Rust Bluing

[Olle]

Originally Posted by nukem556

THATS the $64,000 question...how to get that elusive true blue you see on early Lugers...I haven't seen any commercial solutions that match it, theyre all a lot blacker. Those who can replicate it won't tell anyone else how they do it. Also, on older Lugers you can see the grain of the polish in the metal, which usually disappears after a few cardings with modern solutions.

I just bought a mismatch with a near mint early DWM frame, and the color is a dark charcoal color that gets a blue hue when you oil it. In other words, it's exactly what I get with pretty much any commercial solution. There are some faint polish marks, but they seem to be from the final carding and not from the metal prep.

I'm wondering if the blue color you see on some guns simply has to do with aging. After all, many Lugers are 100+ years old so it's not too far fetched to believe that something has happened to it through the years. Or does the color vary between the brands?