Keep them in that state while you heat them but be sure to not boil up the tank. "https://www.facebook.com/Shooting-Mystery-110244180901951", Friction, as from holster wear, quickly removes cold bluing, and also removes hot bluing, rust, or fume bluing over long periods of use. The higher temperatures of the other processes as well as their caustic nature could weaken the soldered joints and make the gun hazardous to use. And I work alone in my shop, and lack the required (IMO) safety facilities that are needed. this article statement Some people might not have a tank long enough to contain a barreled action to boil out. Either that or the steel wool. Modern home hobbyist versions of this process typically use a hydrogen peroxide and salt solution, sometimes with vinegar, for the rusting step to avoid the need for more dangerous acids.[7]. Remove any previous finish. Then wipe off all excess oil and look at your beautiful finished object! Itll evaporate rather rapidly, but still, dont whip it at cars or house finishes. | Alpha Detroit", "NRA Family | Gun Manufacturing: Browning vs. Bluing", http://mypeculiarnature.blogspot.com/2014/08/quick-rust-bluing-back-in-black.html, "Radio Kits and Designs for Old and New Styles", "Coating, Oxide, Black, for Ferrous Metals (MIL-DTL-13924D)", "Phosphate and black oxide coating of ferrous metals (MIL-HDBK-205A)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bluing_(steel)&oldid=1142351288, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles that may contain original research from October 2020, All articles that may contain original research, Articles needing additional references from October 2020, All articles needing additional references, Articles lacking in-text citations from September 2014, Articles with multiple maintenance issues, Articles with dead external links from July 2017, Articles with permanently dead external links, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 22:58. Excessive buffing on stainless steel could result in a grainy appearance so do it with care. However, if the bluing effect isnt satisfactory, then you can try giving the components an acid bath (using Hydrochloric Acid). Use it to try out great new products and services nationwide without paying full pricewine, food delivery, clothing and more. fascinated with blacksmithing, but have not had an income to even get it started. Work on a metal or steel surface, such as an anvil, to avoid any fire hazards. For hazzalandy: carbon content has nothing to do with the color process, it is only the temperature you heat to, and to a lesser extent, the time spent hot. on Introduction, Hello my name is Joe and Im doing a project where Im trying to achieve the same outcome. }, Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The downsides are: the safety issue, which I laid out above, and which youve made clear. The actual temperature of the steel depends on the carbon content inside. Ships from and sold by Direct-Wholesale. You should keep guns in a safe, if you can. 2 years ago, For the record The gentleman said multiple times that the plastic container shown in the pictures was just for the instructional photos and to be sure that the container is made of metal for this process, (Homer Simpson smacking his forehead: "DOH! My apologies for the background noise in the first half of the video We had compressors running where I Just let any residual matter evaporate/dry. Theres nothing I see as super-dangerous about blueing other than trying to do hot salt blueing without all the correct safety equipment and precautions. I have at least three cold blue solutions in my shop including Oxpho-blue, 44-40 and others. Haha. Right now I'm working on excavator replacement pins! Check out the video:https://hackaday.io/project/21947-makers-vise/log/60914-coloring-steel-with-magnetism. it washes off with water. You are nitre blueing here. I use it, oh so cautiously in making my biodiesel. Though it may seem tricky at first, youll be glad to have figured it out because knowing how to blue stainless steel will come in handy from time to time. The use of stainless steel alloy varies a lot from one manufacturer to the other and thats why the bluing effect wont always be consistent. Drift the sights back in from the right side of the barrel. the cost of the burners or heaters to heat up all these tanks really only practical if you have natural gas available I have done a cold blue on a very rusted .22 for a friend. Mea culpa. So basically, youll want the rifle in the vise with the muzzle pointed to your left. Bluing Stainless Steel: What You Can and Cant Do - Forging World If you look at the temps that Tenifur(SP) and Melonite(sp) and early Pakerizing processes used this is nothing. NaOH will quickly and completely dissolve aluminum. Here is a video by Clevinger Customs illustrating it: I use the Brownells nitre blueing salts, which are a combination of sodium nitrite, sodium nitrate, and potassium nitrate. Only 3 left in stock - order soon. DG should receive a stipend for his valuable contributions to TTAG. Help 'blueing' with OA torch So, you start with a clean gun, in the white, you play a propane torch over the gun to get it to the point where the blueing solution just will readily steam, but barely sizzle, and then you brush on the blueing compound. Oh mas oui.Express blueing, slow rust blueing, hot salt blueing, nitre blueing, carbona blueing all are better than cold blueing. Often it does provide an adequate cosmetic touch-up of a gun's finish when applied and additionally oiled on a regular basis. Referring to the post that started all of this; Dyspeptic Gunsmith says: Woodworkers doing furniture finishing will use 000 and 0000 wool, and they hate oil on their wool for rubbing down oil finishes. Probably the main one is the content of so-called "carbon, "I was looking at making a set of plate armor and I wanted to see how to harden the breastplate. The hotter the steel, the further the oxygen can diffuse through the oxide coating, so the coating builds thicker before it protects the steel from further oxidation. 8 years ago Wear thick gloves so you dont burn yourself. The ideal setup is a pair of long sleeve gloves along with splash goggles and a face mask. If you are referring to torch bluing, the Hot blueing is a good process, especially if you have a lot of iron to shove through the blueing process quickly. Dont. Hot. I wish this article had come out sooner, since I did not know that 0000 steel wool may have oil in it. Thanks, 8 years ago If a bank transfer is made but no receipt is uploaded within this period, your order will be cancelled. -Something to hold your piece with, make sure it's appropriate to hold it with so it doesn't get too hot in your hands. He has more than three years of experience writing for and working with wikiHow. Be patient in the first few minutes as the metal needs to reach the temperatures where it changes colour! For this Instructable I'm using thread cutting oil. "@type": "Article", Hang the trigger group again, re-stock and you should be done. Take them out after a couple of minutes and then wipe them clean to remove excess oil. We use cookies to make wikiHow great. Youll need some shop rolls, ranging from 180 to 400 grit (typical 4-packs are 180, 240, 320 and 400 grit, in 1, 1.5 or 2. Hunter Rising is a wikiHow Staff Writer based in Los Angeles. The bottom of the crucible is opened allowing the contents to drop into the rapidly bubbling water. OK, now with the sights out and the trigger group off, you can put on the rust/blue remover on the barrel/action. The usual mistake on buffing wheels is using too coarse a compound, and then the wheel becomes quite aggressive in removing material. Use Hot Bluing And Cold Bluing To Give Your Steel That With HSS you're looking for 2500-3000rpm, M35 or M42 cobalt bits 3000-3600rpm, and carbide 10k-12krpm. I am using bronze, is it for a polish? "url": "https://shootingmystery.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Shootinglogo.png" My first time wasnt a stunning success. There are many methods you can use to blue the steel. What did you use for polishing your pieces and Im guessing you polished then added the chemicals after?Thanks, Joe, Question The parts are then oiled and allowed to stand overnight. It repeats the process adn by the time the head moves on to the next station all the parts are seated presumably for the life of the head. Use a smaller toaster oven if your piece of steel fits inside. Torch Black oxide provides minimal protection against corrosion, unless also treated with a water-displacing oil to reduce wetting and galvanic action. The potassium nitrate will liquefy at around this temperature and blue your items at a relatively quick speed. "Bluing" is the process of oxidizing steel to create a durable, corrosion-resistant layer. Before you start, it might do you well to mark the sight base on each side of the dovetail with a Sharpie marker, so you can see when the sight begins to move. Add in the 250F+ temperatures of the salts when they hit your skin, and youre both burned thermally and chemically in seconds. When heat treating a forged blade you get the whole knife glowing, then submerge just the blade in the oil for 8 seconds. Add the two together and you have what is akin to rocket fuel in your face a way of oxidizing almost any organic material with insufficient water for cooling into a furious flame. His enthusiasm for handling firearms and hunting gear inspired him to create the Shooting Mystery blog. Why do you bother with all this crap?. *700F is very close to the heat treatment temperature of some steels. Wipe them down with WD-40 on a regular basis. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. And thats about everything you need to know about stainless steel bluing. Pull it out of the tank and place on a drain rack. That seems wasteful. Thank you all who had a part in the production of this important information! Once the steel is clean, you can begin heating it up. How do I do this? Dont pour water in to your bath! Just remove the blue/rust, degrease, dry, then blue/card/boil-out/oil/drain. Just dont. This works well for me. highfour, case hardening is a bit different from what you describe.. Usually, the steel needs some time in a medium that will allow carbon to penetrate the surface, and we are talking 15 minutes to several hours. Nowadays, even mild steel does have a certain amount of carbon in the alloy, which can explain your observations, if you google "super quench," you should find a waterbased quench that is rumoured to do the same, but in my humble opinion, water can do just that as well. Ok you gotta help me out herewhen I was studying mechanical engineering a good few years back a project I done involved using a compression fit of 1/4" thick plate steel into 1" thick steel rod, both mild steel. 3. Now you can start.Apply heat to your object and heat up gently and equally. As I'm bluing round pieces I slowly and evenly rotate the piece over Mess. Bluing may be applied by immersing steel parts in a solution of potassium nitrate, sodium hydroxide, and water heated to the boiling point, 275310F (135154C) depending on the recipe. I wouldnt use this bluing method for these items. http://www.lowes.com/pd_188198-316-HG-66420_0__?productId=4764059 If you want it smoother/shinier, you can polish up to 600 grit, with wet-or-dry paper. Ive gotten hot blue salts on me splashed into my hair. Its essential to keep stirring the tank to prevent the forming of hot and cold areas. It is a difficult product to apply evenly, offers minimal protection and is generally best used for small fast repair jobs and touch-ups.[2][3]. Blow torches only heat a small concentrated area. 5. Above you can see some example pictures of the colour shades that can be achieved with this techniques.Have fun doing it! Put all the components into the tank and wait for 5 15 minutes. I wasnt planning on doing it for a few months. It is always essential to remove all oils from metals you want to blue, even if the cold blueing solution claims you dont need to do so. ", the wrong quality steel. The practice of bluing steel takes time and an exquisite eye for detail. "@type": "Organization", Remove the bolt & trigger group this might require a pin punch on some guns to pull the trigger group.From what little I can see in the picture here . "https://twitter.com/Shoot1ngMystery", Use a steel tool to stir (remember the fumes). The steel was mild steel and had very little carbon content. http://cdn.spectrumbrands.com/~/media/Spectracide/Files/MSDS/SpectracideStumpRemoverGranulesSDSApr15.ashx. Its durable and wears well. I can then get the temp to be 600F spot-on in a lead melting pot. When everything is set up, put on your protective gear and then get down to business. Cold blues will It will instantly vaporize into steam and splash all over you. Just use distilled water. New guns are typically available in blued finish options offered as the least-expensive finish, and this finish is also the least effective at providing rust resistance, relative to other finishes such as Parkerizing or hard chrome plating or nitriding processes like Tenifer. I handed a buddy my wallet and cell phone, and stepped under the safety shower and got wet. However, the chemicals from the bluing process can accomplish uneven staining on aluminium and polymer parts. Think big scars. This process is also the only process safely used to re-blue vintage shotguns. I didnt drop outta my mommas womb being able to do this stuff. Please note: As you are working with heat, please be smart, use your common sense, do the bluing process in a well ventilated area and keep a wet towel to hand. Use a backing block of wood or even a Pink Pearl rubber eraser. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. For the color change to be uniform you have to remove the grease, oil, paint etc or it looks blotchy. If youre interested, just ask and I can provide more details. 4 years ago You can not do this method with Aluminium because it won't reach the temperatures required for bluing, it will just melt. Knowledge is the power and fear is the opposite of power it cripples the mind and the body and almost always guarantee's a poor decision will be made. Rinse them in a cold water tank after. Rust bluing was developed between hot and cold bluing processes, and was originally used by gunsmiths in the 19th century to blue firearms prior to the development of hot bluing processes. Is the torch used to heat metal ..ONLY.with Cold bluing? Bluing, being a chemical conversion coating, is not as robust against wear and corrosion resistance as plated coatings, and is typically no thicker than 2.5 micrometres (0.0001 inches). All About Bluing Steel Stainless Steel Necessary Gears and Tools Procedure Step 1: Ready the bluing tank Step 2: Process the components of the gun Step 3: Suspend Polish to at least 400 grit. Ventilation is important. Stainless steel can only tolerate hot bluing and a limited amount of chemicals. Bluing is often a hobbyist endeavor, and there are many methods of bluing, and continuing debates about the relative efficacy of each method. In this case cooking oil, rather than gun oil, acts to displace water and prevent rust. Sorry for the misunderstanding. Now you slide the cold rod in, and the plate cools, gripping the rod. Thank you, DG! Blue Bluing Steel Once the solution reaches its boiling point, turn down the burner to about one-third of the boiling temperature and let it stay there. High temperatures and dangerous chemicals mean that a moment of carelessness can make you pay a heavy price. "height": "800", The ideal setup is a pair of long sleeve gloves along with splash goggles and a face mask. You can improve your results by doing two things: 1. Now, using the information above, you should have little problem bluing your firearms on your own. Heat the Steel. Most knives, rifle receivers and barrels are heated to at least 1200F and cooled and drawn at 490F-700F. You MUST plug your barrels, gas cylinders, remove your pistons, etc. COPYRIGHT 2021, THETRUTHABOUTGUNS.COM. Buffing wheels have their purpose, but they take real skill to use without making a mess of guns, starting with the selection of the wheel (theres, oh, at least six types of buffing wheel), choice of type of compound, choice of grit of compound, choice of wheel speed (many buffers have only one speed, and there are some jobs where you really want a 3-phase motor on your buffer with a VFD to adjust the speed down from 1800 or 3600 RPM) and so on. You'll probably be fine following these instructions - you'll probably be OK driving home a little drunk, too. "Cold" bluing is generally a selenium dioxide based compound that colours steel black, or more often a very dark grey. These include hot bluing, cold bluing, niter bluing, and so on. After three coats, washing and drying, the finish was not too bad, considering I was (and am) a rank amateur. How to Blue Stainless Steel in 5 Easy Steps: Complete Guide Besides those, you must also have water displacing oil and cleaning solution (Dicro-Clean 909). When youre using polishing paper, you think that 600 grit is very fine, and it is taking you hours to polish out something to 600. While still hot and while wearing rubber gloves rub the bluing compound Into the steel with the steel wool. blue steel FigureLLC. You should put the brass drift (which you can make out of a piece of brass rod about 1/4 in diameter) on the sight base, and then start tapping the end of the drift with a small hammer. You might need two applications to clean up more deeply rusted spots. "description": "If you want to find out how to blue stainless steel, then you've come to the right place. 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You have to apply the bluing fluid. } Hi SteelJunkee Method is as follows: Fit rod into drill and set at constant speed Clean rods with acetone on clean rag Use butane and propane mix blow torch to achieve colour range Quench in water Dry The weird thing is that they look great for around 4-5 days then deteriorate. DIY Gun Bluing Again, dont mess around with these chemicals and only handle them with extreme attention. Heating will make the metal better in absorbing the bluing liquid. If you drop a piece of paper in there, or hydrocarbon compounds (like oil or grease on your part). For the process your metal should be nicely polished for the best results.The more shinier the polish the more your end result will glow. Wear disposable nitrile gloves, work in adequate ventilation, bag and dispose of all rags/towels used in the process in their own bags, and quickly. Bluing is also used for providing coloring for steel parts of fine clocks and other fine metalwork. I tried heating the barrel in sections (as Brownells says is ok) but did not get a very good result, being unable to get a uniform heat in any =thing approaching more than a few inches at a time. 2. Great column, and thanks for all the responses to various questions and comments. I agree used oil works better and adding some copper and graphite seems to deepen the color and add more purple or plum to it. I've never done anything like this but want to try. A couple bottles of aged bourbon minimum. You can experiment ultimately what oils to use. This process was repeated until the desired depth of color was achieved or the metal simply did not color further. Trust me, I'm speaking from experience :) ). The melting point for KNO3 is 633F. Thermometers and stirring tools are also needed, as well as something to heat up the tanks. This step should be done before heating the steel, as the steel should be quenched immediately after removing from heat. You need to constantly be adding in a bit of water to bring the boiling point back down into the range you need. Apply heat to your object and heat up gently and equally. YouTube - Nitre bluing a few gun parts. Question Do all the prep you would for express or rust blueing, especially degreasing. When the liquid stops bubbling, remove the metal from the container and wipe off any excess liquid. When Im polishing on barrels, I polish lengthwise. Todos los derechos reservados. But the article was very informative. It is also used by machinists, to protect and beautify tools made for their own use. Also: Do not allow the solution to run, drip or sag. After spending most of his career as a firearms expert and enthusiast, he retreated to the great outdoors to raise his family in peace and quiet. All those materials the leather and bone the coal where sources of carbon and other trace elements. In place of using a hot bath (although at a lower temperature) chemically induced method, it is possible through controlling the temperature to heat steel precisely such as to cause the formation of black oxide selectively over the red oxide. So unless you have sufficient equipment and skill, its advised to let a professional perform the bluing for you. A few safety items: Heat the area you'd like to drill just until it starts to glow red, then allow it to cool slowly. This signifies that the steel is tempered. It is generally employed on smaller parts such as pins, screws, sights, etc. Vegetable oil has a higher boiling point, so the hot steel will take longer to cool and reduce the chance of it cracking. If the magnet doesnt stick, its ready to be pulled away from the heat. Cooking off the more volatile hydrocarbons leaving the heavier ones produces a different effect yet again. to blue / heat anodize stainless steel Many older browning and bluing formulas are based on corrosive solutions (necessary to cause metal to rust), and often contain cyanide or mercury salts solutions that are especially toxic to humans. Treating with an oiled coating enhances the protection offered by the bluing. Another good test for determining when the steel is ready is seeing if a magnet sticks to its surface. 5 years ago, I found that heating will turn steel silver ~> gold ~> violet ~> blue. I'm a professional knifemaker and use many very high-temp methods including quenching 1,600F steel in pre-heated oil - I know what I'm talking about, 'cause I still have 10 fingers and my eyesight. Ive learned a LOT. journeyman. Most cold blueing agents contain some selenium dioxide in them to enable to them to react at room temps. That surface rust on the barrel could be polished off easily. Were committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. We strongly advise that you only push through with this process if you are absolutely confident that you are able to perform the necessary precautions. SO, DG; unless I missed it, I am assuming the torch is used separate from heating the tank/ container with the boiling solution. Very helpful! It takes practice. Historically, razor blades were often blued steel. Thermal Bluing - The Process of Heat Treating Watch Hands Wear safety glasses and gloves while working with hot metal. I think DGs method is a lot safer than mine. Youll want to clamp on the barrel directly under the sight youre about to drift out. Approved. Answer "@type": "ImageObject", Step 3: Suspend the components in the bluing solution tank, However, if the bluing effect isnt satisfactory, then you can try giving the components an acid bath (using, Step 4: Rinse the components in a cold water tank then transfer them to a hot one, Step 5: Submerge the components in a tank filled with water displacing oil, Address: 4455 Camp Bowie Blvd, Ste 114 #852, Fort Worth, TX 76107. Premium fencing blades are often offered with a blued finish. Brownells has steel tanks, and there are some steel/stainless long/thin tanks available from other sources. I'm trying to be positive and constructive, and think this is: for an amateur to stick a very hot torch-heated metal object into a plastic container filled with oil is simply dumb (ok, more polite: "irresponsible") at best, highly dangerous at worst. I dont use hot salt blueing because much of my work is on older double guns, which have ribs that are soft-soldered into place. Youll have a hot caustic degreaser tank (about 10 minutes), then a cold rinse tank, then into the hot salts for, oh, 15 to 20 minutes, then out into the hot rinse, then into a cold running rinse tank, then into a water displacing oil tank for 20 minutes or so. Dont leave cold blue solutions around anywhere pets or kids could get at them. Bluing is also used in seasoning cast-iron cookware, to render it relatively rust-proof and non-stick. Go on and start bluing! This is an alternative method for creating the black oxide coating. Alternatively, You could store them in a hard case (like a pelican with a purge) and throw some desiccant packs in there as well. When the first patch gets really funky, then drop that in your plastic garbage container (remember, these patches have been soaked in acid solutions! $3.59. You will get it. Im asking because theres a guy on YouTube recommending Brown Express first, then several layers of Blue over that. Once you see it turn golden, the process has started and colours will change fairly quickly! Central Texas. Then you sight down the barrel and you see dips and waves in the barrel profile. Initially case hardening was used but did not offer any aesthetics. The mixture is heated to 310 to 321C (590 to 610F) and the parts are suspended in this solution with wire. Your container should be relatively larger than your object. - Ballachy", "Bluing of Steel by Heat Treatment: Why and How it Happens? It's worth noting that there can be some additives in motor oil that release hydrocarbons when burnt which is a known carcinogens to the body (in other words: Bad Stuff!). You might also want to read our article on how to easily darken stainless steel or blacken stainless steel for more ways to personalize your gear. ")You're ABSOLUTELY right. The reason why blued guns rust is that something was allowed to attack the surface blueing and get through it to new steel or the blueing job wasnt deep enough to complete passivate the surface from red rust. Hot bluing is the current standard[6] in gun bluing, as both it and rust bluing provide the most permanent degree of rust-resistance and cosmetic protection of exposed gun metal, and hot bluing takes less time than rust bluing. "mainEntityOfPage": "https://shootingmystery.com/blue-stainless-steel-beginners/", Heat the gun parts. I wore latex gloves, as Brownells recommended, but used a pot holder to handle the hot barrel, and that may have been the source. Rinse them in a cold water tank after. The difference is immersion in boiling water for bluing. So you will get a shinier finish. Youre a gunsmith who has a lot of nice guns! Ill go into parkerization later this week. Just dont do it. Submerge in water and scrape edge. You have entered an incorrect email address! And then there is the difference between general care and storage vs available daily carried protection pistols living in a some sort of Holster (nylon or leather) , good, bad, take them out or leave them in? Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 914,567 times. This article was co-authored by wikiHow staff writer. Not every manufacturer puts bittering agents in the solution and as one poison control nurse told me: (t)here is nothing you can do and it aint the good death.. Put 600 grit compound on a wheel, use a little too much pressure and youll be gob-smacked at how fast it can cut material off the gun.

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