who does good gun blueing?
- Thread starter m-134
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the spank
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[h=2]Hot bluing[/h] Bluing may be applied, for example, by immersing the steel parts of the gun to be blued in a solution of potassium nitrate, sodium hydroxide, and water heated to the boiling point, 275 °F to 310 °F (135 °C to 154 °C) depending on the recipe. Similarly, stainless steel parts of the gun to be blued are immersed in a mixture of nitrates and chromates, similarly heated. Either of these two methods is called hot bluing. There are many other methods of hot bluing. Hot bluing is the current standard in gun bluing, as both it and rust bluing provide the most permanent degree of rust-resistance and cosmetic protection of exposed gun metal.
[h=3]Rust bluing[/h] Rust bluing was developed between hot and cold bluing processes. It was originally used by gunsmiths in the 19th century to blue firearms prior to the development of hot bluing processes. The process was to coat the gun parts in an acid solution, let the parts rust uniformly, then immerse the parts in boiling water to stabilize the rusting process by removing any remaining residue from the applied acid solution. Then the rust was carded (scrubbed) off, using a carding brush or wheel. A carding brush is a wire brush with very soft, thin (usually about .002 thick) wires. This process is repeated until the desired depth of color is achieved or the metal simply will not color any further. This is one of the reasons rust and fume bluing tend to be more rust resistant than any other method. The parts are then oiled and allowed to stand overnight. This process leaves a deep blue/black finish.
[h=3]Niter bluing[/h] Parts to be niter blued are steel which has been polished and cleaned, then immersed in a bath of molten salts; typically potassium nitrate and sodium nitrate (sometimes with 9.4 grams (0.33 oz) of manganese dioxide per lb of total nitrate). The mixture is heated to 310 to 321 °C (590 to 610 °F) and the parts are suspended in this solution with wire. The parts must be observed constantly for color change. The cross section and size of parts will affect the outcome of the finish and time it takes to achieve. This method must not be used on critically heat-treated parts such as receivers, slides or springs. It is generally employed on smaller parts such as pins, screws, sights, etc. The colors will range through straw, gold, brown, purple, blue, teal, then black. Examples of this finish can be seen commonly on older pocket watches whose hands exhibit what is called "peacock blue", a rich iridescent blue.
That's fascinating thank you!
So I suppose each of them can provide that nice 'deep liquid blue/black' that is so appealing? If I wanted some of my guns reblued is one cheaper than the other, or is any considered more attractive in the end? Just curious because I've noticed that bluing can very considerably from 'yeah that's blued' to 'holy crap that's beautiful'.
I will be interested to hear your feedback. Can anyone comment on the quality of other work they do and what the turn around time is like?
I received my newly "blued" pistol back from Epps this morning. It was black as black can be. I called Epps to complain that I was after a dark blue/black finish but the owner (Wes) stated the black was what one gets with their process. All their guns turn out this way.
Looks like I should have gone to someone that does "hot bluing" instead of the rust blue process that Epps uses. By the way, according to Wes, no re-bluing process gives one a blue finish.
Was the end result a deep black high polish finish?
