[Hugh]

No reflection on Mark, but forget the homemade formulas and get a bottle of Brownell's CLASSIC RUST BLUE solution if you must rust blue. I have given up on rust bluing as it is too labor intensive and I'm too lazy! I use Brownells Oxpho Blue and get great results with much less effort! Also remember, the bluing job is only as good as the polishing job. The higher the polish on the metal, the harder it is for the bluing to "bite", but the better final finish you will have in the end!