It has been my experience that bringing to temp and maintaining temp isolated from the atmosphere gives the colors much better longevity: i.e. in a bath of melted lead or nitre. Nitre is clear so the color changes can be seen.
This is very important to me.
I believe some form of oxidation takes place. I have tested all forms of metal finishes I've done over decades in actual field condition, anecdotal for sure but custom guns I've applied the finishes and done the actual field usage. Foremost my Hughes/Fox I've shot for nearly 25 years.
All my pics died with Photobucket. I've written columns with color pics in the past for Shooting Sportsman and they are in both of my Double Guns books. I use Brownell's Nitre Salts and helped them write the original instructions but asked to have my name removed from a procedure requiring 600*+.
I was not in on the final formulation but I know it is not pure saltpeter because it melts at a much lower temperature. Pure saltpeter melts at very close to 600*F.
I've used both "stump killer" and SA bat shit in the distant past and found each to be incredibly dirty.
Last edited by SDH-MT; 07/03/17 05:50 PM.
