What is Bluing? why?

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ArchiePerry

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I ran a search and as far as I can tell... this is not a frequently asked question... but I have no idea about bluing (being a noob and all).

I have read lots about the bluing on old rifles. It obviously is the colour of the metal marts of the gun. Is it purely cosmetic? Is it a paint? Is it the colour as a result of some kind of treatment? Does it protect against rust? Is it important?

I have read that people can fix the bluing if it has been rubbed / scratched off. Is this a difficult process? Is it required? Is there a difference between hot / cold bluing? Does the value of a fire arm increase / decrease with the quality of the bluing?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts / discussion of bluing!
 
ArchiePerry said:
I ran a search and as far as I can tell... this is not a frequently asked question... but I have no idea about bluing (being a noob and all).

I have read lots about the bluing on old rifles. It obviously is the colour of the metal marts of the gun. Is it purely cosmetic? Is it a paint? Is it the colour as a result of some kind of treatment? Does it protect against rust? Is it important?

I have read that people can fix the bluing if it has been rubbed / scratched off. Is this a difficult process? Is it required? Is there a difference between hot / cold bluing? Does the value of a fire arm increase / decrease with the quality of the bluing?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts / discussion of bluing!
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Wikipedia has all your awnsers.... just have to work a little

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluing_(steel)
 
simonyzer said:
Wikipedia has all your awnsers.... just have to work a little

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluing_(steel)
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The reason I posted this question here is because I searched CGN and found nothing. I posted it in the Newbie section in the event that some other newbies might also be curious and could benefit from the responses. I guess from now on I'll keep my newbie questions to myself and try to learn about firearms outside of CGN.

Thanks for helping me by posting the wiki link.
 
 
"...Wikipedia has all your awnsers(SIC)..." Wikipedia is not a good source for reliable info. Anybody with Internet access can post there. A lot of Internet nonsense gets promulagted there.
"...I'll keep my newbie questions..." Don't.
Hot bluing, (aside from the colour, that's usually black now.), either the slow rust or 'hot salts', is a rust resistant, chemically applied, finish for steel. Doesn't work on stainless, aluminium, brass or any other metal commonly used in firearms. Does work on bronze though.
Some kind of finish is required on steel. Otherwise, it'll rust. Bluing will rust too, but not as fast. A blued firearm in really wet conditions will rust quickly unless it's kept well oiled. Even then, it'll rust. Mind you, not always seriously.
It is applied in a series of temperature controlled dip tanks that cleans the steel, then adds the finish. It takes a lot of preparation(polishing the steel) to get a good finish. The prep work is all done by hand. Plus the tanks have to be in a room that has no other ferrous metals in it. The bluing salts get in the air and put a fine layer of rust on everything. Hence the relatively high cost.
It's not exactly durable as it'll rub off. Blued steel must have a light coat of oil on it.
Cold bluing, the stuff you see in the wee bottles in gun shops, is a touch up thing for scratches. Isn't as good as hot bluing, but will give a bit of protection. No special tools are needed. Just a degreaser and a clean, lint free, cloth.
"...Does the value of a fire arm increase/decrease..." A lot depends on the firearm, but a poor bluing job on a modern hunting rifle will decrease the value. Looks like crap too. Any 'collector grade' firearm will lose value if the owner re-blues it. Moreso if he uses cold bluing.
 
ArchiePerry said:
The reason I posted this question here is because I searched CGN and found nothing. I posted it in the Newbie section in the event that some other newbies might also be curious and could benefit from the responses. I guess from now on I'll keep my newbie questions to myself and try to learn about firearms outside of CGN.

Thanks for helping me by posting the wiki link.
Click to expand...

hahahahahaw:h::owned:
 
ArchiePerry said:
The reason I posted this question here is because I searched CGN and found nothing. I posted it in the Newbie section in the event that some other newbies might also be curious and could benefit from the responses. I guess from now on I'll keep my newbie questions to myself and try to learn about firearms outside of CGN.

Thanks for helping me by posting the wiki link.
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I was wondering this too, glad you asked.
 
"...wondering this too..." Bluing is one of those things that everybody knows exists, but not everybody knows what it is and how it's done.
 
There's nothing wrong with asking questions but there's nothing wrong with doing some research yourself either. That's not hard to do seeing you have an internet connection. Best thing would be to learn what you can over the web, then come here and ask about the stuff you still have questions about.

And don't get into a huff - nobody on this forum is paid to be here for your convenience.
 
jethunter said:
There's nothing wrong with asking questions but there's nothing wrong with doing some research yourself either. That's not hard to do seeing you have an internet connection. Best thing would be to learn what you can over the web, then come here and ask about the stuff you still have questions about.

And don't get into a huff - nobody on this forum is paid to be here for your convenience.
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you have to watch out for SS forum members. there main job is keep only threads they feel important on the first page of all forums. asking a newbie question only bumps there AWSESOME post down thus pissing them the hell off!

they dont pay for bandwidth fees or hosting for servers that may host this page. but they realize the vital importance of keeping all bandwidth to a minimum!

even tho there other people more then happy to help you, they well troll you're thread scaring off anybody not looking to argue over the internet!
 
Greenbasterd58 said:
you have to watch out for SS forum members. there main job is keep only threads they feel important on the first page of all forums. asking a newbie question only bumps there AWSESOME post down thus pissing them the hell off!

they dont pay for bandwidth fees or hosting for servers that may host this page. but they realize the vital importance of keeping all bandwidth to a minimum!

even tho there other people more then happy to help you, they well troll you're thread scaring off anybody not looking to argue over the internet!
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huh? What is with all the punk aggression?

This is a great place to ask questions. But because it's a forum anyone can give you their opinion on any question(s) asked. If you don't have some basic knowledge of the subject beforehand you will not have a clue how to know the good answers from the bad. BELIEVE ME - there can and will be misleading information and bad advice. There is excellent experience on CGN, but also trash talking spoiled brats, people who jump to conclusions without thinking, and people who give advice when they don't have any subject knowledge. It happens on all forums, everywhere.

As I said before - It's a really good idea to spend a little effort researching the subject beforehand. It would be more productive for you, and it's so easy you can't afford not to. Without some basic rudimentary grasp of the subject you can't separate the bull$hit from the bullion.
 
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Yep ti those that don't want to help newbys should stay out of the newby fourm. Man there are a lot of really nice people on here.

I say that looking to the positive side of cgn. In the face of the people who will sling insults at you, try to always take the high road on this site, like the nice helpful an positive people do.

Btw, I was wondering what Bluing was as well. Thank you for asking that question.
 
jethunter said:
There's nothing wrong with asking questions but there's nothing wrong with doing some research yourself either. That's not hard to do seeing you have an internet connection. Best thing would be to learn what you can over the web, then come here and ask about the stuff you still have questions about.

And don't get into a huff - nobody on this forum is paid to be here for your convenience.
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No - but no one needs to answer either. Could he have researched? Yes. Did he ask a gun-related question in a gun-forum in the section for newbies? Yep.

I'm glad he asked and thanks Wendell for the links! I understood what it was - but didn't realize the variations. :cool:
 
ArchiePerry said:
I ran a search and as far as I can tell... this is not a frequently asked question... but I have no idea about bluing (being a noob and all).

I have read lots about the bluing on old rifles. It obviously is the colour of the metal marts of the gun. Is it purely cosmetic? Is it a paint? Is it the colour as a result of some kind of treatment? Does it protect against rust? Is it important?

I have read that people can fix the bluing if it has been rubbed / scratched off. Is this a difficult process? Is it required? Is there a difference between hot / cold bluing? Does the value of a fire arm increase / decrease with the quality of the bluing?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts / discussion of bluing!
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bart.gif
 
Silver_wlf said:
No - but no one needs to answer either. Could he have researched? Yes. Did he ask a gun-related question in a gun-forum in the section for newbies? Yep.

I'm glad he asked and thanks Wendell for the links! I understood what it was - but didn't realize the variations. :cool:
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Oops! Too bad you didn't read the rest of the thread before you posted that. If you had you would know that I said asking questions is great. I also encouraged doing some research on your own, and i explained why that is important.

Actually your post is a good example of what i was saying - people (and their opinions) aren't 100% reliable. They jump to conclusions or they don't understand what they read. Here is what you misssed before:

This is a great place to ask questions. But because it's a forum anyone can give you their opinion on any question(s) asked. If you don't have some basic knowledge of the subject beforehand you will not have a clue how to know the good answers from the bad. BELIEVE ME - there can and will be misleading information and bad advice. There is excellent experience on CGN, but also trash talking spoiled brats, people who jump to conclusions without thinking, and people who give advice when they don't have any subject knowledge. It happens on all forums, everywhere...
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It is simple common sense. Take it or leave it, but at least read the whole thread before you jump in someone's face. ;)
 
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