DIY blueing?

I was gifted a Glenfield model 60 today in pieces.

This person decided he didn't like the blue steel so he sanded it all off so it would be "chrome"
Now its rusted and tore apart because he was going to fix the broken hammer.

My 15 year old son is going to tackle this as a fun project. We will get the missing and broken parts from Midway but I was wondering how he could re-blue the steel in a inexpensive way.

The cold blueing kits are simple and effective, though I only used them for razors and small gun parts. From what I understand cold blueing is not as durable as hot blueing.

The best DIY cold blue I have seen yet is PhosPho Blue (sp?) from Brownelles. The rest I have seen just didn't look good.

The Brownell stuff is Oxopho-Blue. It works well enough. Cold blue is not as durable as hot blue regardless of the brand.

Kentos said:

The cold blueing kits are simple and effective, though I only used them for razors and small gun parts. From what I understand cold blueing is not as durable as hot blueing.

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I buy the cold blue "Super Blue" from Walmart. However, I use it when I 'Hot Blue' It is very durable, and makes an excellent deep blue steel.

I go thru my progressions with the many grits of sandpaper until I can see my reflection in the barrel. I use Navy Jelly for crevices and small parts. Instead of following the cold blue directions, I fill a plastic trough with boiling water. Heat the barrel in the water and then pulling it out with small wooden dowel rods and hangers from the barrel openings.

Immediately blue the barrel let it sit for a few seconds, then back into the hot water to set the dye. Back out of the water, a quick dry off with shop towels and then a good rub down with 0000 steel wool, which brings the gloss.

I repeat this process at least 6-9 times depending on the depth of finish I am looking for. The blue takes like it was done at the manufacturer. Beautiful barrels.

Wrote this a while ago for an 870 shotgun... fun to do, cheap and not that hard. Bit more oiling needed than the modern coatings but still looking great after this much time.
http://www.rem870.com/2010/12/02/how-to-restore-a-shotgun-rust-bluing/

OkieStubble said:

I buy the cold blue "Super Blue" from Walmart. However, I use it when I 'Hot Blue' It is very durable, and makes an excellent deep blue steel.

I go thru my progressions with the many grits of sandpaper until I can see my reflection in the barrel. I use Navy Jelly for crevices and small parts. Instead of following the cold blue directions, I fill a plastic trough with boiling water. Heat the barrel in the water and then pulling it out with small wooden dowel rods and hangers from the barrel openings.

Immediately blue the barrel let it sit for a few seconds, then back into the hot water to set the dye. Back out of the water, a quick dry off with shop towels and then a good rub down with 0000 steel wool, which brings the gloss.

I repeat this process at least 6-9 times depending on the depth of finish I am looking for. The blue takes like it was done at the manufacturer. Beautiful barrels.

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This I have to try. Thanks!

Let me know how it goes.

ColtRevolver said:

The Brownell stuff is Oxopho-Blue. It works well enough. Cold blue is not as durable as hot blue regardless of the brand.

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Thanks, I couldn't remember the name. It's nice to know somebody understands what I'm talking about. Lol

TriggerMan said:

Thanks, I couldn't remember the name. It's nice to know somebody understands what I'm talking about. Lol

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Brownell's also have another called 44-40 which I like better, it seems to give a bluer blue.

One trick. Use clean cotton swabs or patches to apply the blue, Each time you go to get blue from the bottle use a fresh swab. That way you will not contaminate the solution from the products of the blueing reaction which take place immediately as the solution is swabbed onto the steel. Having the gun warm will give a faster reaction. Most products say to wash the metal being blued well between applications. It goes without saying to degrease the gun completely before applying blueing solution.

Some of the old very high grade blueing jobs were in fact done by a cold blueing process, where the solution was applied, I know not if by swabbing or immersion in the solution, then allowed to dry and actually rust,the rust removed by carding with a fine stiff brush, I do not know if fiber or metal bristles. The process was then repeated over and over until a depth or desired level of darkness was achieved.


I have no idea how this person sanded the gun, but on one of those less expensive guns you might consider finer and finer grades of wet/dry sandpaper, like use in automotive paint industry. On the barrel for the best look go around the barrel perpendicular to the length and do not allow any motion of the sandpaper to go in the direction of the length of the barrel. That way any sanding scratches will be around the circumference of the barrel and in my opinion gives a more finished look. THis type of sandpaper can be had in grades from 60 up to 5000 with 60 being very coarse for beginning sanding on wood, and 5000 being a near mirror finish grade.

Not knowing your guns condition, I would probably start with 400 then progress to 600, 800 1000 then 1200 grade grits

Of course you could go finer then use a powered cloth of felt polishing wheel and get a real mirror shine, but that's not really a good idea for a beginning project.

For a complete rifle without going with the hot process, I'd go with the old (original) processmof rust bluing used at the turn of the century. It is best with a non-mirror polish job and offers a more permanent finish. Although slower than cold bluing, it is a more uniform dark blue-black finish as seen on older pistols and rifles. Just look for rust bluing at any supplier like Midway or Brownells. There is also a gentleman on www.castboolits.gunloads.com that has a ho-made formula for cheap that folks are getting good results. This is the same process as used today on double barrel shotguns since the soldered barrels can't take the heat of the hot process.