seeking advice on (do it yourself gun bluing)

[jsu]

I am not a gunsmith and i've never put any finish on any gun other than cammo paint. I recently aquired a llama 1911 that had some finish issues and previous owner painted it green. I was going to leave it like that till i shot the gun. It digested every peice of junk. 45acp ammo i had, and was pretty accurate. Any ideas on what kind o f paint removal and refinish job would be best for me to try? Thanks, i wouldn't try this on some other guns but i dont think i can hurt this one.

[para-frame]

How much do you want to put in to it? I did a BP Kentucky pistol kit with super blue (cold blue), as long as you follow the directions religiously, it turns out pretty good. A phosphate finish/parkerizing, while not being bluing per-say (of course nether is cold "bluing"), is pretty cheap to do at home too with good results (Here is a good run down of how to do it. (http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/edu52.htm)

As far as stripping the paint, depending on the type of paint, it can be as easy as spraying it with some brake cleaner, is that doesn't work try paint stripper, if that doesn't work you may need to break out the sand paper or find someone to sandblast it.

[stubshaft]

If you have a machine shop in the area then you could have them bead blast the metal parts and do the parkerized finish.

[fourarmed]

A good and reasonably durable finish can be applied by sand- or bead-blasting, and then putting on Brownell's OxphoBlue.

[leftiye]

Actually, Oxpho Blue in many cases will do fine. Different metals, contamination etc. can cause it to come off, but I use it on everything that needs it with acceptable results. Hot blue it ain't, but it's almost free which hot blue ain't. Technique do make a difference and I hear warming the metal helps. I put it on degreased metal, wipe it down and leave it. Several coatings may be necessary before it gets dark enough. Generally if it comes off it will stick the next time. Let it have some time to set in, don't oil it right away (until you have to). Bead blasting would make it much more durable.

[ilcop22]

Get the old paint off with Jasco Paint and Epoxy Remover.

Clean, degrease, and refinish with Oxpho blue.

I did this to remove the Duracoat I stupidly put on my 1911 a while back... Here it is after the fact:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/25736_517372017375_220400366_30999223_4185179_n.jp g

[jsu]

Get the old paint off with Jasco Paint and Epoxy Remover.

Clean, degrease, and refinish with Oxpho blue.

I did this to remove the Duracoat I stupidly put on my 1911 a while back... Here it is after the fact:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/25736_517372017375_220400366_30999223_4185179_n.jp g

Thanks for the advice, if mine turns out half that good i'll be happy. I think it was some kind of gun paint that he put on the gun but its not too good because its already coming off
So maybe the paint stripper will work and i won't have to locate s bead blaster

[John 242]

I tried Oxpho-blue on some steel deepwell sockets for practice and got mediocre results. Seeing the ilcop22's 1911 and how well it turned out leads me to believe that I need to experiment some more.

ilcop22, that Springfield looks great.

[ilcop22]

Thanks for the compliments, gents. I took the gun down to the white and applied a few coats of the blueing. Best tip I received was to "neutralize" the blueing between (and after) applications with a quality gun oil. I used the Hoppe's orange bottle stuff to great effect.

[Bill*]

Thanks for the compliments, gents. I took the gun down to the white and applied a few coats of the blueing. Best tip I received was to "neutralize" the blueing between (and after) applications with a quality gun oil. I used the Hoppe's orange bottle stuff to great effect.

You oiled it BETWEEN coats?

[FrankG]

The Oxpho does a super job when you bead blast first . It bites into metal better than if you have a super fine finish

Cheap Wally World oven cleaner works for stripping paint from steel but is rough on any aluminum .

[seagiant]

Hi,
Well....I think you guys are missing the boat here! If you can do that great a job with "cold blue" you could really have something if you learned to "slow rust blue"! I am fixing to do a Ruger Blackhawk that I have been working on,changing parts,trigger job ,ect,and I'll take some pics. All you need is a way to boil water.I use the burner that I render wheel weights with just a different pot.

It's not that hard and is prettier and tougher than even hot oxide blue and safer. Really a perfect way for homeshop people to go!

[ilcop22]

You oiled it BETWEEN coats?

Might have worded that oddly. Between applications, i.e. if I'm done for the day. If I did it after each coat, I'd run out of degreaser in one sitting. :bigsmyl2:

The other important thing to do is make sure you burnish with steel wool. Makes a big difference IMO.

[John 242]

Hi,
Well....I think you guys are missing the boat here! If you can do that great a job with "cold blue" you could really have something if you learned to "slow rust blue"! I am fixing to do a Ruger Blackhawk that I have been working on,changing parts,trigger job ,ect,and I'll take some pics. All you need is a way to boil water.I use the burner that I render wheel weights with just a different pot.

It's not that hard and is prettier and tougher than even hot oxide blue and safer. Really a perfect way for homeshop people to go!

I've had bad luck with the cold blues, so far, but I would really like to give the rust bluing a try.

When you get that Blackhawk done, maybe you cold start a thread on how it turned out. I'd love to see the pics.
Thanks,
John T.

[seagiant]

Hi,
Here's a link with some pics of a guy bluing a set of shotgun barrels. I'm working on my BH now and will show when finished.

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?t=153165&p=1250640