Home hot bluing job,that works great with factory results

[RamRoddoc]

It works great. Do not plug the barrel. The blue is actually a rusting process and does not affect the bore in a negative way. Actually barrels that were blued seemed to seal better than non-blued steel barrels (read it somewhere and factories don't plug barrels). No Aluminum as it off-gases and you can be harmed.

The lye when you mix it in water will get real warm, stir in small amounts and allow it to go into a salt solution. Use a regular steel rod to stir in the fertilizer and when it mixes it will start to blue the rod (it's really neat to watch).

Use an enamel pot or steel made for bluing. I used a stainless steel the first time and it imparted a plum color and can impart a rainbow hue. The Colt I did turned out good and I really like the slight plum color. It gives it an antique color to me. The springer came out better than the factory bluing originally on the gun.

Lye=Drain cleaner, try not to get it on you or it will burn your skin. Wear rubber gloves and face shield just in case. The bore will often vent mist/vapor and can hurt you if you have your noggin right up near it as you dip it in hot water. The gun will be over 212 degrees F and when it hits even boiling water it will vent and bubble. In a tube/bore it can be an issue.

The salts can be used over again until they fail to blue. So far a Colt Woodsman and a Springer 1911 have been done and have a T/C pistol waiting to be blued.

More links if you are looking: http://www.blindhogg.com/homemadesalts.html

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_19/261805_.html

 

[allent31503]

Thanks for posting something positive about it lol,it does work better than any cold blues i have used and its been many!

 

[jglenn]

as RamRod noted it does work.. all the home bluing formulas use Lye so ... it can flat burn you if you're not very careful...very careful

if you have a ACE hardware store near by their Drain cleaner (not Drano) has lye in it... Drano no longer has it.


we did it for a while but not worth it for me .. I can prep the parts I need and get them to Larry Rooks down at the Sports Center in Perry.. pretty cheap that way and he uses Brownells salts ... does a great job. Labor is the main cost to get any fierearm re-blued.. you do the labor of polishing up the part and it's not all that expensive to have it do it

 

[allent31503]

Its using drain out,not drano,2 different products

 

[jglenn]

yeah saw that just pointing out not to use Drano as it's very popular.

 

[RamRoddoc]

I keep a jug of vinegar close at hand. The solution if it makes contact with skin the vinegar will neutralize the lye/fertilizer salt solution. I had to use it once when a venting bore got the tiniest drop of solution on my forearm above my rubber glove. It worked fast and never got a burn, just a slight red spot.

 

[lilred06]

It works great. Do not plug the barrel. The blue is actually a rusting process and does not affect the bore in a negative way. Actually barrels that were blued seemed to seal better than non-blued steel barrels (read it somewhere and factories don't plug barrels). No Aluminum as it off-gases and you can be harmed.

The lye when you mix it in water will get real warm, stir in small amounts and allow it to go into a salt solution. Use a regular steel rod to stir in the fertilizer and when it mixes it will start to blue the rod (it's really neat to watch).

Use an enamel pot or steel made for bluing. I used a stainless steel the first time and it imparted a plum color and can impart a rainbow hue. The Colt I did turned out good and I really like the slight plum color. It gives it an antique color to me. The springer came out better than the factory bluing originally on the gun.

Lye=Drain cleaner, try not to get it on you or it will burn your skin. Wear rubber gloves and face shield just in case. The bore will often vent mist/vapor and can hurt you if you have your noggin right up near it as you dip it in hot water. The gun will be over 212 degrees F and when it hits even boiling water it will vent and bubble. In a tube/bore it can be an issue.

The salts can be used over again until they fail to blue. So far a Colt Woodsman and a Springer 1911 have been done and have a T/C pistol waiting to be blued.

More links if you are looking: http://www.blindhogg.com/homemadesalts.html

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_6_19/261805_.html

Must give credit where it's due..turned out awesome!

 

[RamRoddoc]

Hummm, looks pretty good there lilred06. You need to get some new pics with the full beaver tail. Beaver tails are great...