Best way to age metal

[KenH]

I'm starting a new thread tol ask a question about ageing metal?

The Uberti parts I got for the 1876 have a new black looking finish. I'd like to remove the black finish and "age" the parts, make the new parts look more like the old patina on the existing rifle. I'm thinking just sand off finish using a fine sand paper - perhaps to an 800 grit finish? 400 grit? Then wipe down with vinegar and let sit a while. OR - perhaps FeCl solution? I use FeCl for etching Damascus for the pattern so have some on hand.

Comments and guidance please,

Ken H>

[c0wb0y84]

I've used a rust/blue remover and burchwood's plum brown to achieve a nice patina on an old single shot 12 ga.

[cwtebay]

I like to throw in the back of an old pickup on a few miles of bad dirt roads, flip it over repeat. Then shove it in a sweaty scabbard and ready ride 50ish miles. Throw it in a fleece gun case - repeat all above steps x3.

Or.... follow rust blueing instructions on midway and enjoy!

But... nothing says used gun like actually using the gun.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[leadeye]

Ferric Chloride sounds like a plan, I've used ferric nitrate to patina brass/bronze and a mix of that with hydrochloric acid to rust patine new galvanized metal. Lots of good patina formulas on the net.

[merlin101]

No idea about "ageing" the metal but instead of sanding it try Easy Off oven cleaner, it worked great for me on some AR parts.

[KenH]

Thanks for all the comments - I soaked in vinegar a few minutes and the new black finish came right off. Even at this point the metal looks better on rifle than the part with new black finish. I'll test a couple of ideas for finishes on some test metal and see how it turns out. I'm not really looking to refinish the whole gun - I like the "old" looking finish on the original.

Ken H>

[Winger Ed.]

If the parts aren't very big, put your next finish on them, and carry them around in your pocket for awhile.
They'll age & blend in with the original finish pretty quickly.

[stubshaft]

I use brass black to darken the steel and steel wool to simulate the worn areas.

[freakonaleash]

I do that sort of thing for a living. Sand all the blue off, 220 is as fine as you need to go or the brown won't take if it's too slick. Use any commercial browning solution and let it go way to far, don't sand between coats, just let it get knarly. Then sand down to metal and you'll have a nice pitted surface. Don't forget to kill the rust with baking soda or ammonia. here's a new gun I just finished up.272224272225272226

[bedbugbilly]

I was going to ask if the vinegar had any effect on the finish but saw that you posted that it took it right off.

What is the "patina" on the rifle itself - down to little or now finish and the metal taking on the usual gray appearance ? Or has the original finish gone from blue to brownish?

I have "antiqued" a number of cap and ball revolvers by stripping with vinegar, polishing with 600 or more grit and then growing with Plum Brown. Follow up with steel wool on high pints, wear points and they tunned out great but I would imagine that doing that would not match your time aged rifle finish.

I'm not a chemist - I will add this just for info. I browned the forged furniture, barrels nd lock on a flintlock Virginia style rifle I built many years ago by using muriatic acid - applying it with a brush on the polished parts and putting in a "sweat box" I made for the purpose. I tried it just to see how it would work and it did a good job. I had to keep track of it - card the parts during the rusting process and reapplying until I got what I wanted. I plugged both ends of the barrel with beeswax and removed when done. If I had not kept close watch though, I could have run the risk of getting pitting. When I got it to the point I wanted it I had to neutralize all the parts and IIRC, I scrubbed well with water/baking soda and submerged the parts in the solution for a period of time as well - then dried and applied coats of oil with fine steel wool. I stocked the rifle in walnut and aged it as well.

Maybe someone on here and tell me that knows their chemistry. I once bought a "trade knife" from a knife maker and the blade was "aged" - I would compare it to what the OP is probably trying to achieve - the look of a rifle or shotgun that the finish was worn off of and had seen a lot of use in the field through rain snow, etc. He claimed he "aged" the blades by using Chlorex bleach. Chemically feasible? If so, you might try it on an old part or piece of steel to see if it would give the look you're looking for.

[freakonaleash]

Yes, bleach works, I used to boil the parts in bleach all the time. The main problem is it looks like you boiled your parts in bleach, very distinctive once you have seen it.

[leadeye]

I do that sort of thing for a living. Sand all the blue off, 220 is as fine as you need to go or the brown won't take if it's too slick. Use any commercial browning solution and let it go way to far, don't sand between coats, just let it get knarly. Then sand down to metal and you'll have a nice pitted surface. Don't forget to kill the rust with baking soda or ammonia. here's a new gun I just finished up.272224272225272226

Nice looking work!

[KenH]

I do that sort of thing for a living. Sand all the blue off, 220 is as fine as you need to go or the brown won't take if it's too slick. Use any commercial browning solution and let it go way to far, don't sand between coats, just let it get knarly. Then sand down to metal and you'll have a nice pitted surface. Don't forget to kill the rust with baking soda or ammonia. here's a new gun I just finished up.
You did a really good job with that - really good. Your final finish is darn close to what my old rifle is.

I'll try to get a couple of decent photos of the finish on the barrel 'n action so ya'll can see what I need to match.

Thank all ya'll for suggestions - good ideas and I'll be working with these ideas. Today I made a pin for the rear of the breech bolt and fitted the Uberti loading gate (ladle) to the Uberti side plate, and had to grind some off the end of ladle so it would clear the body of the Winchester action.

Since ya'll seem so interested I'll try to do better with photos and keeping ya'll updated to progress with the project.

Ken H>

[Michael J. Spangler]

Use a wool dauber to apply a blotchy spotted coat of birch wood and Casey cold blue. Dab it on all over the metal.
Now dip the whole thing into Clorox bleach. Let it sit in there till the whole thing is covered in rust.
Rinse it off and scrub it down with 0000 steel wool.
Rinse it down. Dry and repeat.

I usually do this 3 times.

For some crazy reason I don’t have any pictures of my knives done this way on my phone. I’ll have to dig through the computer later for examples.

I found a poor quality picture in a text of one that I walked a friend through making.
Not the best example and poor lighting but you get the idea.

272276

[GregLaROCHE]

If you want things to look worn, try putting them in a tumbler if you have one.

[KenH]

Ya'll just keep coming up with good ideas on aging metal. Thanks a bunch. I "aged" the side plates and they do look better, but are too even in finish. The idea of daubing the cold blue is good and should help give the desired blotchy look. I do have a tumbler and that's also a good idea. I'm gathering ideas for finish to be explored more later. Now I'm spending more time fitting parts together.

Thanks again for all the help,
Ken H>

[10x]

I let my brother in law use the gun for a year.

[35 Whelen]

I do that sort of thing for a living. Sand all the blue off, 220 is as fine as you need to go or the brown won't take if it's too slick. Use any commercial browning solution and let it go way to far, don't sand between coats, just let it get knarly. Then sand down to metal and you'll have a nice pitted surface. Don't forget to kill the rust with baking soda or ammonia. here's a new gun I just finished up.272224272225272226

I love this and if I ever "age" another gun, I'll definitely try this method.

Several years ago I dabbled in "antique-ing" one of my revolvers. It was a 4 3/4" 44-40 Uberti that appeared to have been run really hard in CAS competition. So I fitted a .44 Special cylinder and began experimenting. Ultimately what I found that worked pretty good and was easy to use is slurry of hydrogen peroxide and table salt. Slather it on the metal and in no time you'll have a hideous looking orange bubbly mess all over the firearm. Let it sit a while, wipe it off and oil it, and you'll get something like this-

https://i.imgur.com/XsJPtGjl.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/nTBYbUQl.jpg

35W

[KenH]

35W, your results sure look good. YOu mixed a slurry of hydrogen peroxide and table salt - I've got that and will try a test piece and see how it works for me. As I said before, I'm not rushing into refinishing yet - just about got the Toggle Links made and fitted up thanks to Hootmix for his guidance with that phase of the project. Now I really need that finger lever.

[too many things]

TIME it has worked for me .

[35 Whelen]

TIME it has worked for me .

Time worked well on the H&R Topper I got in 1972, but some of us don't have another 45 years to wait for metal to age!

35W