After draw filing.....

Good morning and a Merry Christmas to you all that celebrate it. I was wondering how many of you builders polish the barrel after draw filing? I have never polished one but am thinking on doing it this time on my new Tennessee build. Advantages?

Hit it with sandpaper with increasing grit 200, 400, 1000, 2000, at this point it should be a dull sheen. Then switch to polishing compound for metal and buff it with a microfiber towel untill it is nice and shiny. Finally brown/blue it with steel bluing liquid as you like, go over it as many times as you prefer to get the darkness you want very lightly sand it in one pass with a high grit sandpaper in between wiping it with bluing liquid will give you a better result(that's what the instruction says). It's gonna be a lot of elbow grease, maybe you can use a random orbit sander, those are pretty cheap, even $30 can get you a basic one that can do that job. The advantage of a mirror polish is probably just easier to clean and better aesthetics, also less likely to rust.

Thank you. I am rust browning anyhow but maybe get a smoother finish. I've done quite a few barrels and did not polish and they turned out ok. Will polish this one on this build and see if it was worth it.

Check the instructions on your chosen browning/bluing solution. Here's what Laurel Mountain Forge has to say about their Browning solution:

Surface preparation of your parts is an important step before the actual application of Barrel Brown. In order to insure best results all surface defects and blemishes should be removed. For most browned firearms, sanding the barrel with 180 grit silicon carbide paper works well, depending on the smoothness desired. The smoother the surface is to start, the smoother the final finish will be. If a smoother finish is desired, sand the barrel and parts with succeedingly finer sandpaper, finishing up with 400 to 800 grit emery or silicon carbide paper.

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I've had the best luck getting the finish I want with the 180 they recommend.

Very good, thank you.

I sanded to 400 grit on the first barrel I browned it came out OK but not great. I stopped at 220 on the next one and was much happier with the end result than my first one.

Eric Krewson said:

I sanded to 400 grit on the first barrel I browned it came out OK but not great. I stopped at 220 on the next one and was much happier with the end result than my first one.

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Yeah, I went babybutt smooth on my first attempt and ended up sanding it back with coarser grit and starting over. Took FOREVER to brown, and even then it was mottled. Real straight forward with the recommended 180 grit and good, uniform results by the second or third treatment.

I might be the odd man out here. After draw filing, I go over it with 150 grit wrapped on my draw file. Wash it down with acetone wearing cotton gloves, then brown with Danglers.

HH

All sound advice, thank you.

I have changed how i prep ML barrels in the past few years. I no longer polish to a high gloss. I get close then blend with Scotchbrite pads. My professional firearms buffing wheels and polish-o-ray are only used on irregular shaped small parts.

I draw file with a very large mill file. I then use maroon Scotchbrite (Norton #74700). Then brown it (or blue) . The last one I LIGHLTY sand blasted with a gravity gun and Harbor freight blasting grit. Then maroon Scotchbrite. It turned out even better. The surface takes the brown much more evenly. The etching/rusting action of the browning chemical leaves a satin finish. IT does not come out rough.

Polishing to a mirror shine is a pointless waste of time. IT makes getting an even finish problematic. The high polish will not take the solution properly. Once you get it to happen it will be etched back to a satin by the browning chemical. I would never go finer than 320 grit. I agree that 150 grit is a good place to stop.

Frankly, If you can draw file properly and not leave gouges from metal pins in the file teeth, that is enough prep. The rusting action will even it out.

leverfred said:

Good morning and a Merry Christmas to you all that celebrate it. I was wondering how many of you builders polish the barrel after draw filing? I have never polished one but am thinking on doing it this time on my new Tennessee build. Advantages?

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I always draw file all eight flats and finish sand them to 320 and sometimes 400 grit. I then sand blast the entire barrel and follow that with glass beads. It leaves a perfect satin textured finish that receives the browning solution very evenly. It's a lot more work than some use but I much prefer it on half stock rifles as the forward barrel and under rib are in plain view. I may not finish this full stock flint gun past draw filing on the lower three flats as none of that shows.
I will how ever be using glass bedding to reinforce and make oil proof the tang,breech and lock mortise's in the stock. I like to fit the wood to metal as close as possible and then under neath remove wood angularly in the mortise to make room for a good glass bed foundation in these three areas. I use this technique a lot in my single shot, black powder cartridge guns, most of which are two piece stocked.

Draw filing done, went over it with 150 grit. I will post results when rust browned after I get the stock inletting done. Thanks for all the ideas and opinions.

I gave up on smooth browning. I polish to 220 then cold blue it. With use the blue will fade to a blue-gray color or can be steel wooled to the blue-gray with some bare metal on the corners. I like the used look better than an even generic brown. Another option would be to polish the browning back to let some bare metal show through.

I kinds like that idea as well! I am always willing to try something different.