I saved this article on case coloring a while back, you may find it interesting. Pete
To collectors and others who appreciate fine firearms, especially double shotguns and rifles, it is always exciting to see high-quality guns with pristine, or near pristine, case-hardening colors remaining intact. We are fortunate to see numerous photographs of these in every issue of this publication. Indeed, the percentage of remaining case colors is a major yardstick used in the determination of degree of original condition for firearms that were originally finished in this manner. I am, of course, referring only to bone charcoal color case-hardening as utilized by the craftsmen of the 19th and early 20th century and a small handful of purists today, and not the fairly recent cyanide pr
