Bluing

What do you guys recommend for bluing a barrel? I was going to use BC bluing kit, is this a good choice?

I've used the Birchwood Casey and Brownell's Oxpho Blue to blue parts for modern rifles. I think they are the same stuff. Use the gream or gel type, don't mess with liquids.

I apply the solution with an acid brush, painting on a good coating, let it set a bit, then start agitating with the brush, stiring occasionally and repainting the stuff on the metal until the solution turns a bilious green. I clean it off following the instructions. Then, repeat the process until I've got a nice, dark uniform blue black color. It takes time, and patience, but you can get a very nice blue using cold bluing products. I suspect blueing a barrel with cold blue, using my method, would be no harder than trying to get a dark, even color on a barrel using Plum Brown, which I have found to be a bit of a challenge.

I have seen a lot of liquid kits BC, Hornedy (orange bottle), and some off brands.I did find some BC bluing paste, is this what you are talking about with the cream or gel? I cannot find anything locally, only pyrodex, no BP balls, all sabots, I have found some 10 and 11 perc. caps, but don't know what size I need. I want to finish the rifle then I'll ask what all I need.

Go to the top of the index page to this forum, and scroll down to the " Member Resources" section. Then scroll down to " articles, charts and links." Click on to " links. That will give you a list of suppliers. Click on them, one at a time, and look through their on-line catalogs. It will take some time. But, you will begin to find out prices, and who has what.

If you don't know what your gun needs- a nipple size, for instance-tell us the brand of the gun, and model, and generally someone here will know the correct size for that kind of thing.

But, IF YOU CALL these suppliers at their 800 numbers( free to you), they will know EXACTLY what size nipple your gun uses, and what size caps you need to buy. They deal with this stuff all the time, and they want to send you the correct accessories for your gun.

There is NO REASON for you to be trying to learn this kind of stuff at some mass market sports store. The Clerks there rarely know their hat from a hole in the wall, about any guns, much less traditional MLers.

Join the NMLRA. Find a Charter club near you, and meet the shooters there. They will happily help you learn not only all the answers to your questions, but will steer you to local dealers who have the kind of things you want, or need.

Mickman, the BC paste-type bluing solution is the kind to use or (a lttle) better yet try this:
http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=1108&title=OXPHO-BLUE~ CREME

Brownell's isn't known as a black powder outfit, but they do sell a lot of things useful to those who love the smell of smoke. You should get to know what they have to offer.

Avoid runny liquid cold blues for your barrel, they'll only cause splotching. They are hard to manage on a large surface. They are OK for small touch-ups, but not for a large scale bluing job, at least that's my opinion. I must admit I've never done a whole barrel with paste blueing agent. All those projects are on the back burner right now, as I refocus on muzzleloaders. However, I'm confident I can do it. I've done all the larger pieces of several rifles and had nothing but good results. They look as good as hot blue, and the finish is probably just as tough, if not tougher. I tested one rifle bolt after cold bluing it by scraping it with a knife. I had to work hard to get a scratch. Of course, it touched up easily enough using the same solution.

Approach the bluing of your barrel as you would any other work on a muzzle loader, with care and thought and patience, avoiding frustration, taking your time, don't give up and it will turn out all right.

And pay attention to those here who've had a lot more experience with muzzleloaders than I have. You'll get good advice.

Here's some good stuff......

http://www.bluewonder.us/

I've had good luck with Birchwood Casey "Perma Blue".
Birchwood Casey "Super Blue" is made for modern alloy steels and it will not work as well as Perma Blue. It also gives a much blacker look rather than the slightly blue look of Perma Blue.

I've also used Brawnell's Dicropan "IM" which in my opinion is slightly better than Perma Blue but not really worth the cost.

When all is said and done, all of these cold bluing methods that I have tried will more or less work but none of them will give the hard, wear resistant finish that most people want.

The only way to get that hard finish is to rust brown the metal and then apply pure boiling water to it before oiling.