To learn how to clean your gunmetal to prepare it for bluing, keep reading! Note: Be very careful when using acetone. Repairing the bluing on a gun barrel protects the metal from rust and scratching, and helps reduce glare when shooting. Do NOT use cotton balls or Q-tips to apply the bluing. If you use Naval Jelly to clean your gun parts, then handle the parts with clean pliers or tongs. The idea is to blend in the finishes and cold-blues often provide an inconspicuous fix for smaller spots. 5 cm) when covering large areas, then smooth it out using steel wool. A competent gunsmith or someone who evaluates guns can tell the difference between a professional job and an amateur job. Smaller parts can be held in a stainless steel basket. All rust, dirt, gun oil, and existing bluing have to be removed from the gun metal. This will prevent the bluing from appearing mottled. Bluing Scratches & Holster Wear. Things You Will Need. Barrel Dent Removal: A dent in a shotgun barrel is dangerous and should not be fired, usually these dents can be repaired.
This will help protect the metal and may even help the finish look better. However, among all the techniques, hot-bluing and cold-bluing are the most popular because you can do them at home. Stainless steel gun parts are immersed in a different chemical solution, this one made of a mixture of nitrates and chromates.
Use a paper towel to dry the part as much as possible. I put some of it on an old bench vice's anvil a few years ago and it is showing no signs of rust. This is allowed to fully dry(1-2 days) and the process is repeated until the finish is even. You don't want to mess up your work. How to Reblue a Gun (with Pictures. That's also true of stainless steel, although it's much more weather-resistant. But, Al always took extra care to avoid rounded steel edges or softened lettering common to many other re-bluing jobs. For most rifles, a 2×4 scrap of around 5 inches should be sufficient.
If you plan to handle the gun a lot after cold bluing it, you can expect the cold bluing to wear off fairly quickly. After soaking your gun parts in the cleaning solution, take them out and wash off the cleaning solution with a mild dishwashing detergent. The steel usually arrives "in the white" and requires final filing and polishing. Companies that Make the Best Gunsmithing Tools. By Steve Markwith, author of Survival Guns. Take special care to dry small crevices. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from California State University at Northridge. Here is another thing to do using the method above. Final Gun Bluing Thoughts. How to restore bluing on gun. The usual chemicals are potassium nitrate, also known as saltpeter, and sodium hydroxide, also known as lye or caustic soda.
The process is exactly the same for gun parts. If you are only bluing small parts such screws or trigger guards a hair dryer may be sufficient. Depending on what you want, the metal is refinished to either a high gloss or a matte blued/blacked finish, the stock is refinished in either a hard gloss or oil rubbed finish. Cold bluing, described in Part Two of this article, is the simplest of the processes, and therefore the cheapest, but it is also the least durable. 3Coat the gun metal parts with a mixture of hydrochloric and nitric acid. I like to apply a coat of oil to the entire surface that is a little thicker than what I would normally use for regular maintenance. Every molecule of steel that is white or gray is chemically active and will absorb the bluing. The recoil is brutal. Learn more... How to Repair the Bluing on a Gun Barrel. Black oxidizing, or bluing, is a method of treating steel to create a thin protective shell around it. Any blotchy or uneven spots must be buffed out before applying the next coat. Once you get the process down, you can blue a gun of any kind.
So what do you do with that aluminum receiver or trigger strap that is scratched or worn? I used two types of gloves for my project. If you don't have enough bluing solution to soak a recessed area, put it in a clean spray bottle and spray it liberally on the part over a glass pan or plastic tray. After the firearm is disassembled you will need to remove the old finish as well as any rust that is present. Bluing a gun barrel. Dip a cleaning patch (or cotton swab for small parts) into the cold blue solution. So unless there is an absolute need for returning the condition to perfect, I always restore. This is usually the result of someone trying to remove them using improper screwdrivers. If you plan to blue the entire gun, you may want to immerse the metal in a cleaning solution as described for the hot bluing process. A cold kit has everything you need for the actual bluing, but not the cleaning. Some people use other things to apply the bluing but I found that gun cleaning patches work just fine.
The more layers you apply the darker the bluing will be; however, each new layer is progressively less effective than the layer before it. You can return the metal to the bluing to gain more darkness. How to repair bluing on gun barrel plastic. Wipe the rust off with a cloth and blue the metal again. Let the metal sit (un-oiled) until light rust forms. Other companies also sell cold blue solutions. Afterwards, reattach the part to the vise block and complete the final three coats on all the areas that you can reach.
Now is the best time to repair any damaged screws. Wipe it as evenly as possible over the entire area that you want to be blued. After you have secured the barrel and receiver to the vise block then you are ready to start preparing the gun for the cold blue solution. Passivation occurs naturally or can be induced in other metals, such as aluminum and silicon. This acid solution will cause severe chemical burns. A slide might sound simpler than an entire pistol, but we can't just drop it in.
Each time, the bluing gets to soak in farther and will deepen the color. The oil inhibits the formation of rust and protects the metal finish from dirt, sweat, body oil, and wear. Now you will want to heat the metal. The gunsmith, Al, had worked for P. O. Ackley (of wildcat cartridge fame) and was a true wealth of knowledge. Assuming a decision is made to proceed, a qualified professional will be necessary.
You may want to get the 320-grit in the large square sheets since you may need a lot of it. Here is where we use steel wool as I mentioned above. ) Turnbull Restoration Company is a true master of this art. Keep reading for more on the differences between cold and hot-bluing. Her articles have appeared in "Entertainment News NW, " "Synergy for Success" and various trade publications. Let the parts soak in the oil for about an hour, then wipe them clean and assemble your gun. If you do not care about this, cold bluing is easier and cheaper than hot bluing. Some parts like front-sight ramps or barrel bands could actually dissolve or cause a hideous case of "greening. " When dipping gun barrels in bluing solution, dip them at an angle to allow any air bubbles that may form to escape.