Blacking or blueing 416 stainless questions

[Wolfer]

What is the best way to blacken/blue 416 stainless?

[waksupi]

I believe Brownell's has a chemical for that. There used to be a company in Florida that would do it. We had one done at the company for a customer, I definitely didn't like the look.

[deltaenterprizes]

One of the paint on coatings will work.

[Nobade]

Yep, Cerakote works great.

[muskeg13]

You didn't say if this is touch-up or something more extensive. I don't know if it will work for you, but I've used Birchwood Casey Aluminum Black to darken stainless steel. The finish turns out dark gray and isn't any more durable than cold blue, but it's cheap and is easy to remove if you're not satisfied.

[M-Tecs]

Melonite heat treatment.

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[Bmi48219]

Melonite heat treatment.

Is this the process that requires ‘breaking in’ a barrel by cleaning after each shot? I’ve heard of several manufacturers requiring the consumer adhere to this process as a condition of warranty.

[DonHowe]

I think Melonite is another name for black nitride. I have read that a nitride bore can take longer to break in as it is much harder after treatment
You did not state whether you refer to a barrel or barreled action. If just a barrel it's just send it out to be done. If it's a barrel mounted to a receiver and you hVe to pay to have it removed/replaced to nitride it then Cerrakote is probably more cost-effective as they can coat any part of an assembly.

I read somewhere that in late 60s when the USMC went to stainless barrels on sniper rifles in order to darken the barrels they plated the stainless with iron then parkerized. Thankfully we have come a long way since then and have much easier options!

[nicholst55]

Is this the process that requires ‘breaking in’ a barrel by cleaning after each shot? I’ve heard of several manufacturers requiring the consumer adhere to this process as a condition of warranty.

Some vendors specify to break the barrel in before treating it. They then have you clean it thoroughly, remove it, and send it in. Many people have had both barrels and actions treated, so that's also an option. Depending on the end application and my budget, I believe that I would go with Cerakote, personally. That, or high-temp spray paint.

FWIW, Bobby Tyler at Tyler Gun Works does what he calls bluing of stainless steel parts, and he also color case finishes some stainless parts. However, he doesn't advertise the bluing of stainless parts, only the color case.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

I closed my business in 2005. It was general gunsmithing, but about 80% was rebluing. So, since it's been 17 years my knowledge is probably obsolete, but at that time it was very difficult to blue stainless steel. I tried Brownell's stainless steel salts and the results were not what was advertised. About all I could manage to get was a dark gray color--dirty looking stainless instead of bright. I returned the product for a refund.

DonHowe (post #8, above) mentions iron plating on stainless parts. That is the case with a large number of Winchester '94 rifles in the 4-5 million serial number range that have receivers with a high nickel steel content. Winchester had them iron plated before bluing, and they look great until carried about with sweaty hands wrapped around the natural balance point of the rifle, causing the receivers to rust and need rebluing. When the gunsmith buffs the rust off the iron plating goes with it and the resulting reblue with standard salts usually is a shade of purple or splotchy at best as the then-exposed nickel steel won't blue well. The common solution at that time was to use baking lacquer, also (and still) available from Brownell's. This is paint applied with an air brush and then baked to a hard finish. It is pretty durable, and often a two tone effect was obtained with a matt finish receiver and polished blued barrel.

As far as I know successful darkening of stainless steel equals a coating of some sort, and not oxidation of the metal's surface. But, like I said, I'm not in the business any more. If a satisfactory process does exist you'll not likely find it available from a local gunsmith, and will have to send the work off to a specialist.

DG