hello all! I am enjoying the heck out of the forums and reading a ton and learning a BUNCH For that I say thank you!
I am in the midst of a couple refinish projects and have a cheapie kit waiting on me as well. My question is what would be an easy to obtain metal source to practice browning or blueing on before I actually try these techniques on my actual barrel? If I can get some steel to practice on whether it’s cold or hot I think it would go a long way towards success on my real barrels. Anybody have an idea for some metal to practice on?
You should be able to find flat strips of steel at your local hardware store. It often comes in 1/8" X 1/2" or 1/8" X 3/4" pieces that are 12" to 36" long.
Look for the bare, carbon steel strips that look rather dark gray in color. You do NOT want to use steel that has a "galvanized" surface because it has been coated with zinc. You also do not want anything that has been plated with another metal like nickle to make it shiny and weather resistant.
The store might also have carbon steel shafts that are 1/4" or so in diameter.
You do NOT want the small rods as they are usually made out of "music wire" which is a hardened, high alloy steel.
Needless to say, you also do not want anything made from stainless steel.
Almost all steel water pipe has been galvanized so if you use it remember, you MUST remove all traces of the stuff that is on the outside of the pipe.
The best way to remove the galvanized zinc coating is to thoroughly file it off with a flat file.
If you have access to a metal scrap yard, look for steel square tubing, round tubing, "angle iron" or flat stock. It will usually be rather rusty and that is a good indication that it will take the browning solution and do exactly what you want it to do. Browning is a controlled form of rusting.
Regardless of the shape of the carbon steel, you need to either file or sand the surface until it looks like a very clean steel part before you try any browning.
Something that people fail to mention is, because browning is a rusting process, any traces of oil on the surface can cause problems. Even though Laurel Mountain Browning solution says it will cut oil, I've found that totally degreasing the surfaces with something like "Disk Brake Cleaner" or denatured alcohol allows browning solutions of all types work better.
I even wear rubber gloves when handling a part that I' browning to keep the oils in my finger prints off of the part.
If you do some of this practicing and end up with some nicely browned steel you might want to buy some distilled water and try changing the brown rust to black rust commonly called "bluing".
To do this, before you apply any kind of oil to the surface, boil the part in some distilled water. After a short boil the brown rust will turn black.
When your done browning and carding off the loose rust, apply a light coat of oil and let the part rest overnight. The next day will show you the results of your work.
