cold bluing

Mods and Fixes by P-64 users...
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6x6pinz
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cold bluing

Post by 6x6pinz »

I have a Stevens 87A that is a good shooter but the bluing is a little thin and in places totally gone. The gun is just not worth sending out to get reblued so I was thinking of using a cold bluing product to dress it up a bit. I have a buddy who does woodworking and he is stripping and refinishing the wood.
I was hoping for some input on products that people have tried and had some success with along with any tips they might have.
Thanks
redfestiva
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cold bluing

Post by redfestiva »

I used Birchwood Casey cold blue kit with no experience on a revolver and it came out real nice. I bought a 3 bottle kit consisting of stripper, degreaser and bluing. When applying the blue,heat the gun metal up with a hair dryer to promote the chemical reaction. The cleaner you get the gun metal the better the results. Use steel wool with the stripper to remove stubborn original blue and rust.
justplainbill
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cold bluing

Post by justplainbill »

6x6pinz wrote:I have a Stevens 87A that is a good shooter but the bluing is a little thin and in places totally gone. The gun is just not worth sending out to get reblued so I was thinking of using a cold bluing product to dress it up a bit. I have a buddy who does woodworking and he is stripping and refinishing the wood.
I was hoping for some input on products that people have tried and had some success with along with any tips they might have.
Thanks
I use Oxpho Blue from Brownell's. No preparation needed except common sense. I haven't done a whole weapon with it but it is excellent for touch up. Holster wear, scratches, etc. The whole back of the grip frame on my Ruger MK III was bare and it fixed it so you almost can't find the difference between the old and new.
Wipe off the oil and grease with some 91% rubbing alcohol and use a Q-tip to rub on the clear lite blue liquid until you reach the desired shade of black then rub it down with some 0000 steel wool to blend it. If it's not black enough, just get the Q-tip and rub some more. If it is too black, get the 0000 steel wool and rub some more. After you are satisfied, rub on some Eezox and know one but you will know it is cold blue.

jpb
6x6pinz
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cold bluing

Post by 6x6pinz »

many thanks guys. The rifle is just a curio that I have had and wanted to make it look better. It has served me well over time and it was time to dress it up a bit.
doyle
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cold bluing

Post by doyle »

If you want to do the whole gun, you might want to try Belgian bluing. Go to Youtube and watch the Midway USA video on how to do it.

By the way, Youtube has a bunch of Midway gunsmithing videos. Very informative stuff.
6x6pinz
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cold bluing

Post by 6x6pinz »

well I finished the bluing and managed to get the rifle back together again, amazing how many parts there are to a simple rifle when it is broke down completely. The wood was refinished while I had it apart and looks good. I am still waiting for the trigger guard to come back from a friend of mine who is powder coating it. The butt plate needs some attention and will get to that this week. The bluing while a bunch of work turned out much better than I expected. After reading some of the post on different boards I was concerned about how it would look. As soon as I get the trigger guard and buttplate on I will take a few pics. I feel much more comfortable now trying my mauser which has about 2% of its bluing left.
justplainbill
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cold bluing

Post by justplainbill »

When you post the pix, tell us what you used and what the process was. Remember, cold blue doesn't provide the rust protection that hot blueing does so put a good rust preventive coating on it.

jpb
6x6pinz
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cold bluing

Post by 6x6pinz »

All the pieces are back and installed:) I used the Birchwood Casey cold blue 3 bottle kit. I did spend a large amount of time making sure that all the small surface pits were removed and the metal was polished clean. I used some steel wool with the stripper to get the tough spots. When applying the bluing I applied the bluing very liberally with the supplied daubers but used steel wool to work the bluing in and keep the finish even. I let it stand roughly 60 seconds between coatings, three total. If this were a show piece I think I would have done more like 6 applications to get the super dark finish. I don't know if heating the metal in between coatings would have helped but I know some recommend it. The kit comes with some rust protectant wipes which I used after bluing. I always rub down my guns with a very light coating of gun oil after each cleaning. As I live in the desert moisture for the plinking guns is not a problem and the oil coating should build up over time providing a rust proofing sufficient for the gun. This is not a daily or even a regular shooter for me just one that I wanted to dress up a bit.
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normsutton
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cold bluing

Post by normsutton »

6x6pinz


very well done , looks real good

NORM
NORMSUTTON@AOL.COM
N.R.A. LIFE MEMBER 1976

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6x6pinz
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cold bluing

Post by 6x6pinz »

well took it out for a real test. All worked very well and the heat from over 2500 rounds did not seem to change the color. I guess now it is time to do the mauser.
blinddog
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cold bluing

Post by blinddog »

Nice, real nice. I have an old Remingtom Mod.52 Speedmaster that could use some work. I now have a project!!! ;D
whgraham
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cold bluing

Post by whgraham »

It does look very nice.

I did two rifles recently with the Oxpho-blue paste formula, a JC Higgins .22, and my grandfather's Remington 12c. Both worked well. Metal prep was key.

Image

Working now on my first P64. It was 95% when I got, so it doesn't need much touch-up.
6x6pinz
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cold bluing

Post by 6x6pinz »

I just love the looks of the bolt action 22's. nice looking gun.
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