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Beepy

32 Cal
Joined
Jun 10, 2020
Messages
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Sooooo ongoing with my iron/steel mounted 42 incher. It’s based a Lancaster pattern Pennsylvania stock. (40 cal shhhhhh don’t tell). I’m doing steel mountings, triggergaurd, buttplate, and such. Should these be browned, blued, polished? Any thoughts on the matter? BTW these steel parts are not as easy to work with as brass.... man my hands ache :)

also the stock is walnut if that matters
 
What do you like best?
Brown became more of a nineteenth century thing. Most old browned guns were not browned.
‘Rusetting’ was known and used in seventeenth century.
Blue too was old, common in well made guns. In the white was very common too, and good looking. Not very hard to care for.
Butt plates in the white are often hardest part to keep clean. Especially on a hunting gun that’s loaded in the rough.
To my eye white and brown look best, and blue just doesn’t look right, but that’s just over many years I thought blueing wrong before cr 1850... I was wrong on that.
However blue on an ml still looks wrong to me, I need to build a gun and blue it just to get used to it.
At the risk if BLM misunderstanding, I got to say, white looks right. And you can keep it protected in the field just as easy as a browned gun.
It is your gun and your the one who’s has to be pleased by it, all are correct though, Browning not as popular in the eighteenth century it was used, and all look good
 
I’m a huge fan of brownies. My rifle (mass produced) is blue, and it’s ok, but when I built my pistol kit I browned the barrel and love it, and will either do the same when I eventually commission a custom rifle, or would consider “in the white,” but I would need to know more about caring for one of those first. They do look nice in pictures, but if they require more frequent care in between shooting, that’s not on the bag for me personally, with my crazy/nuts work and family schedule.
 
They don’t. Wipe them down with naval jelly, then dry and oil. You have a light grey finish. Then an oil or grease like mink oil, pure lard tallow ect and it stays good. Clean in normal fashion, dry, oil easy peasy. If your going to be out in a rain a paste wax can be put on, but kept clean and oiled it’s just a feel good and not needed.
 
I guess it boils down to what look you like the best, I haven't rust blued a gun yet but have browned them in different shades and used cold blue and rubbed them back to gray.

Someone (know it all type) commented that I had over browned the mounts on my Tn rifle but I like the way it looks so it is a personal preference.

browned 001.JPG

squirrel rifle done 009.JPG
squirrel rifle done 008.JPG
 
Gray finishes are the least durable of any finish that you can out on a gun, it rubs off easily.

I grayed my fowler and no matter how much oil or Barricade I have on the barrel it still forms what I find to be a very pleasing patina over time. I like the look, this has formed over the last 5 years.

patina.JPG
 
A three year old white that’s been to events and trekked and hunted with it, take it to the range pretty often
And my TFC that’s been in the white over a decade
476AC528-455E-4092-85B9-338FD012155F.jpeg
D6655B46-70ED-4635-A1DD-B376200E876C.jpeg
1192D89A-CA50-40FF-91EE-FC68FAE65687.jpeg
A9F72887-4654-46AC-BC12-A431A5DB7A5B.jpeg
 
Any thoughts on helping it look like it’s got a decade of patina without waiting the decade? I have done some similar with vinegar on knives...
 
I guess it boils down to what look you like the best, I haven't rust blued a gun yet but have browned them in different shades and used cold blue and rubbed them back to gray.

Someone (know it all type) commented that I had over browned the mounts on my Tn rifle but I like the way it looks so it is a personal preference.

View attachment 53153
View attachment 53154View attachment 53156
That looks excellent to my eye. What did you use for browning solution?
 
I found a homemade solution online for browning brass, tried it on some steel, liked the results so I tripled the solution and patinaed my Pendersoli Kentucky barrel in it.

Kentucky barrel patina1.jpg


Kentucky barrel Patina 2.jpg


The base mix is:
1 cup hydrogen peroxide
2 oz distilled white vinegar
1/2 Tbsp salt (no iodine)
I tripled the mixture to soak the barrel in, plugged the muzzle and touch hole with wood. Used a very narrow box lined with plastic.
 
How long did you soak it?
Not long, maybe 10 - 15 minutes, might have been a little longer. If I remember correctly it turned very rust colored but most of that washed off under hot water. Rubbed it down with a soft cloth making sure everything was dry then hit it with WD 40, wiped that down and hit it again with Rem Oil. I checked the bore to make sure none got in, cleaned the bore anyway then oiled it.
 
The baseline is time. Unless you really really want it NOW, do the graying and simply let time do it's thing. It's going to rust on you (grayed finish) and you're going to have to hit it here and there with steel wool here and there. Give it 2-3-4 years and it will look more and more HC the longer you wait, and more you knock back rust.

I suggest you start a new gun after this one is done, and shoot it in the interim. By the time that one's done, the gray will have a different patina than what it had at first.
 
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