cold bluing?

[Geezer in NH]

I like the liquid more than the cream as it does not leave the usual cold blue smell.

[ramhunter]

Heat the metal with a hair dryer [dont let the wife catch you] It does a much better job. and I have put on as much as 8 coats, polish well with cotton cloth. when you are happy with the color get some oil on it asap.

[DougGuy]

I use both liquid and cream Oxpho blue solutions mixed 50/50. I also clean parts in very hot soapy water and heat parts in a toaster oven until I cannot hold them in my hand, then apply the Oxpho with a q-tip or if it is a small part I just drop it in a small jar with enough bluing in the jar to cover the part. I get quite good results and like 44man said earlier, it won't hurt factory bluing at all. Don't know if it will discolor home bluing but the real deal hot tank bluing it won't mess with.

[Blackwater]

One more vote for Oxpho. I don't know the chemistry of it, but the results are significantly different than BC or any of the others I've seen. Not sure how great the rust resistance is, but it's way better than any other cold blue I've seen.

One other option for table top bluing is Mark Lee's Plum Brown, but it's a lot more involved than a straight cold blue. With the MLPB, if you rinse in boiling water, it'll turn the brown t a nice, tough, rust resistant blue/black, but most people quit as soon as they get a little color with this or the cold blues. Multiple coats are the "secret." Once you start getting color, keep going until you can't get any deeper finish, then rinse really well, let dry and coat with WD-40 to displace any water in the pores or any recesses you missed, and you should be good to go for quite a few years. The MLPB works best on whole guns, though, if you have occasion to need that. I really like the MLPB. It really does a good job that lasts and lasts. It's basically a version of the old process that Browning used to use on their Belgium made A-5's and Superposed, and everybody likes those finishes. But finishing is up to the individual doing the work, and as always, it's the metal prep that determines the final result. With MLPB, the finish is IN the metal as much as ON it, and that really helps against rust and it's also very wear resistant, MUCH moreso that cold bluing of any type.

[Huffmanite]

Blue Wonder from Brownells.... a little more labor intensive but better job on larger areas than Oxpho

In the past I've tried around six brands of cold blue. There are only two I'll bother to buy and use for a cold blue job. Its Blue Wonder and Oxpho (prefer its creme). Blue Wonder does cost more and agree with rmcc about it. Let me just add, I've seen a barreled action a gunsmith had used Oxpho on and it was much much nicer in appearance than any barrel or receiver I'd ever done with it, or blue wonder for that matter. He'd evidently bought Oxpho by the quart or gallon and used a tank to dunk the barreled action in it.

[w5pv]

I used a product called ShootersSolutions that worked quiet well for me I used it on one gun that turned out like a factory blue job.I prepared the metal to a 600 wet/dry grit finish on the metal,then kept the medal at a barely can touch heat as I applied the solution.I applied several coats and had to heat it and apply a good gun oil several time before I stopped the rust.Pretty labor intension but the results was good and well worth the work.

[oldred]

As I posted in touch-up blue thread.

I have had good luck with http://www.vansgunblue.com/

Vans is just a Selenic Acid based cold blue like many others out there, none of them including Vans is in the same class as Oxpho blue, Oxpho Blue is a different product and gives vastly superior results, especially in durability, compared to any blue concoction that relies on Selenic Acid as it's base ingredient.

[Clark]

For a given steel I may have to experiment to find what cold blue process works best if at all.
The products I have been using are:
1) Oxpho-Blue cold blue
2) Dicropan [liquid] cold blue
3) G96 [solid] cold blue
4) Simple Green [liquid] degreaser
5) Scotch Brite[green]
6) Motor oil [liquid]
Typically I will:
1) Degrease and then not touch with hands.
2) Rub on Dicropan for a dark but not durable blue
3) Degrease
4) Rub on Dicropan
5) Degrease
6) Put round objects in lathe, spin, and apply Oxpho blue with Scotch Brite while pressing hard enough to apply but not hard enough to remove too much.
7) Degrease
8) Put round objects in lathe, spin, and apply Oxpho blue with Scotch Brite while pressing hard enough to apply but not hard enough to remove too much.
9) Lightly coat with motor oil over the Oxpho blue.
10) Let stand over night to get darker.
11) Wipe off oil
The idea is that the Dicropan get into the micro grooves of the steel and rubbed off the micro ridges. The more durable but less dark Oxpho is then applied to the micro ridges.
The Dicropan or Oxpho Blue or G96 may not work on some steels, so trying different things in different orders is then best.

For a whole barrel, it works best to spin it slowly in the lathe while rubbing hard.