Experiments in Slow Rust Bluing

Polar_Hunter

Polar_Hunter

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Iroquois Falls ON
Day 1,,,,

Badly rust pitted barrel sanded and degreased. Unable to remove all pitting.

Sprayed with homemade rusting solution until it had a uniform layer of red rust.

Steamed with distilled water in homemade steamer for 30 min.

Black residue carded off and process repeated.

The pitted areas have blackend perfectly and the bare metal is now a light grey (makes me wonder if I made a mistake sanding off the original rust)

The barrel is spending the night in a vapor box along with an open jar of Muriatic Acid. Depending on the amount of rust that developes by morning I may steam the barrel again or leave it for another night.

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The homemade rusting soluion is ,,,,1/2 cup warmed Hydrogen Peroxide, three tsp table salt, and one shot glass of vinagar. Applied with a spray bottle on fine mist.

The Muriatic acid has had copper wire soaking in it for about a month.

Recipes and procedures are a result of internet research.

More to come,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
 
Day 2,,,,,,,,,,

After 12 hours in the vapor box the barrel had a uniform layer of black rust. (perhaps due to the copper???)

Barrel steamed and carded off. Color change noted as somewhat better than the previous attempt with peroxide solution.

Barrel put back in vapor box untill tomorrow morning. (24 hours) The goal is to see if a longer rusting time makes a more pronounced color change.

More to come,,,,,,,,,,,,,
 
Day 3,,,,,,,,,, morning

Barrel rusted very nicely and color is much better after steaming and carding. A 24 hour wait seems to be better.

As the rusting so far has not been totally uniform along the lenght of the barrel I have made a modification to the vapor box.

Barrel is back in the modified vapor box untill tonight when it will be checked.

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Once I get the system working propery I will post photos of the finished product and equipment.

More to come,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
 
try doing some old steel buttplates. I did old surplus mauser98 buttplates that way and they turned out ok. soaked them in it.
 
I've read about lots of formulas but this is the most unusual! I would have thought that salt would contribute to pitting rather than an even fine rust but...your pictures will prove me wrong, right?

I wondered what vinegar would do, it and lemon juice are the most acidic things in most peoples homes.
 
Day 4,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, morning

Problems with vapor box seem to be corrected, so, due to the uneven color, I have sanded the barrel to start again.

Barrel put back into vapor box at 7.00 am

More to come,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
 
Day 7,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

Barrel has been in the vapor box 48 hours.

After steaming and carding the color change is insignificant.

Barrel sprayed with a mist of acid solution and returned to vapor box.

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Observations up to this point,,,,,,,,,

The problem seems to be that the rusting attemps so far have failed because the rust produced and blackened all comes off in the carding, the metal is not getting a hard skin of rust. Carding methods tried have been a very fine steel brush, a clean denim rag, and a scotch pad.

While the peroxide/salt/vinagar solution produces instant rust the rust is very superficial and, in my opionion, is unsatisfactory.

It has been difficult to get the correct amount of humidity in the vapor box. To much, and droplets form and run down the barrel causing blotches near the bottom. To little and rust does not form at all. (as happened between day 5 & day 7)

More to come,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
 
If water vapour is condensing on the metal, it means the temperature in the box is too low. Try hanging a trouble light in the box to warm things up. This should eliminate the condensation problem and allow the air to hold more water vapour.

In my box I use an old crock pot full of water and a light bulb on a rheostat to control temptature. Temp is 85-90*F and RH is 80-90%. I've never had condensation issues and, using normal rust bluing chemicals, I can get complete rust coverage in as little as 2 hours. Btw, the rust should be red, not black. It only turns black after boiling.
 
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Day 8,,,,,,,,,,,

Made good progress yesterday, modified the rusting solution and method of application. Also, after carding washed the barrel with a quick spray of brake cleaner.

Barrel rusted overnight, steamed, carded, washed and returned to vapor box.

If progress continues I should be able to post photos and details soon.

More to come,,,,,,,,,,,,,
 
You said that you're carding the surface with a fine steel wire brush. That may well be your problem. The wire used in wire brushes is a tougher and harder carbon steel or stainless steel that becomes work hardened and springy from being drawn through the shaping dies. It's fairly hard as a result so it's probably cutting away the rust instead of merely smoothing it.

The information I've read about this process specifically called for steel wool. Steel wool is a very mild and ductile grade of steel so it'll rub down the rust film without actually cutting it away. This is why we can get away with using steel wool and oil to fix blued gun surfaces that are suffering from light rust blooming since the wool is softer than the blueing film. You would not expect to be able to use a wire brush for this without damage to the blueing. So you can't expect to use a wire brush in your blueing process without the same problem.

You'll also want to de-grease the wool before use by washing it in some acetone, lacquer thinner or hosing it down with brake cleaner. It's lightly oiled to keep it from rusting before you get the product and that oil will mess up the carefully de-greased barrel.

And like the rest I can hardly wait for the pictures.... :popCorn:
 
I agree about using 0000 steel wool, rather than some of your other methods. Also I use those 3M scouring pads to remove bluing, rather than for carding.
 
Polar_Hunter said:
Day 8,,,,,,,,,,,

Made good progress yesterday, modified the rusting solution and method of application. Also, after carding washed the barrel with a quick spray of brake cleaner.

Barrel rusted overnight, steamed, carded, washed and returned to vapor box.

If progress continues I should be able to post photos and details soon.

More to come,,,,,,,,,,,,,
Click to expand...

How long does the process usually take?
 
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