Brown over top of bluing

[don hepler]

Has anyone tried browning a barrel, that still has bluing on it? During the browning process, on a percussion gun, what do you put in the nipple threads to protect them? I was thinking a brass or stainless screw might work.

 

[Grizzly Adams]

Never heard of it being done. Not sure why one wouldn't take the time to strip the bluing off anyhow. As for plugging the nipple hole, a Teflon tape wrapped screw would seal it well.

 

[Dane]

You can brown clean ferrous metal. The bluing will prevent a consistent browning to develop.
You gotta get down to the metal for browning to work.

 

[don hepler]

I know I said barrel, but there are several little pieces, screws, thimbles, sights, trigger guard, etc. My question was, has anyone tried it. If all I need to do is degrease, why go to all the extra steps, with all the little parts, plus the barrel.

The reason I'm asking was, I "think" I remember reading an article about the browning process, and the gunsmith, indicated that he didn't think it was necessary to remove bluing. But, even he did not say he'd done it himself. But he mentioned that bluing was a rust process, and was neutralized before it had a chance to oxidize.

 

[Black Hand]

Just use Naval Jelly and the bluing will be gone in minutes. Rinse, then brown...

 

[tenngun]

Yes back in the 70s I had a navy arms Zouave. I thought it would look better browned. I rubbed it down with steel wool then applied brown. I had lots of patchs of blue left on. The end result was all brown, but where there was blue left the results darker then the surrounding brown. Very patchy. I polished down and repeated, but it never came out even. The results looked antique. It was my first and last attempt to defarb and make the gun look old.

 

[necchi]

Nah, it don't work so good.
It will perhaps if the blue is a copper wash perma-blue type, but a factory chemical bluing is actually a rust itself.
Like Black Hand already said the easiest is wiping it down with Naval Jelly and a rinse,, the stuff can be found at most Hardware, Fleetsupply or lumber yards in the section where they sell household paint.

 

[F.G. Ford]

Navel Jelly!
I've always been looking for it in the pharmacy stores :idunno: :hmm:
Fred

 

[garra]

I have also used white vinegar to remove bluing.

 

[Chevythunderman]

Toilet bowl cleaner will work also to get the bluing off. Works really well. Just remember to wear rubber gloves and do it somewhere that has good ventilation (not in the room under the kitchen where your wife will most definitely ask what in the world your doing)

 

[M. De Land]

I think you will be trying to blend two different kinds of oxides.
The bluing/blackening usually requires boiling to turn the rust colors blue.

 

[mooman76]

I used an old nipple and plugged it with RTV to seal the nipple hole. For the barrel I took and slightly oversized lead ball and tapped it in with a mallet just far enough it stuck good and tight.

 

[don hepler]

Okay, sounds like Naval Jelly is the easy way to do it. I guess Walley World would have some.

 

[necchi]

what do you put in the nipple threads to protect them?

After everything is clean and dry, I just put a tiny bit of oil on the threads, like a little on a toothpick, then run the toothpick on the threads.

 

[F.G. Ford]

Will that stuff remove navel lint?
Fred

 

[Zonie]

Being an acid, yes it will. Probably, it would remove more than most people would want removed. :hmm:

Seriously, the only time I would use Naval Jelly to remove existing bluing is if I wanted to end up with a slightly "frosted" looking surface.

It does eat the steel as well as the rust.

If I wanted to keep a smooth surface I would use one of the bluing removers like Birchwood Casey makes.
It is much less likely to etch the metal surface but it still does a good job of removing the bluing.

 

[fleener]

you did not mention what kind of bluing it is? rust bluing? or hot bluing?

I don't put anything in my nipple threads. No need. Just keep the solution out of the threads and you wont have any issues.

Hot bluing is easy to remove. Never tried to rust brown over rust blue. Should work. The only difference is you boil the parts to get the black color.

Fleener

 

[don hepler]

Okay, I'll let you guys in on what I'm doing. I am cutting a TC White Mt. Carbine down into a "Blanket" gun or pistol, or "Canoe" gun or whatever you want to call it. I want to remove the factory bluing, and brown the barrel, trigger guard, and etc. I made a steel butt plate, that I would like to have heavy etching and some worn patina. The lock will remain in the white due to the engraving, but case hardened look removed.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Has anyone tried browning a barrel, that still has bluing on it? During the browning process, on a percussion gun, what do you put in the nipple threads to protect them? I was thinking a brass or stainless screw might work.

I did it with success on a TC not-really-a-hawken-'hawken' barrel back in the 1970s. Worked just fine. Still have the barrel and it looks good. Don't recall what kind of browning I used. There were many home brewed products on the market then, I used one of those.