Any VANCOUVER ISLAND Gunsmiths do Carbon blueing?

[dingus]

I need a couple WG Revolvers carbon blued.
There my own personal Keepers and id like em refinished by someone whos good at the old Carbon blue black finishes.

A finish like in these pictures.

click on pics to enlarge.

 

[guntech]

I think I heard something about it in 1966 at gunsmithing school...

I have been doing a hot blueing process for amost 40 years now. I have never met anyone doing what you describe and I don't know anything about the process.

 

[josquin]

I need a couple WG Revolvers carbon blued...

Might you mean rust blueing? "Carbon" finishes usually refer to colour case-hardening like some of the old Colt revolvers. Rust blueing is an alternative to regular hot blueing. Originally it was done in a "damp cabinet" (sort of a sauna for guns!). Brownell's now sells a couple of alternate rust blue solutions, although some gunsmiths still do it the traditional way.

Dennis S. will no doubt correct me if the following isn't exactly right, but basically, a solution is swabbed on the warmed (and scrupulously clean) surface, allowed to sit (or put in the damp cabinet), then rinsed off in boiling distilled water. It is then "carded" using an extremely fine stainless steel wire brush or (oil-free) steel wool. This is repeated several times until the desired depth of finish is obtained. Like fine stock finishing, it is time-consuming but apparently the finish is lovely, with a soft sheen.

I got some Pilkington's Rust Blue from Brownell's that I want to try on a rifle I'm working on, but on a valuable piece it's probably best to entrust it to a professional.

Stuart

 

[wyrhare]

I need a couple WG Revolvers carbon blued.
There my own personal Keepers and id like em refinished by someone whos good at the old Carbon blue black finishes.

A finish like in these pictures.

click on pics to enlarge.

Carbon blue is not the correct term for these turn of the century firearms . Colt and S&W used the same method until the first WW, It is refered to as heat blueing of which there is 3 different types , two intended for small parts and the third that was used for quailty handguns. A large oven is used at a temperature from 600 to 800 F and the polished parts are soaked for 3hours or more in a mixture of oil and bone until a temper blue is obtained. To my knowledge nowhere in the world is this being done today as it requires a great deal more skill to do than rust or "hot" blueing and is not as durable. The Carbon name might have come from a commercial product " Carbonia " that was sold by the American Gas Furnace Co. which was a mixture of bone and oil . Nitre salts can duplicate the same deep blue finish but requires a great deal of effort and testing for colour as each different steel requires its own temperature for perfect colour.

 

[josquin]

Carbon blue is not the correct term for these turn of the century firearms....

Thanks for reminding me of this. I'd heard vaguely of this technique but knew nothing about it. Definitely falls into the "don't try this at home" category.

Stuart

 

[dingus]

Might you mean rust blueing? "Carbon" finishes usually refer to colour case-hardening like some of the old Colt revolvers. Rust blueing is an alternative to regular hot blueing. Originally it was done in a "damp cabinet" (sort of a sauna for guns!). Brownell's now sells a couple of alternate rust blue solutions, although some gunsmiths still do it the traditional way.

Dennis S. will no doubt correct me if the following isn't exactly right, but basically, a solution is swabbed on the warmed (and scrupulously clean) surface, allowed to sit (or put in the damp cabinet), then rinsed off in boiling distilled water. It is then "carded" using an extremely fine stainless steel wire brush or (oil-free) steel wool. This is repeated several times until the desired depth of finish is obtained. Like fine stock finishing, it is time-consuming but apparently the finish is lovely, with a soft sheen.

I got some Pilkington's Rust Blue from Brownell's that I want to try on a rifle I'm working on, but on a valuable piece it's probably best to entrust it to a professional.

Stuart

Hi yes this is simalar to what ive done myself. And have had good results.
I just wanted to see if anyone was doing the old type finish is all.
Im gona buy several diffrent Rust blues and give each a Try.
Ive been heating Guns metal surface till its hot enough to make a wet cue tip hiss.
then useing Birchwood casys Plumb Brown dab it on quickly once its turned ugly Rusty looking ya throw the gun metal in boiling water for 3 mins or so and it comes out Black once ya rub off the black powder with fine steel wool and then sometimes repeating the rusting and boiling several times to get the right Black then oil it looks pretty nice.

I just wanted something more orignal is all.
But theres other stuff out there i can try as you sujested.

 

[david doyle]

Is it the process where you use charred leather in a paste over the part and heat it till some of the the carbon migrates and gives that beautiful blue?

What I bet happens dingus is you figure this out, master the processs and do your bit to keep the coming dark ages at bay!

 

[david doyle]

double tap