I sand only to 320 grit and by the time I am finished it is probably closer to 400 grit. Near the end, I only go one way and never stop inbetween.
I use Laurel Mountain Forge's Barrel Browner. I mainly do Damascus barrels and after the solution has turned the barrels a nice light orange, I remove them from the box and then card them off using the brown 3M Scotch Brite pads. I was using denim like El Garro used but like the Scotch Brite better.
I have found the for the best rusting, humidity should be 80% or higher, and to do that here in eastern Pa.,in the fall-winter months, I have to use a heat source to attain that. After the second coating I then put the barrels in a tank of boiling distilled water and leave for 5 minutes. Card again. Go through another process of rusting, carding and by this time I might dip the barrels in the etching solution for 5 seconds.
It all depends on what type of finish you want to achieve. On some of the old hammer guns, I only rust maybe 4-5 times with 1 or 2 etchings.
Dr. Gaddy mentioned in his process, to get a nice black color, he mixed in a solution of Logwood chips, used by trappers for blackening their traps. He mixed it in a container so that you could not see through it, and then put the barrels in it.
Last edited by JDW; 10/14/12 10:39 AM.
