I'll agree with that KYJon. Doug's formula could permit someone with far less talent to get a deep glossy blue-black finish. People gladly pay for commercial solutions that aren't half as good, no matter how carefully they are applied. I also noticed that a few British barrel Blackers had also developed ways to get a higher gloss that we were told was possible. That's what made me want to keep experimenting and searching for a better formula that hopefully wouldn't poison me or turn my shop into a toxic site. But it takes that attention to detail and the desire to do it right or not at all that is that intangible thing no one can sell. Doug shared many of those secrets, and even gave many of them to Tony to publish to support his wife and kids, but few people have the patience or talent to pull it off.
I've seen a ton of very deep and shiny hot blue jobs that looked like crap because some idiot shouldn't have been allowed anywhere near a buffing wheel. One was an 1895 Winchester in .30-06 that was only good as a shooter or a source of internal parts as far as I was concerned. Every visible surface of wood and metal was FUBARed. But I was stunned when it sold at a local auction for nearly $1800.00. Of course, there are fools who will think the case color job that is the subject of this thread is a thing of beauty too. It's the same mentality that thinks a vote for someone like Obama or Hillary Clinton isn't an anti-gun move.
I had to sneak that in there, 'cause it's true.
