steel Very helpful! Depending on the manufacturers manual, youll have to prepare roughly 6 to 8 tanks to perform the bluing effectively and efficiently. Bluing is a process usually used by gun owners and firearms manufacturers to improve the aesthetic value of their weapons. Following the treatment in the bluing tank, relocate the components to a cold water tank. "@type": "ImageObject", How to Blue Bluing Steel Using Oven Or Torch and Oil Method It does provide good rust resistance, which is improved with oil. Great column, and thanks for all the responses to various questions and comments. I wish I had known more about the process, heating (I was working outside on a 60 degree day) I may have to check with my friend to see if it needs reblued again, Im sure he never shot it. The differing rate of cooling for each area produced a different color creating that rainbow effect. I have at least three cold blue solutions in my shop including Oxpho-blue, 44-40 and others. Degrease a pad of 0000 steel wool with acetone. If you cant, just get them out of the case and allow air to circulate around them. Life is good. Glad that there are folks like you around. When everything is set up, put on your protective gear and then get down to business. 1. It is always essential to remove all oils from metals you want to blue, even if the cold blueing solution claims you dont need to do so. This is all from memory so I might have left some stuff out. It is named after the blue-black appearance of the resulting protective finish. Thanks, 8 years ago Mea maxima culpa - and I left my comment up rather than delete the thread (for now) just so I could reply and admit the My Dumb, rather than skulk away cleanly >;-), Question There can be different layers you have to apply. Gas burners can usually do the job for this. Both refer to the same chemical process for providing true gun bluing.[1]. Can a softly tempered piece be re-tempered harder without going through the hardening procedure again? Any more advice is welcome SteelJunkee Joined May 6, 2018 Messages 891 Help 'blueing' with OA torch Rinse them in a cold water tank after. This article was very, "I've been working with steel since I was a child, and reviewing these proper methods and skills makes my projects, "It surely educated me on several points. If you need to use a blow torch, focus the flame tip on the area you want hardened. Mess. Add 5 lbs of regular table salt to the water. You want 0000 steel wool for carding between coats. Blue Bluing Steel for 6-8 hours. I thought there was something that could help improve the colors but wasnt sure until I came across this. The parts are then oiled and allowed to stand overnight. http://cdn.spectrumbrands.com/~/media/Spectracide/Files/MSDS/SpectracideStumpRemoverGranulesSDSApr15.ashx. blue steel 500F-600F is often all that is needed and the parts can be done over and over again you just have to clean between each attempt. The cross section and size of parts affect the outcome of the finish and time it takes to achieve. As mentioned, cold bluing can be done at room temperature with decent results. You can get a IR non-contact thermometer for less than $20 at Harbor Freight. How do I harden a steel hammer so that is lasts longer and is more durable? That would be a hot salt blueing mix. Usually, you can find the manufacturers recommended ratio in the product manual. After Battery acid is childs play compared to blueing salts. Approved. The process was to coat the gun parts in an acid solution, let the parts rust uniformly, then immerse the parts in boiling water to convert the red oxide Fe2O3 to black oxide Fe3O4, which forms a more protective, stable coating than the red oxide; the boiling water also removes any remaining residue from the applied acid solution (often nitric acid and hydrochloric acid diluted in water). The "turning blue" process has nothing to do with hardening of the steel, or its compression. I wouldnt use this bluing method for these items. Fume bluing is another process similar to rust bluing. -2x containers (one of them preferably being metal for the oil), -unleaded petrol/Acetone/Terpentine/Rubbing alcohol or any good degreaser, -metal object/s (I used mild steel, Please note this method should NOT be used on tempered/hardened steel as you will effect the properties of the metal). I now want to reverse the process so I can drill and tap the metal tip. Are you sure you want to heat the steel to 700F in that early step? Isn't the point of the acetone to degrease, why would i grease? Referring to the post that started all of this; Dyspeptic Gunsmith says: It will first turn gold, then orange, then red, purple, blue and then dark grey! Once you strip the blue & rust, then you can see what youre dealing with. You have a degreased gun, and now you need to get the metal hot enough that the reaction will oxidize the steel as much as possible. Dont leave cold blue solutions around anywhere pets or kids could get at them. When you add water to a hot salt tank, you get an explosion of steam, and you need to develop some skill in adding the water with a very fine copper pipe on your water hose to prevent steam blow-outs spattering salts all over you. Black oxide provides minimal protection against corrosion, unless also treated with a water-displacing oil to reduce wetting and galvanic action. For the chemical, the bluing solution should be either Oxynate No. I don't understand why you are submerging it in oil? If you have very light, fine pitting, you can polish this out. The part that is to race the other is heated normally up to about 220 especially if it is an aluminum casting like a cylinder head. As a small thank you, wed like to offer you a $30 gift card (valid at GoNift.com). 5. Above you can see some example pictures of the colour shades that can be achieved with this techniques.Have fun doing it! Ill go into parkerization later this week. Add in the 250F+ temperatures of the salts when they hit your skin, and youre both burned thermally and chemically in seconds. This finish allows them to be stored in high-moisture conditions, like sports bags, without rusting. While the rod may heat some by conduction, it wouldn't get hot enough to start the color-forming process. This method must not be used on critically heat-treated parts such as receivers, slides or springs. Question Blow torches only heat a small concentrated area. For the final step, we let the components cool down in water displacing oil. Acetone is also useful for de-greasing the barreled action. Its much cheaper anyways. The potassium nitrate will liquefy at around this temperature and blue your items at a relatively quick speed. When youre done, attach the thermometer to the tank and fire up the burner. Below is a link to a video I found on YouTube that shows the process. Dont pour water in to your bath! After that, slowly and steadily stir the solution in, Step 2: Process the components of the gun, Wait for 10 15 minutes and then take out the components. You want to be in the range of 600 to 650F. Should something happen, seek medical help right away. Its a good process, but it isnt a 1:1 replacement for blueing. RF: Expect a write-up from me on Rust blueing and parkerizing in the next couple of weeks. gas coverage is another big one. Im asking because theres a guy on YouTube recommending Brown Express first, then several layers of Blue over that. Very true. Put all the components into the tank and wait for 5 15 minutes. What I forgot to mention in all of this is a detail that seems mundane, but it critically important: Wear cotton gloves. Above you can see some example pictures of the colour shades that can be achieved with this techniques. Historically, razor blades were often blued steel. I can't stress how important the degreasing step is! WHERE or when would the torch get used? However, due to the unique qualities of stainless steel, you cant simply blue the material however way you like. I wish this article had come out sooner, since I did not know that 0000 steel wool may have oil in it. Just dont do it. Always wear goggles and gloves when operating a propane blow torch. You'll probably be fine following these instructions - you'll probably be OK driving home a little drunk, too. -A heat source. At the end of this heating process the crucible is removed from the oven and positioned over a bath of water with air forced through a perforated coil in the bottom of the bath. The bottom of the crucible is opened allowing the contents to drop into the rapidly bubbling water. Ships from and sold by Direct-Wholesale. "headline": "How to Blue Stainless Steel in 5 Easy Steps: Complete Guide", What did you use for polishing your pieces and Im guessing you polished then added the chemicals after?Thanks, Joe, Question Also, the results you indicate are typical of still having some oil on the gun. For most of the time, guns that utilize carbon steel components are the prime candidates for bluing but its totally possible to color stainless steel blue as well. You might be able to start at 320 grit. If wikiHow has helped you, please consider a small contribution to support us in helping more readers like you. You should note that the blue layer is rather delicate so dont treat it roughly. I dont use hot salt blueing because much of my work is on older double guns, which have ribs that are soft-soldered into place. The de-greasing you do directly affects the uniformity of the browning or blueing. Use Hot Bluing And Cold Bluing To Give Your Steel That Theres nothing wrong with your method, but is is very hazardous, especially to people who have never done anything like it before. Often it does provide an adequate cosmetic touch-up of a gun's finish when applied and additionally oiled on a regular basis. The content is not meant to be a replacement for professional service advice. The tempering reduces the amount of martensite and thus makes the steel softer. Theres nothing I see as super-dangerous about blueing other than trying to do hot salt blueing without all the correct safety equipment and precautions. Do this outside, so you can do this next part: Just whip the steel wool at arms length to extract the excess acetone. Never know when it will come in handy. Not blessed with a climate controlled safe. Safety is the number one priority so protect your body as much as possible. How to Blue Stainless Steel in 5 Easy Steps: Complete Guide Remember the oil is probably gonna release some smoke/fumes once the piece is quenched so as said before: please do this step in a well ventilated area. Many older browning and bluing formulas are based on corrosive solutions (necessary to cause metal to rust), and often contain cyanide or mercury salts solutions that are especially toxic to humans. You can then u. se a soft brush to gently remove all the residue of the cleaning solution on the components. You can reassemble the gun after. occasionally I'll buff it afterwards. I want to add rainbow color to safety razor blades that would be used again, how can I do this? For modern uses of black oxide, see, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "How To Remove Rust From A Gun Without Damaging Bluing? An ideal temperature is 180 degrees Fahrenheit but it also depends on the manual. So you will get a shinier finish. In literally 10 seconds on a buffing wheel incorrectly applied, I could screw that up to a point where it might take be eight+ hours of hand polishing to recover my prior results. But the article was very informative. Youll need some shop rolls, ranging from 180 to 400 grit (typical 4-packs are 180, 240, 320 and 400 grit, in 1, 1.5 or 2. The blueing salt bath will be at about 286 to 292F, and as it is bubbling away, it is losing water, and the boiling point of the solution keeps climbing.

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