Rust blued interiors?
 

Ok I look on the insides of my Imperial P.08's and they are completely in the white. I then look inside the frames of a G date, 1936 and 1937. They only have partial parts in the white. Mainly the flat surfaces but inside the safety area recess it is still blued. Look inside your early rust blued guns and see what yours are like.

interiors
 

Mine are mainly in the white but they got a bit 'sloppy' with the blue and it is smeared about the edges into the interior.


Obviously, they were not as meticulous as the guys at DWM prior to WW-1?


I would be suspicious if it is all blue in that interior part?


Orv Reichert

Re: Rust blued interiors?
 

Hi Doug,


Rust blued Lugers should not be blued on the interior of the frame. Every now and again one will find a rust blued Luger where they got sloppy and dribbled a little of the bluing solution over the edges into the inside of the frame but these are obviously unintentional drips.


Hope this helps!


Best regards,


Kyrie

Curious about one thing?
 

Although I have not personally observed this, it is noted by Jan Sill that the later 1936 thru the rust blue 1937 period Lugers did not have polished interiors. If this is the case, how did this difference manifest itself? The implication is and I've always believed that the pre mid-1936 Lugers were polished on the inside AFTER being rust blued. Therefore these Lugers were bright on the inside. The post mid-1936 Lugers (rust-blued) were not polished on the inside and therefore not at least completley bright.

Re: Curious about one thing?
 

Hi BCC,


The cold rust blue process and the hot salt blue process are fundamentally different processes. In the rust blue process the bluing solution is only applied to (brushed on) the surfaces to be blued - hence the inside of the frame is not blued. In the salt blue process the entire pistol is immersed in the bluing solution - and so the inside of the frame is blued.


If, in the rust blue process, the inside of the frame was painted with the bluing solution it would be nigh on impossible to get the blue off of the inside of the frame without damaging the blue on the outside if the frame. Whether the inside of the frame is polished or not really doesnâ??t have anything to do with the bluing method, as bluing is removed by chemical means rather than buffing.


Hope this helps!


Best regards,


Kyrie