Luger paint color

Olle · 05-01-2012, 09:12 AM

I tried different chemicals when I restored my LA-22, but the only ones that would touch the finish also etched the metal. I got the impression that it's not a paint, but some form of chemical bluing. One thing that kind of works for finishing the pot metal is Birchwood Casey's "Aluminum Black". Some people obviously use this for refinishing display replicas made of similar metal, but it's very difficult to get a uniform finish and it also stinks real bad. You might be able to get decent results if you have enough patience with it, but I finally had to resort to blasting with fine aluminum oxide, then spraying with Brownell's bake on paint.

Still, the "semi-success" with Aluminum Black leads me to believe that there could actually be some form of "bluing" that can be used on this type of metal. One tip would be to search the model gun forums, seems like these guys struggle with the same problem and they may have a solution.

05-01-2012, 09:12 AM	#13
Olle User Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Tennessee Posts: 1,149 Thanks: 159 Thanked 664 Times in 318 Posts	I tried different chemicals when I restored my LA-22, but the only ones that would touch the finish also etched the metal. I got the impression that it's not a paint, but some form of chemical bluing. One thing that kind of works for finishing the pot metal is Birchwood Casey's "Aluminum Black". Some people obviously use this for refinishing display replicas made of similar metal, but it's very difficult to get a uniform finish and it also stinks real bad. You might be able to get decent results if you have enough patience with it, but I finally had to resort to blasting with fine aluminum oxide, then spraying with Brownell's bake on paint. Still, the "semi-success" with Aluminum Black leads me to believe that there could actually be some form of "bluing" that can be used on this type of metal. One tip would be to search the model gun forums, seems like these guys struggle with the same problem and they may have a solution.