Homebrew Hot Blueing
 

Just came across this article on home brew hot blueing and thought it might find some interest among the amateur gunsmiths on the forum.

Enjoy, but attempt at your own risk! This is not for the accident prone! Use safety equipment, especially eye protection.

http://www.blindhogg.com/homemadesalts.html

John, thank you for pointing a very interesting article. I have been looking for a simple salts blue solution for a long time and am wondering if anybody has used this one and how it compares to something like Brownells blueing salts. I have used Pilkington's Rust Blue solution for a number of years in my junker rebuild projects. I get great results on S&W's, Winchesters and Colts. The color can be varied from a light, almost translucent blue to dark blue black depending on the number of coats applied and the humidity. Only drawback to rust blue is the long time it takes to process the metal; that and the fact that a rust blue sometimes just isn't "right" for a particular firearm.

Charlie

Blue wonder
 

I found this ad while surching in the internet for information about blueing a gun.
http://www.bluewonder.us/BlueWonderGunBlue.html

Has somebody experience with this stuff? Is it really as good as advertised?
Thanks,
Andy

I have seen Blue Wonder demonstrated at the gunshow. It was applied to gunmetal that was heated with a torch. The man selling it was glib and sounded just like a used car salesman. It colors steel for certain and even looks good but my concern is for the durability of the coating; if its that good then why aren't major manufacturers and custom gunmakers using the product? It certainly would be cheaper.

Charlie

Greetings gentlemen :)

Blue Wonder is nice for small scratches here and there. I use this stuff on my hunting rifles/shotguns. The biggest area I have 'blued' is where the rear sight on a Mauser K98 barrel normaly would be attached. Compared to the rest of the barrel, it tend to rust more easily and is somewhat less durable. Touching up a Luger with this would be a big no-no in my eyes btw.

John; thanks, your link was interesting reading:)

Cheers John S, a great read. ;)
I've also been wondering about that blue wonder for some time, no way i'd put it on a luger, but i sure would like to try it on a clapped out shooter, or one of my demill resto jobs. I came close to trying it a few months back, but at the time, where i was, could only find the gun blacking kits, and not the blue, so gave it a miss!

I've had fairly good luck with Brownell's "Dicropan IM", a very non-toxic hot water bluing process. The cheaper the steel, the better and more durable the result. There are some tricks to it, but I have done a lot of handguns.

To do long guns, you need a long stainless steel tank and controllable flame heating source. I don't have that yet.

If you go into conventional salt bluing, there are lots of compounds you can use, but you had better have a wood out building to do it in, and expect all sorts of nearby metal components to be corroded and destroyed. That's why fewer and fewer places do rebluing.

For some handguns and military firearms, I strongly urge anybody to look into parkerizing. It's easy, cheap, most of the raw ingredients come from Home Depot or a pottery supply place, it's non-toxic, and you can do it at home. I've done a bunch. The results are professional and permanent. That's why you are seeing so many phony "original" parkerized ex-military guns at shows.

Hi Steinar,
Glad to see you posting again. I remember that you said you were ill. I hope your doing better.

Thanks Mike, I'm still alive and kicking ;) Feeling better now after having a tumour removed, so it's back to the fun things in life:)

It seems like Duracoat is a product that is very popular now days. It's not bluing, but when I held a pistol with black Duracoat in my hands, I could swear it was..
Perhaps that's alternative to Blue Wonder.

Steinar, Glad to see you feeling somewhat better... Stay on the mend old friend.

Steinar!

Welcome back. Let's hope things will get better soon. I'm short of a few nerves now, so am also feeling better by the day.

Steiner "WELCOME HOME"