Cold Blue touchups - more harm than good?

[manbearpig]

is it just me, or does it seem better to leave old hunting rifles with their finish worn than it is to try and touch them up with cold blue?

i have a Mossberg and an old Anschutz .22 that were touched up with cold blue (Outers Gunslick and Hoppes respectively) and left at the cottage. the specific areas where they have been touched up seem to attract rust (and yes, they were rinsed very thoroughly and oiled well). both of these guns had parts that were in the white and did not rust.
also, in the exact same conditions - right beside them in fact - an old Mosin with barely any finish and no cold blue touchups stayed completely unaffected.

anyone else notice this? its almost like the cold blue makes the metal more susceptible to rust. i dont think ill use it again.

 

[Grizzlypeg]

That sucks. I've had no such problems with Birchwood Casey Super Blue. I wipe down the area afterwards with a wet rag, and after its dry, oil it. I typically use G96 spray. Never had spots reblued attract rust. And this is on hunting guns that go through cycles of freezing and condensation. I wonder if its the particular formulation of bluing?

 

[manbearpig]

I wonder if its the particular formulation of bluing?

maybe - i know i shouldnt have trusted crappy tire $3 Outers blue. ive heard only good things about Brownells Oxpho-Blu, just never got my hands on any.

this summer ill have my parkerizing setup up and running - which is superior to hot or cold blueing anyway - so ill just have more work to do phosphating all these parts again. i love parked guns, im really looking forward to refinishing a lot of my older ones. i think im going to park that M44 too

a shame Mossberg 500 receivers are aluminum.

 

[Grizzlypeg]

Parkerizing rocks. I'd love to parkerize some of my rifles.

 

[manbearpig]

well, if i get the process perfected to a point where its done with 100% consistency and i can guarantee the color and that it will come out perfect id be glad to do some for other CGNers... that will be a while down the road though.

right now ive got some less expensive guns to use to perfect the process and color first: some older, non-collectable milsurps, .22s, beater shotguns, etc.

i love the matte, all-business look of park. im really looking forward to how some of the older style guns will look parked, and ill be wasting the first few weeks working on trying to replicate the olive greenish color park of old Springfields tinted by cosmoline.

 

[Win/64]

I kinda like "Rust Bluing" myself gives a rifle a classy look.

 

[benelli one]

I have used the cold bluing a few times on old project guns and had great results with the paste. the only problem is after a while ive noticed that the barrells have taken on a brown hue when put into the light. Dont know why this is but if the gun is worth anything id get it done professionally, if not paste away.

 

[Calum]

Parkerize everything that ain't stainless.

 

[manbearpig]

almost all bluing is a deep, deep brown.
try holding a really bright modern flashlight up to your 'blued' gun barrels.

Parkerize everything that ain't stainless.

thats the idea

 

[RyanBambach]

Parkerize??? never heard of it...can someone explain?

Ryan

 

[brownie]

cold bluing

I like to leave old guns with the old worn finish. cold blue is handy for fixing scratches from punches and screwdrivers on screws and sights. I use a Q-tip to blue these small marks then rinse with water, dry and oil. seems to work good.

 

[manbearpig]

Parkerizing = Phosphating

Parkerizing (also called phosphating and phosphatizing) is a method of protecting a steel surface from corrosion and increasing its resistance to wear through the application of an electrochemical phosphate conversion coating.

many of the older military firearms came with such a finish. its a matte finish that is actually part of the metal. ranges from a light gray to a dark black (manganese added to the solution), and some of the older military guns had zinc added to the phophating process which then reacted with the cosmoline they were stored in to create an olive finish.

it holds oil very well and, IMO, is far superior to blueing in terms of corrosion protection.
i also think it looks great.

 

[barktwid]

I've used cold bluing paste but only on worn iron sights and parts that were filed or sanded. It always turned out good, better than I thought it would. None of these jobs have been subjected to dampnes so I'm not sure if they would stand up.

 

[Ceska]

I have used Gun Slick cold bluing in the past with good results. It has only been for touch ups on old guns, fwiw.

 

[Win/64]

Parkerizing = Phosphating

many of the older military firearms came with such a finish. its a matte finish that is actually part of the metal. ranges from a light gray to a dark black (manganese added to the solution), and some of the older military guns had zinc added to the phophating process which then reacted with the cosmoline they were stored in to create an olive finish.

it holds oil very well and, IMO, is far superior to blueing in terms of corrosion protection.
i also think it looks great.

That's Fugly.

 

[manbearpig]

bah! heathen!
how is park fugly?
(but yeah they could have done a better job on that enfield, but thats all i could find in a quick search to show Ryan)

i prefer the darker park, or olive park myself but IMO park looks a lot better than blued on anything other than classic fine guns. id parkerize my entire house if i could but i dont have tanks big enough to hold sofas and TVs and somehow i dont think it would take

i have to take some better pics of my old remmy 700P, the park is very olive, i havent seen another like it.

 

[John Marshall]

That's Fugly.

Huh? Parkerizing is the cats A$$.

 

[RyanBambach]

Yeah, once you get better pics post them...I like the flat dull look!

Ryan

bah! heathen!
how is park fugly?
(but yeah they could have done a better job on that enfield, but thats all i could find in a quick search to show Ryan)

i prefer the darker park, or olive park myself but IMO park looks a lot better than blued on anything other than classic fine guns. id parkerize my entire house if i could but i dont have tanks big enough to hold sofas and TVs and somehow i dont think it would take

i have to take some better pics of my old remmy 700P, the park is very olive, i havent seen another like it.

 

[Mauser98]

almost all bluing is a deep, deep brown.
try holding a really bright modern flashlight up to your 'blued' gun barrels.

A properly done slow rust blue is black or maybe, blue-black. It's only brown before the boil.

 

[Grizzlypeg]

I think the parkerizing looks great, and I agree that its a finish that really holds oil.

I did a muzzleloader kit rifle and used cold blueing on the barrel that was bare metal and its held up for many years without rust. I also reblued an old 22 by sanding it down to bare metal and that's held up not bad either. They did both turn a rather brown color though compared to a real blue. I think it depends on the steel its applied to.