"description": "If you want to find out how to blue stainless steel, then you've come to the right place. pliers, mole grips, -An old metal container (I know, a plastic container is pictured but always use a metal one) filled high enough with oil to completely submerge your steel object would be ideal. Life is good. The steel will pull some of the carbon out of the oil while quenching and harden the outer portion of the metal. 6 years ago. Heat the gun parts. The colours range through straw, gold, brown, purple, blue, teal, then black. Stainless steel can only tolerate hot bluing and a limited amount of chemicals. Metal Black oxide provides minimal protection against corrosion, unless also treated with a water-displacing oil to reduce wetting and galvanic action. Referring to the post that started all of this; Dyspeptic Gunsmith says: You can reassemble the gun after. "https://www.pinterest.com/theshootingmystery/", Also buffing wheels pre blue. However, if the bluing effect isnt satisfactory, then you can try giving the components an acid bath (using Hydrochloric Acid). Add in the 250F+ temperatures of the salts when they hit your skin, and youre both burned thermally and chemically in seconds. DG should receive a stipend for his valuable contributions to TTAG. I had to sand and restain the stock, and sanded the barrel from 120 down to 400 grit the pitting was so bad. 4. Once you get the colour you want, go outside to your oil container and fully quench your object into the oil!Note: I know a plastic container is Dont leave cold blue solutions around anywhere pets or kids could get at them. It is also used by machinists, to protect and beautify tools made for their own use. Ill go into parkerization later this week. The hot washing soda tank typically used in gunsmith shops is caustic washing soda, and if you leave the gun in long enough, youll start to see corrosion on the gun before you get to the blueing step. Interesting and informative as always. Large scale industrial hot bluing is often performed using a bluing furnace. Use a backing block of wood or even a Pink Pearl rubber eraser. Drop a piece of hot charcoal in it and it will burn in the absence of any atmosphere as the nitrate provides the oxygen for the reaction. Heres instructions from Mark Lee Supplies on using their Express Blue #1. Best Gun Bluing Its oiled in production to keep it from rusting on store shelves. Depending on what solution you use, the tank temperature must be maintained somewhere between 240 and 310 degrees Fahrenheit. Also thanks DG! The wire is extremely small in diameter, so you have to take that into consideration. At least one of the cold bluing solutions contains selenium dioxide. How to colour steel with heat (hot oil finish) is a simple but effective way of achieving a desired colour of choice.The colours are fantastic and often come out in a beautiful two-tone shine. At the end of this heating process the crucible is removed from the oven and positioned over a bath of water with air forced through a perforated coil in the bottom of the bath. "url": "https://shootingmystery.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/How-to-Blue-Stainless-Steel-in-5-Easy-Steps.jpg" % of people told us that this article helped them. Not blessed with a climate controlled safe. steel 2mm wire has a circumference of ~0.25in. OK, now with the sights out and the trigger group off, you can put on the rust/blue remover on the barrel/action. http://www.lowes.com/pd_188198-316-HG-66420_0__?productId=4764059 It is slow rust blueing. The easier of the two methods, hot bluing only requires some degreasing agent, a heating apparatus (a blow torch is perfect for this), and any kind of oil. Mea maxima culpa - and I left my comment up rather than delete the thread (for now) just so I could reply and admit the My Dumb, rather than skulk away cleanly >;-), Question Blued Pivot Steel Polish to at least 400 grit. Then you have to heat the metal. The reason I ask is that when you heat steel that is in the white to 600F, you get a brilliant blue all on its own. 2 years ago Quenching the steel rapidly cools it so the alloys inside harden together. It is slightly caustic, so be careful you dont leave it on the gun for long. "Rust bluing" and "fume bluing" provide the best rust and corrosion resistance as the process continually converts any metal that is capable of rusting into magnetite (Fe3O4). The color is not oxides, when steel is heated at relatively low heats (300-600 degrees Fahrenheit) it changes colors from light yellow to a deep blue, after 600 it turns back to a steel color. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. (Its Crystalline Potassium Nitrate 100%) $6.18 Black iron wire You will need black iron wire to tie around any object you This article received 28 testimonials and 92% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. Battery acid is childs play compared to blueing salts. COPYRIGHT 2021, THETRUTHABOUTGUNS.COM. This will remove all the traces of the bluing solution and other chemicals. tighter your arc, the less the heat input will be. 2023 All Rights Reserved by Shooting Mystery. An iron wire, stainless dipper, and part basket are required to handle the guns components and adjust the bluing solution as well. You heat the outside member only when you do a shrink fit.). Did you ever find out what oil they were using? Blue This article has been viewed 914,567 times. The bottom of the crucible is opened allowing the contents to drop into the rapidly bubbling water. When you add water to a hot salt tank, you get an explosion of steam, and you need to develop some skill in adding the water with a very fine copper pipe on your water hose to prevent steam blow-outs spattering salts all over you. I rarely use them. It is generally employed on smaller parts such as pins, screws, sights, etc. Many double-barreled shotguns are soft soldered (lead) or silver brazed together and many of the parts are attached by that method also. 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! Seriously, this is interesting and thank you for posting it, but I hope to never be in a position where I need to use either of these techniques! "author": "Christopher Graham", Commercial products are widely sold in small bottles for cold bluing firearms, and these products are primarily used by individual gun owners for implementing small touch-ups to a gun's finish, to prevent a small scratch from becoming a major source of rust on a gun over time. After the Civil War they switched to another process. Cooking off the more volatile hydrocarbons leaving the heavier ones produces a different effect yet again. I can't stress how important the degreasing step is! Use a coffee can or similarly shaped container as your quenching chamber. 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. Brownells has a product that will strip blueing and rust (Fe3O4 and Fe3O2, respectively) and not corrode the underlying steel.Remove the barrel & action from the stock. But since this was my first project, with an inexpensive kit as a learning tool, and as I intend to do this again with a much more expensive kit, my trials and errors and your voice of experience will be very useful the next time around. After that, slowly and steadily stir the solution in the tank to dissolve the salt. "https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6dwEQfHK1tk_ZeaA4PniOA/", 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. Cold blues will react with steel at room temperature, but you get more aggressive reactions when you heat the gun to, oh, 150 to 200F. Bluing only works on steel, cast iron, or stainless steel parts for protecting against corrosion because it changes iron into Fe3O4; it does not work on non-ferrous material. It is named after the blue-black appearance of the resulting protective finish. In comparison, rust, the red oxide of iron (Fe2O3), undergoes an extremely large volume change upon hydration; as a result, the oxide easily flakes off, causing the typical reddish rusting away of iron. 99. List Price: $18.64 $18.64. Were committed to providing the world with free how-to resources, and even $1 helps us in our mission. This heating forms the blue on the plate. "name": "Shooting Mystery", 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. This method was adopted by larger firearm companies for large scale, more economical bluing. Sometimes at this point, I come just a fraction away from the heat to go through colours a bit slower. Holy crap, did that reaction hurt like hell. Ill wait for and look forward to your article! Check out the video:https://hackaday.io/project/21947-makers-vise/log/60914-coloring-steel-with-magnetism. This will keep the bluing from adhering to the sharpened edge. This answer was tested with a utility knife blade and it drilled through with ease. "Cold" bluing is generally a selenium dioxide based compound that colours steel black, or more often a very dark grey. "https://www.reddit.com/user/theshootingmystery" For more information on using a blowtorch and protecting the steel, scroll down! While the rod may heat some by conduction, it wouldn't get hot enough to start the color-forming process. And thats about everything you need to know about stainless steel bluing. Make sure to check every nook and cranny of the components so that you can find any discoloration or blemishes. "image": { occasionally I'll buff it afterwards. 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 In this case cooking oil, rather than gun oil, acts to displace water and prevent rust. Some people might not have a tank long enough to contain a barreled action to boil out. 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. 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. "@type": "Organization", I wore latex gloves, as Brownells recommended, but used a pot holder to handle the hot barrel, and that may have been the source. They melt at, oh, somewhere about 280F. Usually they would pack the parts in crucibles and surround them with leather, wood, coal,bone etcThey would heat them up to 1200F to 1500F and hold them at this temp. This is as deadly as the lye-based hot salts, but more for the temperature of a large batch of salts. Metal parts that look black or blue-black are usually blued (rather than painted). Mix equal parts of cream and liquid Brownells Oxpho Blue. You can use a heat gun, a blow dryer, or a torch for this. Mea culpa. "@type": "ImageObject", "publisher": { How do I harden a steel hammer so that is lasts longer and is more durable? The tank of distilled water you heat with a camp stove, the kitchen stove (Im not responsible for marital discord and disruptions of conjugal relations) or some other much larger heat source to a boil. I have always wondered about storage in gun soft cases or the foamed Hard cases, and humid or dry, heat and cold. Hunter holds a BFA in Entertainment Design from the University of Wisconsin - Stout and a Minor in English Writing. Hardening will cause it to be more brittle, which could cause the hammer to chip and cause injury. Heating up a tank on the kitchen stove. Next wash your piece in your chosen degreaser for a minute or so to get rid of all grease/fingerprints that was on the metal. Keep a fire extinguisher near your workstation in case of a fire. - Ballachy", "Bluing of Steel by Heat Treatment: Why and How it Happens? With HSS you're looking for 2500-3000rpm, M35 or M42 cobalt bits 3000-3600rpm, and carbide 10k-12krpm. JUST DONT. Ive dealt with strong acids and strong bases in lab work, and I fear the strong bases more. Dont want to get any of the liquid on you its 700F. ", informative and did not use technical language and concepts that would have left me floundering and none the wiser. Shooting Mystery is an independent website that provides content for informational purposes only. In colloquial use, thin coatings of black oxide are often termed 'gun bluing', while heavier coatings are termed 'black oxide'. Dont drop or try to bend the steel once its removed. Historically, razor blades were often blued steel. You can improve your results by doing two things: 1. With a simple heating and quenching process, you can make your steel last for much longer! I can see my wife walking in and shaking her headabout as vigorously as when I asked if I could use the dishwasher to clean some tools. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 914,567 times. 4 Ways to Blue Steel - wikiHow This is a great time to point out that leaving guns in gun cases, especially the woolen/fleece cases, in the back of a closet, is one of the most sure-fire ways to rust the value completely out of a gun. What is your opinion of the 2 to 1 lye and potassium nitrate bluing solution? LOGIX 20910 Butane Torch, Cooking Torch, Torch for Creme Brulee, Refillable, 9.6 oz, Blue Steel . If you cant, just get them out of the case and allow air to circulate around them. Not only does it give you an alchemical feeling of satisfactionbut it also gives the metal a finish to stop corrosion. That means 50-60 revolutions to make a foot. 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. (NaOH from Ebay soap supplies). In the hot salt process, you will need, oh, four to six tanks, only one of which will be the heated blueing salts. When youre using hot blueing salts, youd better be on top of your game, or you can seriously injure yourself. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Then, you can put the components back into the bluing tank and increase the temperature until you see the blued steel. Thoroughly degrease the area to be reblued with acetone. When Im polishing on barrels, I polish lengthwise. You can also heat the oil to create different effects. Posted December 21, 2009. You will get it. My apologies for the background noise in the first half of the video We had compressors running where I had to shoot this This video shows how to blue steel parts using an oven or torch and quenching in oil This method is not the professional method using bluing salts but can be done in your home with a torch or if you have access to a high temperature oven This method will provide your parts some protection from corrosion and show how to achieve different colors in the steel by varying temperatures I am not a professional so please spare me the that s not hot bluing and other criticisms If you don t like it turn it off Hope this comes in handy for someone, How to take apart disassemble and put together assemble a 1911 pistol 1st method, Stevens 20 Gauge Break Action Shotgun Project - Part 4 Cold Bluing with Brownells Oxpho-Blue Creme, Van's Instant Gun Bluing - Removing Gun Rust, Cold bluing Steel blackening How to use Tifoo Black Devil - burnishing steel, Gun Bluing - Colt Official Police 38 Special, Vintage Screwdriver Cold Bluing Br nierung Restore No 2, Slow rust bluing O1 knife blades part two, Easy and Fast bluing touch up Presto Gun Blue Pen, DuraBlue Spray-on Bluing Aerosol Application Process Polished Version, Axe Restoration Part Two Bluing With Birchwood Casey Superblue, Birchwood Casey Aluminum Black Super Blue and Metal Work on a Tanfoglio TA22S, Gun Bluing using cold blue and heat Weihrauch HW35 E Restoration, Perma Blue Gun Blue Paste Birchwood Casey. The potassium nitrate will liquefy at around this temperature and blue your items at a relatively quick speed. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. Its nice when something can be re-used a time or two, especially when used in diversified ways. Great column, and thanks for all the responses to various questions and comments. Free shipping. These minerals (often calcium and magnesium compounds) tend to result in blotchy and uneven results. Copyright 2023 Flixsterz. That surface rust on the barrel could be polished off easily. The head is fixtured and and an arm holding the valve seat moves the the proper location. Usually, you can find the manufacturers recommended ratio in the product manual. The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. The practice of bluing steel takes time and an exquisite eye for detail. gas coverage is another big one. You turn up your nose at crap guns? Bluing is most commonly used by gun manufacturers, gunsmiths, and gun owners to improve the cosmetic appearance of and provide a measure of corrosion resistance to their firearms. If your barrel has heavier pitting, now were into filing to remove pitting, and thats something I cant teach people in mere text. A Garden Gun Cultivates a Newfound Fascination, AZ Judge Dan Slayton Refuses to Reduce $2m Bail in Flagstaff Campus Self Defense Case, State Judge Issues Order Blocking Enforcement of Illinois Firearms Ban Act Statewide, Protecting and Serving: Springfield, IL Police Seized Homeowners Gun After Investigating Her Report of a Prowler UPDATED, Chicagos Failed Mayor Lori Lightfoot Loses in Reelection EffortBadly, http://www.lowes.com/pd_188198-316-HG-66420_0__?productId=4764059, http://cdn.spectrumbrands.com/~/media/Spectracide/Files/MSDS/SpectracideStumpRemoverGranulesSDSApr15.ashx. So I buffed down the barrel with steel wool and started over heating the barrel in the oven before taking it outside to add the solution (which is nitric acid). 500F-600F is often all that is needed and the parts can be done over and over again you just have to clean between each attempt. Thank you all who had a part in the production of this important information! Free shipping for many products! If the solution is still boiling vigorously, then you can expect the bluing to happen naturally. All tip submissions are carefully reviewed before being published. The only way to do that is to heat it until the metal de-magnetises, quench it again, and then temper to the desired hardness. This crucible was heated to 730C (1,350F) for up to 6hours (the longer the heat was applied the thicker the case hardening). For the color change to be uniform you have to remove the grease, oil, paint etc or it looks blotchy. I am using bronze, is it for a polish? With. This process is also the only process safely used to re-blue vintage shotguns. A few safety items: Drill bits and gun barrels are common examples. Old school smiths use something called washing soda to strip oil off guns. Oil binds with the metal and prevent it from getting air/chemicals to corrode. SO, DG; unless I missed it, I am assuming the torch is used separate from heating the tank/ container with the boiling solution. We will verify and confirm your receipt within 3 working days from the date you upload it. Heating it again to a lower temperature will not introduce additional martensite. Heat the gun parts. Think big scars. I believe the change of color is due to a growing thickness of an oxide layer. However, oil may spill and create a fire hazard if the steel is put into the oil too quickly. I wish this article had come out sooner, since I did not know that 0000 steel wool may have oil in it. Now, using the information above, you should have little problem bluing your firearms on your own. Use ice cubes. just fyi, the old school method of case hardening steel is to get the piece so hot that a magnet will no longet stick to it and quickly quench it in used motor oil. Bluing is often a hobbyist endeavor, and there are many methods of bluing, and continuing debates about the relative efficacy of each method. on Step 1. This article was very, "I've been working with steel since I was a child, and reviewing these proper methods and skills makes my projects, "It surely educated me on several points. The parts are then boiled in distilled water, blown dry, then carded, as with rust bluing. Do NOT wipe/touch your metal with anything after degreasing as the whole purpose of cleaning was then for nothing. Right now I'm working on excavator replacement pins! *700F is very close to the heat treatment temperature of some steels. Besides those, you must also have water displacing oil and cleaning solution (Dicro-Clean 909). Wipe them down with WD-40 on a regular basis. How to Blue (Bluing) Steel Using Oven Or Torch and Oil Color case hardening is the predecessor of all metal coloring typically employed in the firearms industry. By signing up you are agreeing to receive emails according to our privacy policy. Both ingredients are super cheap. 2. 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. I can' If you havent done it before, wait until I mention some items about it. 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 . All blued parts still require oiling to prevent rust. Apply heat to your object and heat up gently and equally. If the sights need to be stripped & blued, follow the same procedure, but dont polish on them. Whats the difference between Brown Express and Blue Express? Soft, low-carbon steel was used, but strong materials were needed for the receivers of firearms. kitty litter (I would recommend the unused variety). $36.73. Your container should be relatively larger than your object. 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.. Dont mess with hot salts. "datePublished": "2022-03-27", Ive used this method in a pinch to make a tap from a cheap mild steel bolt to chase out galled female threads. Thanks for always being so willing to share, Sir. Red rust is Fe2O3, and is incomplete rust it will continue allowing the surface to corrode over time hence the oil or wax.
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