doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Rust Bluing ,I have a question.

I have a question about rust bluing.I have reblued about half a dozen double barrels so far and have had good results.I have used brownells classic rust blue.I like it it.I get a nice deep black color with a mat finish.I polish the barrels to a 400 grit.My question is how do i get a more shinny finish.I have seen some barrels that have a more of a gloss finish.not a hot blue finish.That is easy to spot.I am talking about a rust bluing.Does the brand of rust bluing matter,and should i take my polish to a higher grit.

Taking the bbls to a higher polish gives a gloss finish, however most of us prefer no more than a 400 grit polish and a semi mat finish

pawnbroker,
It has been my experience that different solutions can give a finer finish than others. I've not tried it, but have heard that Brownell's Classic stuff is fairly aggressive. Pilkington's tends to yield a finer finish than Laurel Mt., etc. So you might try a different solution. You might also try diluting any solution with distilled water in order to weaken it. If you want a finer finish, you should dilute whatever you're using, slightly, as you progress anyway. Rust a few times, then dilute by 1/4th, then drop to 1/2. Something along those lines. If you watch closely, you'll discover that most of the matt finish appears in the last few rustings. These need to be lighter if you don't wish that effect.
You can polish to a finer grit if you wish, but I don't think much beyond 400 does anything for you.
Luck,
Jim

I think you can and should polish to a much finer grit. I polish to 800. I dilute my solution (usually from http://www.winrest.com or Pilkingtons), and I use sorter periods between coats for a finer finish.

Brent

Anything more than 400 is a waiste.JMHO!

I can't locate my copy of Angiers "Firearm Blueing and Browning" but I recall different recipies for solutions being described as having more or less "bite". The formulas I have used call for dilution with distilled H2O and increasing the amount does lessen the agressiveness. Shorter rusting times and lower humidity also help. A finer polish is a waste if your solution is agressive, but will help with a formula that produces extremely fine grained rust. The latter seem to take more applications to get a deep blue, at least with the formulas I've tried. My very first attempt for practice was on an H&R 922 revolver that I hand polished as fine as any pre-war Colt. My home brewed solution made it look bead blasted. Live and learn.

You can get a brighter, shinny finish by hot rust blueing instead of cold rust blueing if you use the right techniques. Any cold rust method takes a while for the rust to form. All of that time the solution is on the surface of the steel etching it. Some more than others, but even in an artificial enviornment to promote quicker rust forming, it also promotes the etching effect. Give hot rust blueing a try. Hot rust finish has the advantage of less time on the surface to produce rust, so less time the solution has to etch it. Less foregiving than cold rust to get an even finish though.

what is the right way to hot rust blue.not sure i know the difference.

brentd gave very good advice for a higher luster finish. Polish to a finer grit and rust a very short period of time. I like pilkingtons as it is easy to use.
steve

Kutter: Would hot rust bluing be done with a product like Mark Lee where you apply it after heating. I use that on small parts but always wondered about getting (and holding) even heat on barrels. thanks.