Rust Bluing

[Olle]

Originally Posted by timn

Most all early rust blued pieces were polished to 320-400.
I'm talking about a true polished surface. A piece of steel actually polished to a 400 grit finish should be very shiny.

There seems to be some confusion regarding the grit sometimes, and I'm not really sure that all grits are the same (paper, compound, abrasive pads etc). Are you talking about P400 paper or polishing compound?

I use paper and elbow grease for most of the polish (I don't trust myself with power tools around guns), but a fresh P400 paper gives me a brushed finish. It still seems to be a good base for the bluing, after a few cardings you can't see it anymore. I have even tried a light blasting with aluminum oxide, and it did require a heavier carding but came out almost as smooth as a 400-600 grit polish.

It would also be interesting if someone could elaborate a bit on how to get different colors. The only variation I have seen has been because of the steel quality, but some say that you can get different results by using different chemicals.