Ruger Blackhawk revamp & Rust Blue Questions

[Huntsman52]

I am in the process of customizing a used Ruger Blackhawk 357 convertible I purchased for a project. Had some cosmetic wear (slight rust spots, bluing wear etc..). I purchased a stainless steel grip frame pull off that I filed and fitted to the Blackhawk as well as fitted a set of unfinished Claro Walnut grips to match the grip frame. I have stripped the bluing vinegar / sanding, filed out some light pitting and finished sanding up to 400 grit followed by a green scotch brite pad. Next step is to rust blue the cylinders, frame and barrel. I have read all I can find online and stumbled across a tread where a person performed a rust blue on a AK-47 with a mixture of vinegar, peroxide and salt. Has anyone of y'all done a rust blue with this type of mixture and if so would you recommend it? If not I will forgo it and order some Laurel Mountain or similar. I would like to perform the rust blue with ingredients I have laying around, but if it does not perform well, I do not want to waste time.

I also polished the grip frame but not sure if that finish is where I want to go as I also have a stainless cartridge ejector and would want finishes to match. May be to much bling for my liking. So, was thinking of toning it down to a matt finish. Is there a good way to produce a matt finish on stainless that has been polished?

Will post before and after pics when I am done. Thanks in advance.

[waksupi]

The solution should work, as you just need a good oxidizer. As I have never used that mixture, I can't give an opinion.
Save yourself a headache, and go back over your parts with no finer than 320 sandpaper.

It's too bad Andy's Bluing Solution is no longer available here on the board, I LOVE that stuff!
That's a hint Andy, start making that again!

[LAGS]

The bluing method you mentioned Will Work.
But I found that it is too Quick and does not penetrate as well and as even as a Traditional Slow Rust Bluing method.
I did use the peroxide method on guns I wanted to finish more Quickly because they were low value guns that I just wanted to get them done and not put lot of hours in them.
They weren't around for long , so I can not comment on the durability of the finish.
But they looked good and way better than most Cold Bluing.
I Bead Blast or Light Sand blast Stainless Steel for a Mat Finish.
In fact , I did that on my Ruger SS Blackhawk and my S&W M -64 police Trade in.

[Huntsman52]

Thanks for the comments and input. I went ahead and ordered some Mark Lee express blue and will try that. Unfortunately I do not have a media blaster nor access to one. May pick up a cheap gun form harbor freight but not sure if my compressor will run it. If I cannot get a blast done then I will go back over with 320grit as suggested above.

The cylinder frame still has some bluing (in the machining crevices) that I cannot get out. Is 100% of all bluing required to perform a rust blue?

As for the stainless I polished to a mirror finish but then took a scotch brite pad to it last night and performed a uniform brushed look. Turned out looking good actually. If the the blaster works with my setup I may give it shot and see what it produces.

[Chill Wills]

Huntsman52, If you can, post pictures of your progress. I know a few of us would be interested to see how it goes.

I may try that mixture of vinegar, peroxide and salt on some mild steel scrap just to see the result. That may be good for some of the non-firearm related machine shop item I make that deserve a finish.

[LAGS]

I have both a HF bead blast Cabinet and Two of their hand held spot blasting guns.
They all work great.
I even picked up one they had that looks like an Air Brush for doing really fine work.
I tend to use the hand held guns more and don't bother to catch the blasting media when I prep barrels for slow rust bluing.
I have Two compressors , one from HF.
It is an 8 gallon one and will run the cup blasters if you take your time and let the pressure and air flow build up.
Just don't be in a big hurry.
My other compressor in the other shop is a big industrial one that I hardly ever use.
I use the Bead blasting Cabinet to get into really tight areas , but if you are patient , you do not have to remove All the bluing to slow rust.
But the Fast rust with the peroxide is harder to get you finish applied evenly as it is by hand with slow rust acid.
I generally Spray the peroxide mixture from a spray bottle rather than wiping it on.

[waksupi]

Thanks for the comments and input. I went ahead and ordered some Mark Lee express blue and will try that. Unfortunately I do not have a media blaster nor access to one. May pick up a cheap gun form harbor freight but not sure if my compressor will run it. If I cannot get a blast done then I will go back over with 320grit as suggested above.

The cylinder frame still has some bluing (in the machining crevices) that I cannot get out. Is 100% of all bluing required to perform a rust blue?

As for the stainless I polished to a mirror finish but then took a scotch brite pad to it last night and performed a uniform brushed look. Turned out looking good actually. If the the blaster works with my setup I may give it shot and see what it produces.

Get some muriatic acid, dip in an old toothbrush, the old blueing will come off easily. Be careful with it, use outside, and wear eye protection and rubber gloves. Rinse with water immediately after.

[LIMPINGJ]

http://www.rustblue.com/
Some good information here.

[Huntsman52]

Thanks for all the advise and help. I finally got the Blackhawk done this weekend. Glass bead blasted to a even texture and ended up using the Mark Lee Express Blue. Seemed to work well. The final color is more of a grey tone to the black/blue. When oiled it darkened up some. Ended up with some spots on the cylinder that is dark black and looked like flakes but I was able to blend them out some with steel wool when completed. Not sure what would cause that. Nothing special technique wise just followed the directions on the bottle. Did 10 cycles trying to get a darker color but this color was reached about cycle 4 or 5. Here are some before and after pics. Last 2 pics are in natural light. All in all a fun project.

[Texas by God]

That looks very good. It reminds me of long ago when one of my friends had access to a glass bead Blaster at his work. Every Single Six and Blackhawk in my circle of friends became two-toned like yours!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[maxfam]

Something I like to do with new model Blackhawks is to install Super Blackhawk hammers. The thumb spur is lower and the spur is wider. Ruger SBH hammers are available from Brownells and others. Price is very reasonable at around $35.

[Bazoo]

I like the two tone finish and want to do it to my SBH. I'm an odd duck as I don't care for the super blackhawk hammer and replaced my sbh's with a regular BH hammer.

[Tatume]

Very nicely done.

[Pressman]

Huntsman52, that looks very nice. The two tone is accented by the custom grips. I like the way you did this one.
Which is a reminder that I have two of them to work on, both need the cylinders re-blued.

I have found that I like the Bisley hammer better than the Super Blackhawk. It's a drop in, after you open up the notch in the grip frame. I have two done this way, though both wear scopes. One of them has a Bisley trigger also.

[contender85]

Nice work Huntsman52, that turned out really nice.