Anybody Blue their own guns or parts?

[smschulz]

Specifically Rust Blue.

I have used many of the cold blue formulas from Brownell's, Vans, Blue Wonder... etc. They do work ~ but just not as durable. Great for touch up and some small parts.

I do want to re-blue my Rem 870 receiver and don't want to get into the hot bluing or send it off (at least for now).

Any got good results from Rust Blue ~ I got a bottle from Brownell's to try. I heard the results can be pretty good. Just looking for some tips.

:1zhelp:

 

[Eli]

Parkerizing is much easier from what I understand. Not to mention more durable and rust resistant.

Eli

 

[Charley]

Both rust blueing and nitre blueing are really quite simple, don't need a lot of expensive equipment, and are well within the realm of the small shop/home gunsmith. Most of the people who tell you otherwise are setup to do hot salt blueing, and don't want to loose the business.
Here is an older single shot .22 LR, old enough to be pre GCA '68, with no serial. Not a great picture, but cleaned up and reblued, by rust blueing.

Second picture is a rebarreled '96 Mauser, rust blued.

 

[smschulz]

Charley, those rifles look great.

Eli, I know about parkerizing but that is not the look I want.

 

[chubbyzook]

ive blued the slide on an old xd that someone tried to polish and it came out great and the blue didnt fade the whole time i had the gun. the guy i sold it to couldnt even tell it had been reblued till i told him.

 

[gitthatdawg]

Have you tried duracoat I have had good luck with it.

 

[smschulz]

Have you tried duracoat I have had good luck with it.

Nothing wrong with Duracoat but that is not the object of this thread.

 

[Libertarian_Longhorn]

With cold blue, I always let it set for a week then let it cure under a heat gun for 10 minutes. I've only done this a couple times and it's worked, but I've heard great things about parkerizing as well; check it out.

 

[thorkyl]

$65 gets you the DVD from AGI
AGI Video "Rust and Nitre Bluing" DVD - MidwayUSA

 

[ZX9RCAM]

I've had some "parts" that were blue.....

 

[Charley]

$65 gets you the DVD from AGI
AGI Video "Rust and Nitre Bluing" DVD - MidwayUSA

You can set up everything you need for $30, why spend $65 just for a DVD?

 

[smschulz]

You can set up everything you need for $30, why spend $65 just for a DVD?

Might be worth renting on SmartFlix for $15 ???

 

[thorkyl]

The DVD is the "training video" on how to do it.
A friend bought it and I watched part of it.

The one thing I learned from it is I would rather just send it back
to the manufacturer to be re-blued

Now, I do have an old rifle that every year I coat it with a light
layer of 15w30 and hit it with a propane torch.

It makes a colorful bluing but does not last worth a damn

 

[AusTex]

If anyone is in the austin area and has a hot blue setup, or wants to teach me their bluing method... I would be greatful. I reblued two .22 rifles and they turned out better than I expected. It was cold bluing and I really really had to work them to get them as dark as I wanted.

I have some shotguns I would love to re do some day. However they are expensive guns and I do not even want to risk messing them up or them even coming out anything but perfect!

 

[Rottweiler]

I'm not exactly near Austin but I have tanks

 

[dee]

My local smith told me Rust Blueing is superior to tank blueing and he has his own tanks so I would assume he's right. I was told thats what my old FN was rust blued and it still looks good after 50 something years, he also said alot of your highend gun builders are going back to rust blueing over tank blueing cause looks really good and seems to last longer.