Guest
I have a new siler lock. the finish is sand blasted...... if I brown it I will have a matt finish, the question is, should I polish the lock before browning? just wondering.
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I've done it both ways, as is and a 220 grit polish and both came out fine. Anything more than 220 grit for me yields a finish that is more difficult to "wet" w/ the solution. At any rate, the parting lines should be filed off. If the lock is polished, a nice fine matte finish can be obtained w/ the proper length of time between coats and carding.....Fred
Guest
I have my grandfathers shotgun and it has a smooth, polished finish that ie as brown as a Hershy bar. Is there any way to duplicate the finish?
Yo Dread: I have gotten that brown using one of the hot-brown solutions -- maybe Plum Brown from Birchwood Casey -- but you have to use a propane torch, temp is hard to get right, fumes can kill you and the finish can be uneven. But if done right (i.e., by someone with more patience and skill than I have) I suspect it will give a very nice, deep brown.
paulvallandigham
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I did my gun with Plum Brown, heating the barrel with a propane torch until it stayed hot enough to sizzle water thrown at it. I swabbed the solution on with a cotton swab held in plyers, in my open garage, staying at arm's length to save my lungs. You will get a yellow white scum on the metal as the finish is oxidizing, but if you keep putting more finish on, the color evens out, and just gets darker. I rinsed off the yellow stuff, then heated the barrel again and sparyed mine with WD40 oil. The oil burned and sizzled, too, but gave the brown an very dark tone. I let the barrel sit over night, so I could take a good look at it in the daylight the next day. I cleaned all the oil off, with alcohol, then heated it again, and repeated the treatment. I have a deep, Hershey chocolate brown set of barrels on my CVA kit Double Barrel Shotgun, that is quite impervious to scratches, it seems. I keep the barrels oiled, or covered in NL1000, ( wonder lube, or Bore butter by other names) and the finish looks as good today as it did when I finished it. I do think spraying the barrel after cleaning off the residue, and re heating the barrel again, with oil helped to not only darken the color but sink it deep into the pours of the metal. The heat opens the pores, and the oil burned the finish into them.
So, give it a try. Most people quit too soon. On my gun, I had some slag that got int the finish of the steel barrels that was absolutely invisible to the naked eye. At first it would not take the acid. So, I heated that area much hotter and swabbed on the solution. It finally took when I got that part of the barrel hot enough. Just keep passing that flame back and forth over the area you are working on, and don't try to heat the entire length of the barrel up all at once. My barrels are 28 inches, and I recall doing them basically in quarters, with half turns to the barrel to get around the entire barrel with the solution in stages. I will admit it looked pretty rough when I started, and I was concerned, but not panicking yet. I had some prior experience with working with metal finishes, and understood that what I was doing was applying an acid to " rust " the barrel's finish to a color that was consistent and the right tone I was seeking. Everyone who has seen my shotgun thinks the color is outstanding, and they are always surprised to learn I did it myself.
So, give it a try. Most people quit too soon. On my gun, I had some slag that got int the finish of the steel barrels that was absolutely invisible to the naked eye. At first it would not take the acid. So, I heated that area much hotter and swabbed on the solution. It finally took when I got that part of the barrel hot enough. Just keep passing that flame back and forth over the area you are working on, and don't try to heat the entire length of the barrel up all at once. My barrels are 28 inches, and I recall doing them basically in quarters, with half turns to the barrel to get around the entire barrel with the solution in stages. I will admit it looked pretty rough when I started, and I was concerned, but not panicking yet. I had some prior experience with working with metal finishes, and understood that what I was doing was applying an acid to " rust " the barrel's finish to a color that was consistent and the right tone I was seeking. Everyone who has seen my shotgun thinks the color is outstanding, and they are always surprised to learn I did it myself.
