Any rust protection from cold blue?

[tacotime]

I read once before that cold blue, like the Birchwood Perma Blue, offers no actual rust protection once done.

Correct?

Not even better than bare metal?

[ltxi]

correct...

[Pisgah]

Actually, it is also true for hot bluing, as well. And kept well-oiled, bare metal is as rust resistant as either.

[shawn mccarver]

Originally Posted by tacotime

I read once before that cold blue, like the Birchwood Perma Blue, offers no actual rust protection once done.

Correct?

Not even better than bare metal?

If there is any, it would be hard to tell.

[ltxi]

Originally Posted by Pisgah

Actually, it is also true for hot bluing, as well. And kept well-oiled, bare metal is as rust resistant as either.

True point. Blue is cosmetic. Bedside gun is a 3" M13 that got a bit wet unnoticed and developed some rust....'bout a quarter to half dollar size....on the left frame above and rear of the trigger. Cleaned it up, oiled it, and put refinish on my to do list. That was about six or seven years ago. Still happy if not pretty in our dry climate.

[murphydog]

Bluing is controlled rusting in a dark color; it's the red kind that causes an uproar . So, cold blue does protect the metal to an extent, from the red stuff.

[bobbyjack]

When I cold blue it is just to make that part to look like the rest of the

gun,after light sanding with artist scetch paper and degreasing .

Then many rounds of blueing and wiping the dryed grey residue off

WETWIPING then dry ,repeat untill the color looks the way I want it.

I then coat the piece in oil and forget about it(that is when the dark

color takes) it will look good as long as you keep it oiled.

And if the barrel had patina on it to start,it will return to patina again.

So yes even white steel with oil will prevent rust,but cold blue steel with

oil will help prevent rust also.

YMMV Bob

[1973Glenfield25]

I'm not a chemist, but this is how it was explained to me.

Iron, Fe, will oxidize (rust) when exposed to air. The red flakey rust is FeO3. 3 oxygen atoms attached to the iron atom. FeO3 molecules take up more space than Fe atoms so they can't fit in the original space and flake off the surface of the steel.

Blued steel is also oxidized iron but is FeO4. These molecules take up the same amount of space as the iron atoms. So they stay in place and protect the steel from further oxidation.

Let's hear from a chemist on this.

[Kelly Green]

I had an old Model 10 that was one ugly gun. I reblued it myself several years ago with cold blue, Perma Blue I believe it was. It looked great after I was done but the finish didn’t hold up well at all. It eventually looked worse than before I reworked it. If I ever have another gun that needs bluing, I’ll get a professional to do it the old fashioned way, hot blue.

[chief38]

I find that using cold blue on a working gun is mostly a temporary cosmetic thing and does little if anything to truly prevent rust. It is quite important to wash off all of the cold bluing and to stop the process (which is actually rust it self) then oil the newly blued area. If you are going to use the gun in a wet environment your newly blued area will more than likely be the first to rust again.

Chief38

[Mr Wonderful]

Originally Posted by tacotime

I read once before that cold blue, like the Birchwood Perma Blue, offers no actual rust protection once done.

Correct?

Not even better than bare metal?

I know this is an old thread, but that's not true at all.
I have a 870 I cold blued 10 years ago, and it's still rust free. I store it in the exact same place I stored when new, with the factory bluing, the factory bluing that produced small rust spots --the reason for me re bluing in the first place.

Had I only stripped the factory bluing, and sanded off the rust and left bare, I can assure you the gun would now be a rusted mess without the cold bluing.