LMF browning process

[mikemeteor]

Started to rust brown my barrel (Green Mountain) today with LMF.
Wet sanded with 180.
Cleaned with brake cleaner.
Wiped down with denatured alcohol.
Wore gloves.

First coat of LMF pretty much went right to black, with a little coppering:

Wasn't sure if that was right - it sure didn't look like rust !
Rubbed that back with some de-oiled steel wool.

Second coat went immediately to black too:

Is this the way its supposed to look ?
Or am I doing something wrong ?
Guess I was expecting some reddish brown rust-colored scale.
It's fairly humid and about 70-degrees in the shop.

 

[rabjr]

Do you have the instructions? You need to barely wipe the formula on don't rub it.Or you'll get that copper color which you do not want.

 

[tg]

Swampy is right on with this one, follow the application instructions and don't worry about what it looks like untill you are done.

 

[mikemeteor]

yep - read the instructions - and all the tips here on this forum - about a dozen times.
Don't recall reading anything about the black, though, until after the boiling water treatment.
And I haven't done that.
Guess I'll just plow ahead and see what happens.
Worse comes to worse, sand it off.

 

[DTCoffin]

When I've done mine i wipe,not slop, it on with a cotton swab or whatever,set it on the bench and come back later, card it, wipe on another leave it till next day and repeat.in about 3 days i got a nice brown.

 

[rabjr]

You really need to use a sweet box. one can be made easy by cardboard. With a 40watt bulb inside on top and a bowl of water inside. I did two guns this way and both came out great. Once you stop the reaction, stop it from rusting, I heateded both my barrrels and rubbbed both down with a paste I made frome bear fat. I've never had a problem with either gun rusting to this day.
http://search.isp.netscape.com/nsi...est=1&remove_url=http://www.nimrodsplace.com/

 

[necchi]

Ya need more moisture,,tommorrow, "card" with a wet piece of course fabric, heavy denum or canvis. You can actually do this a couple times a day if ya want.

And just let time do it's thing,,don't worry about making errors with this stuff. If you don't like the results after a few days to a week, all the light rust and chemicals sand off and the barrel comes clean real easy.

 

[gmww]

What Swampy said. It does look like your using too much liquid. I can see the sheen in the screw hole on the right. I use a damp cleaning patch and wipe once top to bottom. The instructions are at the top of this section I believe.

 

[Rogue River]

When I brown a barrel I clamp a dowel abour 24 inches long in a vise vertical. I then slip a large wooden bead over the dowel for the muzzle to rest on. Slip the barrel over the dowel breech end straight up. I then make a small pad from a cotton T shirt and wet it with the solution. Starting at the top I just run the pad from top to bottom 1 flat at a time. Rub just top to bottom so the whole flat is wet NO back and forth rubbing. Just turn the barrel by the tang until all the flats are wet. Let sit over-nite and then card the barrel with a coarse cloth and repeat procedure. Depending on the humidity I'll do it 5 or 6 times or until I'm satisfied with the color.

When you are happy with the color wash barrel with baking soda to neutrilize the solution dry the barrel w/propane torch and soak w/WD40 and leave sit for a day or two.

If you are going to Rust Blue The barrel skip the above step until after the hot water treatment.
Any questions just give me a holler.

 

[bioprof]

The black color you got after the first coat is normal. It will change after you put on more coats.

I have had excellent results browning barrels in my bathroom. I hang the barrel from the tang and place a small humidifier in the room set on low. If you put on the first coat right after you've taken a hot shower, it will give you a good start on the browning. Just don't get any of the browning solution on the counter (don't ask me how I know). :redface:

 

[fitter]

Don't worry about the black. You don't want the copper color which comes from rubbing. Very hard to get rid of. I would start over and don't rub so hard you get the copper. You shouls have plenty of humidity there in PA this time of year so I don't think you need a sweat box. Ideal seems to be about 75% humidity.

 

[Zonie]

The black areas isn't really the browning. It is just the results of some of the chemical reactions caused by the solution biteing or etching the metal.

After it gets a good bite, with enough humidity it will start actually rusting the surface.

The red colored rust is just a flash rust that was caused by too much solution being applied. At this point in the game it doesn't really hurt anything but it would be just as well to rub it off with some course clean cloth.

I think time is the main thing that your barrel needs.
Unless the humidity is very high this process takes a while. A lot more than an hour or so.

The copper flash can cause some real problems.
Copper will protect the steel under it so that it will not rust. You should resand those areas where any copper shows. After sanding, reapply the solution and give it some time to work.

As the others have said, you should be applying a thin (not runny) coat of the solution. There may be areas that aren't covered but don't worry about them. It is better to just leave them alone than it is to try to recover them.
The solution will treat recovering the missed areas just like it will treat rubbing. It will produce copper flash.

As I say, don't worry about the missed areas. You will be applying the solution many times and the next coat will get the missed areas.
The coat after that will start to even things out and the coat after that will even things out even more. Before long, the entire barrel will be one even colored piece.

 

[tg]

A haur dryer or heat gun for removing paint are good ways to dry things out and avoid an open flame,caution is still needed as these puppies can burn ya to.

 

[Mulebrain]

That's right! Follow those instructions, and the result will be superb!

MB

 

[mikemeteor]

I'm gettin there now.... just gotta learn to relax a little and let the chemistry happen.
thanks for the words of wisdom.
couple more overnight coats this week.
then I'm going to boil it black and work most of it back off.

 

[gmww]

Looking good friend. Remember to use distilled water only.

 

[renoman]

I know this is an old post,but do you have a photo of the barrel after "boiling to black"
Im about to start putting together a fowler,and think I would like to lmf rust blue it.
I had thought you had to scald after each coat of browning solution.

 

[mikemeteor]

this was the "rough" boiled look, after one session of boiling water, prior to carding, rusting, and boiling a 2nd time.
The 2nd time made it deeper and blacker and more even.

you can sorta get the feel of my finished look on these - I rubbed mine back a little to look like wear on the high spots. Not sure I'd do that again.

 

[Zonie]

You really do not have to scald the part between coats. Just get the browning done and DO NOT APPLY OIL.
Then, scald it in boiling distilled water and the brown rust (ferric oxide) will be converted to black rust (ferro-ferric oxide) or "bluing" as it is often called.

 

[renoman]

Great photos meteorman,that is the finish Im goin to go for.
Scalding only after the browning is complete sounds much easyer than after each coat.
I guess I should play around with some scrap before I plunge in.
thanx