cold bluing?

[Mica_Hiebert]

Who makes they best cold bluing? I tried Birchwood Casey's liquid and I've tried some gel of my brother in laws but I don't remember what brand and both gave kind of a light grey finish that I am not happy with.

[RKJ]

Try Oxpho blue from Brownells http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/metal-prep-coloring/metal-bluing/liquid-cold-bluing-chemicals/oxpho-blue--prod1072.aspx It does a very good job and is easy to use.

[Mica_Hiebert]

Sounds pretty good from the product description. Thank you.

[zubrato]

I've found that oxpho blue is indeed the best, but depending on metal and your metal prep it can range from a deep black to a greyish color.
I've tried a few different cold bluing agents, and while some were more "blue" like the birch wood casey, they not only offered no rust protection they actually rusted the metal even further.
The only cold blue I would trust is oxpho, and even then only with diligent surface prep to include sanding to find the surface finish and luster you desire. The end product is 80% how much surface prep was done beforehand, and 20% is how you put it on.

I would highly recommend cold bluing random **** in your reloading room before you touch it to a rifle or pistol that means anything to you.

By far the most difficult part of cold bluing if everything else is perfect, is consistency and depth of bluing across a larger surface area.

Regards,
zubrato

[knifemaker]

I have had excellent results using Oxpho blue from Brownells. Will give a good deep black color. Wipe the gun down with acetone or denatured alcohol for best results. I also use a heat gun to preheat the steel to about 120-130 degrees and apply the Oxpho blue with a clean cotton pad. If needed wipe down with #0000 steel wool to blend color and apply another coat if needed. I did a entire rifle one time just to see how it turned out. Came out perfect and several friends thought it was a hot blue finish. If you do not have a heat gun, use your wife's hair dryer.

[Mica_Hiebert]

So far I have tried a piece of steel tubing and a ar15 bbl that Bubba accidently did some custom Dremel engraving on, prepped with 600 grit and acetone rinsed with water and applied with a cotton ball. Neither of those projects need the best finish but where poor enough I don't want to use it on the blackhawk I plan to spiffy up.

[Iowa Fox]

I like Vans, have had good luck with it over the years. Used to see the guy selling it at the gun shows around but have not seen him for years now.

[jason280]

I've had terrible results with most of the cold blue solutions on the market, but I have never tried the Oxpho stuff...may have to give it a chance.

[gnoahhh]

Oxpho blue is your friend. I like it so much that I blued an entire gun on a dare with it, and it turned out swell. Several years of hard use and it looks as good as it did initially. I wouldn't necessarily recommend doing that, but...

[44man]

Oxpho blue for sure. It will not harm other blueing like touch up blue that will remove original blue.

[GabbyM]

I've used Oxpho Blue for several years. I blue entire replacement barrels with it. For my personal rifles. I just buy short chambered carbon steel barrels in the white. Two applications. Leave set overnight. In the morning blotches have disappeared. Polish with paper towel or 0000 steel wool. One more application. Next day they look just like a new Remington. Wet patch the bore with Lee Allox in case any chemical gets in. I wear blue gloves to prevent fingerprints. Just wet a few bore patches and wipe in on. Does not have the rust protection of a true hot tank blue. But for heavy varmint rifles that don't get more than fifty feet from a car. I've never had one rust. 243 Ackley wears from the inside out. Carbon steel resist the heat longer so they last longer than a SS barrel.

Have done a few old rusty revolvers with Oxpho blue. Just polish them with 0000 wool and Ed's Red cleaner. Clean off with residue free solvent then apply bluing. Polish with a paper towel. Takes a few applications. Polish then apply again. Let set over night and do it again. The more applications the more shine you get. In my limited experience. About four and you stop getting any return.

[pietro]

.

It most times doesn't matter which cold blue is used; IMO, how it's applied matters more.


I've gotten the best results after a thorough chemical de-greasing of the area/part to be cold blues, then heating the metal (not so much that the metal can't be handheld) prior to applying the bluing solution with a clean cotton patch or tissue paper.


Post cold bluing rust is usually stopped by a water rinse followed with a good oil.



.

[oldred]

In the case of Oxpho Blue it makes a big difference! Oxpho is way different than the other Selenic Acid based blues and is in a class by itself, BirchWood Casy, Van's, etc are all simple Selenic Acid formulas that aren't very durable at all and are very finicky about surface prep. I am not sure what all makes up Oxpho Blue and it too likely contains some Selenic Acid but it's still different than the others, it applies differently and in fact can even be applied directly over oil (Try that with any of the others!) and builds up a darker blue gradually as it's rubbed repeatedly, when finished it's waaaaay more durable than any of the others. Still it's no real substitute for a hot or rust blue but for cold bluing nothing else on the market even comes close!

[Shawlerbrook]

Another one that had good cold blue results from oxypho . Like said above, surface prep, smooth application with clean cotton applicator and Heat are key. After polish with oil free #0000 steel wool and then brown paper towels and Kroil.

[rmcc]

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

[Geezer in NH]

As I posted in touch-up blue thread.

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

[MtGun44]

T4 from Brownells works well. I heat small parts to a couple hundred degrees
with a heat gun or propane torch and put on T4 with a Q tip, as it sizzles. A couple
applications of heat and then T4 gets a good color.

Cool off and oil immediately.

Bill

[Etienne Brule]

Which Oxpho Blue is best:

Liquid OR Cream ??

Gerald

[Mica_Hiebert]

I ordered some oxpho creme, Ill let every one know how it turns out.

[seaboltm]

Oxpho cream by far the best cold blue. For an even better look, rust bluing but you have to be able to boil the parts.

[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 (http://www.avantlink.com/click.php?tt=cl&mi=10077&pw=8707&ctc=BrownellOxpho&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.brownells.com%2F.aspx%2Fpid%3 D1108%2FProduct%2FOXPHO_BLUE_reg__CREME) cold blue
2) Dicropan http://www.avantlink.com/tpv/10077/0/7091/8707/15174brownellDicropan/cl/image.png (http://www.avantlink.com/click.php?tt=cl&mi=10077&pw=8707&ctc=15174brownellDicropan&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.brownells.com%2Faspx%2FNS%2Fs tore%2FProductDetail.aspx%3Fp%3D1085%26title%3DDIC ROPAN%2520T-4%7E) [liquid] cold blue
3) G96 (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00019MJ6S/?tag=finishingcominc) [solid] cold blue
4) Simple Green (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00094GMMC/ref=nosim?tag=finishingcominc) [liquid] degreaser
5) Scotch Brite (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0044DCRF0/ref=nosim?tag=finishingcominc) [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.