Please forgive my ignorance on this, as I am not a barrel browner and don't have the know how to do it properly. But, I do enjoy creative experimenting and sticking my toes in places they probably shouldn't go. So, I was experimenting with Mark Lee's browning solution yesterday, and after applying 8-10 coats using heat in between and carding with steel wool, and then boiling with a bit of logwood chips, the barrels came out a beautiful more or less solid black color, with dark purplish plum undertones. These were damascus barrels, but I'm curious if this process has ever been used to blacken steel barrels as a standard process? The color really looks marvelous on a gun with dark colored wood, and I see no real downside compared to traditional rust bluing, other than a slight difference in color. Just wondering if this is a viable alternative, or am I just being a contrarian {again} and there is a downside I'm not aware of?
