How/who to reblue a Navy shooter - Page 2

policeluger · 12-05-2009, 06:13 PM

If you had a hot blue job that did not turn out the color blue you wanted, and this wine/orange colore sure sounds typical of an untrained gun smith, it was a simple matter of not re-polishing if you were happy with the metal surface, de-grease the parts and re-dip ....the gun did not reach proper tempeture, and help there long enough to get the correct blue....seen and corrected this lots of times the last 35 years....

Hawkeye · 12-06-2009, 08:07 AM

Both times the owners of these two pistols were downhearted and had given up on trying to get them in shape.
They were both young guys and either needed the money ,or were not into Luger's and wanted a Glock instead. The Luger's were Vet Bring backs and most likely were handed down to them.
The 1940 42 is a beauty and would be the one i would want to be Re-Blued professionally. The Brownell's Oxhpy Blue cream is a good product ,but a Cold Blue is never going to be anything that will satisfy a collector .
After several coats it came out a deep Black color ,but i still had to use a thin layer of Dura Coat to make it stay in place.
Actually doing this makes old guns look very good ,and if you take some Steel Wool and dull the finish a little it looks even better.
But Dura Coat and a Luger simply are not a Match made in Heaven at all.

chuck17 · 12-06-2009, 01:43 PM

I believe that some of the original lugers displayed the "plum" coloring due to irregularities in the bluing process. I hope that your 1940 was not one of those! The 1936 would have been rust blued.

Hawkeye · 12-08-2009, 03:17 AM

Chuck, i have gotten close to achieving a Dura Coat finish by itself that will come real close to matching any Blue job out there.
Dura Coat makes a Gun Blue Color ,except it is so Blue it doesn't seem real as anything except a paint.
So i have taken the Gun Blue finish ,and mixed it with the H&K Black finish .
Keeping it out of the rails or any of the other closer tolerance areas like on the toggle ,there you can get away with one pass where these parts mesh together.
Smoothing it down a little with steel wool , then polish it to a luster and you wouldn't believe the way that looks on a Luger.
A shooter of course ,but a finish that looks almost like the one S&W used to use on their revolvers ,and its thin enough it doesn't look like paint.

12-05-2009, 06:13 PM	#21
policeluger RIP Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Ca. Posts: 2,141 Thanks: 8 Thanked 89 Times in 54 Posts	If you had a hot blue job that did not turn out the color blue you wanted, and this wine/orange colore sure sounds typical of an untrained gun smith, it was a simple matter of not re-polishing if you were happy with the metal surface, de-grease the parts and re-dip ....the gun did not reach proper tempeture, and help there long enough to get the correct blue....seen and corrected this lots of times the last 35 years....

12-06-2009, 08:07 AM	#22
Hawkeye User Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 14 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Both times the owners of these two pistols were downhearted and had given up on trying to get them in shape. They were both young guys and either needed the money ,or were not into Luger's and wanted a Glock instead. The Luger's were Vet Bring backs and most likely were handed down to them. The 1940 42 is a beauty and would be the one i would want to be Re-Blued professionally. The Brownell's Oxhpy Blue cream is a good product ,but a Cold Blue is never going to be anything that will satisfy a collector . After several coats it came out a deep Black color ,but i still had to use a thin layer of Dura Coat to make it stay in place. Actually doing this makes old guns look very good ,and if you take some Steel Wool and dull the finish a little it looks even better. But Dura Coat and a Luger simply are not a Match made in Heaven at all.

12-06-2009, 01:43 PM	#23
chuck17 User Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Fla Posts: 27 Thanks: 0 Thanked 4 Times in 2 Posts	I believe that some of the original lugers displayed the "plum" coloring due to irregularities in the bluing process. I hope that your 1940 was not one of those! The 1936 would have been rust blued.

12-08-2009, 03:17 AM	#24
Hawkeye User Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 14 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Chuck, i have gotten close to achieving a Dura Coat finish by itself that will come real close to matching any Blue job out there. Dura Coat makes a Gun Blue Color ,except it is so Blue it doesn't seem real as anything except a paint. So i have taken the Gun Blue finish ,and mixed it with the H&K Black finish . Keeping it out of the rails or any of the other closer tolerance areas like on the toggle ,there you can get away with one pass where these parts mesh together. Smoothing it down a little with steel wool , then polish it to a luster and you wouldn't believe the way that looks on a Luger. A shooter of course ,but a finish that looks almost like the one S&W used to use on their revolvers ,and its thin enough it doesn't look like paint.