case hardened lock - remove color?

[Sunkmanitu Tanka]

Hallo All!
I bought a gun (still has to be delivered) that has a case hardened lock. Is there a way to remove the color of that case hardening? File work? Some chemical that you can apply?
Thank you for your input! :hatsoff:

 

[Lorne Johnson]

The colors wear off slowly, but unevenly due to regular wear (from your skin and clothing). I imagine that you could buff it off with jeweler's rouge, and a buffing wheel of a drill or dremel tool.

If your gun is an original I would not recommend removing the case coloring. It is considered desirable aesthetically and as proof of good condition.

 

[dave_person]

HI,
Fine steel wool or fine woven abrasive pads (we call them Scotch Brite pads) will do the job. You will ruin files because the surface is hard and files are too coarse anyway. Avoid using a buffing wheel with abrasive because you risk rounding sharp corners and dishing out screw holes.

dave

 

[coloradoclyde]

Case hardening color is a form of bluing....and as such it help protect from rusting....removal will make it more prone to rusting.

 

[fleener]

It does not gake much to remove or dampen the color. There is a paste that is used for fine body work that i have used in the past to dampen the color of a piece that was repaired and re CC and i wanted to match the original color.

You might try rubbing tooth paste on it and let us know if that worked

Fleener

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

Case hardening color is a form of bluing....and as such it help protect from rusting....removal will make it more prone to rusting.

Not necessarily, the "colors" are a by-product of the hardening process, it is the actual hardening process that makes for a more rust resistant surface.

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

House hold toilet bowl cleaner will take the color off, just soak for a bit and then clean thoroughly. It'll take some polishing to get an "armory bright" finish.

Don't leave it unattended for long though as pitting could be an issue, also would not recommend any type of powered buffing device, it'll dish out the screw holes and round corners in short time, take your time and hand polish.

 

[smo]

Naval Jelly :idunno: I have never tried it on case hardened steel,but it will removing bluing PDQ! :thumbsup:

 

[dave_person]

Hi,
Many of you may just not be getting it. The original poster may want to erase the color because that is historically correct for the project he is intending. Colors are always a by product of case hardening. Sometimes they are bright and colorful, a fact that William Bailes observed in 1765 and decided would be a marketing feature. Sometimes they are more drab but the reason for case hardening is not colors but hardening carbon poor iron. Any case colors were likely polished off until it was recognized as a feature.

dave

 

[Zonie]

The colors are due to oxidation of the steel, just like heat bluing.

The color case colors are very thin and any product that will remove gun bluing will remove them.
It's a good idea to remove any oil from the surface before using anything to remove the color.

It might be noted that some companies spray a overcoat of clear lacquer over the colored areas to keep normal wear from removing it so, if bluing remover doesn't remove it, removing the lacquer from the surface could be the first step.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Case hardening color is a form of bluing....and as such it help protect from rusting....removal will make it more prone to rusting.

Not necessarily, the "colors" are a by-product of the hardening process, it is the actual hardening process that makes for a more rust resistant surface.

No!....Metal can also be flame colored for protective reasons without hardening the metal.....

 

[Lorne Johnson]

Case colors are produced during the hardening process, caused by impurities in the charcoal. For a long time the impurities have been selected and added to produce the result, and there are other hardened finishes such as "coin finish" or "French Gray" (a rather fancy name for the finish on hardened tools).

 

[don hepler]

It depends if it is real case hardened or case harden colored. A TC Hawken has a case colored lock, but the finish will come off easily, using scotchbrite pad.

Real case hardening is where the metal is heated and oil quenched and the properties of metal change color are a little deeper. I don't know how the TC process was done, but it comes off easy.

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

Case hardening color is a form of bluing....and as such it help protect from rusting....removal will make it more prone to rusting.

Not necessarily, the "colors" are a by-product of the hardening process, it is the actual hardening process that makes for a more rust resistant surface.

No!....Metal can also be flame colored for protective reasons without hardening the metal.....

You are correct, browning, bluing, fire bluing, and case "colors" do offer some rust prevention.

Also though, by hardening the surface of a mild steel article you are providing a measure of rust prevention over the same non case hardened article.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Also though, by hardening the surface of a mild steel article you are providing a measure of rust prevention over the same non case hardened article.

I don't disagree with that one bit.....it just wasn't the point I was making..... :wink: :v

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

gotcha :surrender:

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

Real case hardening is where the metal is heated and oil quenched and the properties of metal change color are a little deeper. I don't know how the TC process was done, but it comes off easy.

Of the dozen or so locks that I have finished they were all packed in charcoal and quenched in water, no oil was used, no issues with achieving a quality case and nothing broken.

Chambers, Davis, L&R, Caywood, have used the process on all of these makers' locks.

I use the process as described by Jerry Huddleston.

 

[eggwelder]

i`d remove it with a scotchbrite/abrasive plastic pad with a mild abrasive. hand polish with jewelers rouge or autosol if you want a bright finish or go thru your blueing /browning process as you will. i don`t like the case hardened colours on a lock or any other gun part. i wouldn`t touch it on a historical original, but on a TC, CVA, what have you, i`ll remove it in a heartbeat.

 

[jerrywh]

Lemon juice or vinegar will take it off as well.

 

[don hepler]

quenched in water....you are correct. :surrender: