacturer puts bittering agents in the solution and as one poison control nurse told me: (t)here is nothing you can do and it aint the good death.. Bluing also helps to maintain the metal finish by resisting superficial scratching, and also helps to reduce glare to the eyes of the shooter when looking down the barrel of the gun. "headline": "How to Blue Stainless Steel in 5 Easy Steps: Complete Guide", You might also want to read our article on how to easily darken stainless steel or blacken stainless steel for more ways to personalize your gear. You are nitre blueing here. The cross section and size of parts affect the outcome of the finish and time it takes to achieve. Add 5 lbs of regular table salt to the water. The mixture is heated to 310 to 321C (590 to 610F) and the parts are suspended in this solution with wire. it washes off with water. Ships from and sold by Direct-Wholesale. } The name of the process actually comes from the blue-black appearance of the black iron oxide. I found through my bluing adventure that different oils do act slighty different but ultimately everything I've used has done the job. As I'm bluing round pieces I slowly and evenly rotate the piece over the flame to equally disburse the heat. Where/how did you think I got to the point I could make nice guns? Todos los derechos reservados.
Most cold blueing agents contain some selenium dioxide in them to enable to them to react at room temps. OK, now with the sights out and the trigger group off, you can put on the rust/blue remover on the barrel/action. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Water is great for rapidly quenching the hot metal, but it could cause thin steel to distort or crack. As a small thank you, wed like to offer you a $30 gift card (valid at GoNift.com). 1. polish it very well 2. clean very well 3. quick dip in dilute FeCl (4:1) is what I use 4. rinse in cold running water and pat Its oiled in production to keep it from rusting on store shelves. very easy way to get a blue finish on steel - Fit and Finish How to Blue (Bluing) Steel Using Oven Or Torch and Oil Method OOMAN 2.28K subscribers Subscribe 872 112K views 4 years ago My apologies for the background Remember the oil is probably gonna release some smoke/fumes once the piece is quenched so as said before: please do this step in a well ventilated area. I wouldn't recommend either. Christopher Graham writes all the content and reviews on this site with the help of his team of hunters and shooters. Thermometers and stirring tools are also needed, as well as something to heat up the tanks. The torch comes in when you first apply the Express Blue. Knowledge is the power and fear is the opposite of power it cripples the mind and the body and almost always guarantee's a poor decision will be made. You can improve your results by doing two things: 1. To harden steel, start by heating the metal directly with a blow torch until it turns a cherry red color. Fume bluing is another process similar to rust bluing. Hopefully these concepts suggest caution and diligence for what you are doing. The steel is also used for producing great police flashlights with awesome durability. It is named after the blue-black appearance of the resulting protective finish. WebBluing is a passivation process in which steel is partially protected against rust using a black oxide coating. For more information on using a blowtorch and protecting the steel, scroll down! Dont mess with hot salts. "https://www.reddit.com/user/theshootingmystery" The parts are then oiled and allowed to stand overnight. All blued parts still require oiling to prevent rust. Torch If the solution is still boiling vigorously, then you can expect the bluing to happen naturally. Please be careful with the cold bluing solutions. I have done a cold blue on a very rusted .22 for a friend. If you drop a piece of paper in there, or hydrocarbon compounds (like oil or grease on your part). "dateModified": "2022-03-27", Following the treatment in the bluing tank, relocate the components to a cold water tank. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Use a smaller toaster oven if your piece of steel fits inside. it takes a long time to heat up a long (ie barreled action length) tank that is, oh, three barrels wide. Also thanks DG! on Introduction. It is slow rust blueing. And for the next (after the next) installment, how to do hard case coloring. Many older browning and bluing formulas are based on corrosive solutions (necessary to cause metal to rust), and often contain cyanide or mercury salts solutions that are especially toxic to humans. 2. This is not advisable. Participated in the Explore Science Contest. I heat treated a piece of carbon steel to make it less likely to wear (using its edge as a cutting surface in a wood turning application). Youll get a dark spot right there. Besides those, you must also have water displacing oil and cleaning solution (Dicro-Clean 909). For hazzalandy: carbon content has nothing to do with the color process, it is only the temperature you heat to, and to a lesser extent, the time spent hot. This method was adopted by larger firearm companies for large scale, more economical bluing. Dont just leave them on a surface that could corrode or burn), get a new patch into the hemostats, soak, wring out, and keep going. The rust then turns to black-blue Fe3O4. The thickness of the oxide is a function of how hot you heat the steel (The color is due to interference of light reflecting from the surface of the oxide coating, and light reflecting from the oxide-steel interface). Keep a fire extinguisher near your workstation in case of a fire. 2. Pour in How to Blue/Re-Blue a Gun - The Truth About Guns The melting point for KNO3 is 633F. Hunter Rising is a wikiHow Staff Writer based in Los Angeles. However, the chemicals from the bluing process can accomplish uneven staining on aluminium and polymer parts. For modern uses of black oxide, see, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "How To Remove Rust From A Gun Without Damaging Bluing? This process leaves a deep blue-black finish. Thanks, 8 years ago The parts must be observed constantly for colour change. Cold blues will react with steel at room temperature, but you get more aggressive reactions when you heat the gun to, oh, 150 to 200F. Alternatively, you can press the pad of steel wool between your hands over the container of acetone, and then put it on some paper towels to dry. You want to be in the range of 600 to 650F. Great column, and thanks for all the responses to various questions and comments. And I work alone in my shop, and lack the required (IMO) safety facilities that are needed. I can keep a Krylon can always handy for touch-ups. on Introduction. Approved. Youll want to clamp on the barrel directly under the sight youre about to drift out. You can then u. se a soft brush to gently remove all the residue of the cleaning solution on the components. I handed a buddy my wallet and cell phone, and stepped under the safety shower and got wet. "Cold" bluing is generally a selenium dioxide based compound that colours steel black, or more often a very dark grey. Technically speaking, bluing is more or less a conversion of red iron oxide (Fe2O3) to black iron oxide (Fe3O4). Ive learned a LOT. kitty litter (I would recommend the unused variety). The color is oxide, but I believe you can scrape it off. on Introduction. Make sure the piece is chemically clean, sandblasting followed by power wire brushing is good then stop heating when you hit purple because the heat will travel. We strongly advise that you only push through with this process if you are absolutely confident that you are able to perform the necessary precautions. Red rust is Fe2O3, and is incomplete rust it will continue allowing the surface to corrode over time hence the oil or wax.