Bead blasting prep for bluing: Need advice

U

uberkermit

CGN frequent flyer
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
3   0   0
Location
ON
I have a break action shotgun which I inherited. It's an old Cooey 16 gauge. It spent the last bit of its previous life in the barn, and so the exterior is pretty rough (rusty). That said, I want to have a go at restoring it, and figured I would bead blast the thing to see if it would clean up enough to make it worth bluing. I know that bluing does not hide imperfections.

Are there any hobby type bead blasting kits worth getting? If not, what would be my best bet for getting the blasting done? A body shop?

As it is, the gun is not worth a lot. It is worth more to me because of where it came from. That said, I don't want to sink a huge amount of money into it, but I am not afraid of putting in some time / elbow grease, if I thought I could restore it.

Any advice here would be appreciated.
 
Princess auto sells cheap gravity feed sand blasters and glass grit that leaves an OK finish but it will take a good deal of time as the small blast guns need to be filled often. Rather tan cold blue the gun you might want to try Radocy ht tp://www.pjsproducts.com/radocy.htm, I've heard good things about it but I've never tried it myself.
 
My experience - The action doesn't blue that well compared to the barrel steel... and blasting the action before bluing seems to make it worse...
 
Having it blued will cost more than it's worth. Mind you, sentimental values matter too. However, if it has lived basically outside for a long time it may not be worth doing anything to. Innards may be too far gone. Check that first.
Blasting will remove the rust and any bluing left. Nothing will fix any pitting.
The quality of a bluing job is directly related to the quality of the prep work. That all being done by hand. You may want to consider removing any rust with a brass, wire wheel in a bench grinder or 0000 steel wool and oil then cold bluing it. Cold bluing doesn't protect as well, but it doesn't cost anywhere near what hot bluing does.
 
Most every metal working ship will have a blast cabinet. Whether they have the right grit in the cab when you show up is questionable. If you get one of the portable blasters you'll need a ton of protective equipment. A lung full of glass or aluminum bead is not fun.

Rather than bluing check out 4GT or Armacoat. A spray on finish will cover and protect alot better than blue.
 
Usually when I hit a rust problem, especially in hard to get places like actions etc. I degrease the best I can with acetone / just good old water and soap. Then take muriatic acid and either soak the piece in it / brush it on till the rust (and of coarse any bluing) disappears. This is followed by a dip in a solution of baking soda and water to neutralize the acid . Do it in a well ventilated area, I do my work outside and use appropriate safety gear, especially a face shield and proper gloves. To mention also the metal done this way is prone to flash rusting so either apply your cold blue / other stuff / spray on a coat of light oil asap. JM2centsW --- John
 
I found one in behind the hot water heater of the cottage... It was pretty rusty.

I stripped it and soaked it into deep creep and wet sand papered it. Just left it like this..

945954_10151808219551241_2129640126_n.jpg
 
Blasting with glass beads works good to remove all the rust and old finish, you will still have any pitting to clean up by polishing or other means. I have refinished old guns so bad I put them on the lathe and took a file to them to remove the pitting on the barrel then polished or re-blasted for final finish before bluing or cerakoting.
 
Thanks for the advice guys. I will see how I can get the metal looking - if it is too much work to get it good enough to blue, I just might do something like arma coat (or cerakote, or whatever). It may not look traditional, but done right it looks really good.

@ted_dent: Thanks for the link. I was not aware of that stuff, but if the pitting is too bad, that just might be the thing.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom