Cold Blue. Advice Required

Travis Bickle

Travis Bickle

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Upper Lower Middle Alberta
Smiths/Fellow hobbyist Smiths,

I just picked up a Winchester M72 which is mechanically rock solid. Barrel, action, feeding system, trigger etc are literally like new.
But it's been carried a lot and it's rusty and scarred up. Bluing almost all gone along the barrel. Lots of surface rust.
Nothing that won't come out with soaking, steel wooling and then wire wheeling to remove the old finish etc
Stock looks like complete s**t.
Bought it very cheap with the full intention of restoring it to glory.

Anyhow, I am researching cold bluing of the barrel and receiver.
I've come across some very good tests/recommendations online for Nu-Blu which doesn't seem to be available in Canada. Actually the 1st, 2nd, 3rd ones tested out of the 7 in the tests are not available in Canada it seems. Colour me shocked....

What have you used with positive results? Not looking for anecdotes etc Looking for experience with examples.
I don't care about the end colour as long as it stays on the steel and prevents rusting.

What say you all?
 
I refinished a sporterized Enfield years ago with the Birchwood Casey cold blue and oddly I found the hotter I could get the metal, the better the blue adhered. I ended up running the metal parts under hot water and then putting several applications of bluing to it. It was about 25 years ago and it is holding up as well as any of my other blued guns.
 
Cranky Pants said:
I refinished a sporterized Enfield years ago with the Birchwood Casey cold blue and oddly I found the hotter I could get the metal, the better the blue adhered. I ended up running the metal parts under hot water and then putting several applications of bluing to it. It was about 25 years ago and it is holding up as well as any of my other blued guns.
Click to expand...

I've been reading that as well.
Cold Blue or not I will use a heat gun to heat the steel up after I prep it and degrease it etc then apply the cold blue.
I'll look into Birchwood Casey. Hopefully it's not crazy overpriced.
 
Heat can be helpful before applying any cold blue product.

For a comparison of different products, see h t t p s://www.huntingnet.com/forum/gunsmithing-projects-techniques/390731-evaluation-several-cold-bluing-products-w-pics.html
 
grauhanen said:
Heat can be helpful before applying any cold blue product.

For a comparison of different products, see h t t p s://www.huntingnet.com/forum/gunsmithing-projects-techniques/390731-evaluation-several-cold-bluing-products-w-pics.html
Click to expand...

Yeah that's the one I read too.

Seems that Nu-Blue stuff is pretty damned good! Not available in Canada as far as I can see sadly.
 
Birchwood Casey Super Blu works great for me, but the color depends on the type of steel. In many cases its just as dark blue as the original blue. Clean and degrease thoroughly, apply multiple coats. Keep repeating until it doesn't get any darker.
 
With any surface coating prep is 90 percent of the job If you think you haven't cleaned it enough you haven't. but enough anecdotes heat does help I did a old Cooey sure shot with Casey super blue and heated the barrel till I was barely to hold it before applying the first coat it does give a deeper coat than applying cold.
 
My $0.02
It doesn't matter what method of bluing, the prep work is the key. So if you're planning to cold blue it, you obviously will need to prep everything. If you go through all the effort to prep everything properly, don't waste your money on cold blue products - send it out for hot bluing. Much of the cost associated with hot bluing is prep work. The difference in cost between buying cold blue solutions and having it hot blued will be the best money you spend on this project.
 
Oxpho cold blue works well for what it is. There is good videos on YouTube on process.

Like painting a vehicle don't expect to cover scratches with paint.

Prep, prep, prep and prep some more.

Than clean clean clean and clean some more

Then heat, apply blue, wipe off excess and burnish with fine 0000 steel wool.

Then repeat several times.

Case hardened steels(on some receivers or actions might not take blueing.

Cold blue also will not stand up to rust as well as hot blue.
 
i've been happy with the results using the creme version of Brownells Oxpho Blue and a hot air gun..... I prepped but it's pretty forgiving as far as prep work if all you want to do is stop more rust.
 
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Thanks for suggestions all.
I just stripped it down to bare receiver and and barrel last night.
The feed tube is mint.
The receiver is actually very decent original blue left. I removed some hard crud with 0000 steel wool and oil. It came out solid.

The barrel.....is ####ed lol. I'll be stripping it right down to bare steel with 800/1200 wet dry paper. Going to have to light file some gouges out first though which raised little hair thick pieces of metal in some spots from being banged off something a couple times or 20 lol
The bolt, feed pieces, trigger etc all cleaned up brilliant. Very little wear other than the years of hardened crud all over them after oiling and wire weeling.
The stock is getting the full strip, rinse, steam, sand, steel wool buff and BLO hand rubbed finish.

So far I've not put a dollar into it. I've used my tools and materials I always have on hand. If there was a Smith near me who had a hot blue setup I would likely pay the few bucks to jump in a on a run. But even doing the prep work to strip it all, by the time I found a Smith, paid for shipping both ways and whatever crazy inflated cost they would charge I'd be in way up to my neck which defeats the purpose.

I'm going to go the Cold blue on the barrel and see how it goes. Much appreciated on the advice so far all!
I'll take some pics and post them up once I get more hours into it
 
Like others have mentioned prep is paramount.
Once you're close to the darkness you're after.
Remember it will become a lot darker once you apply an oil sealer.
 
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