Advise on Carbonia Blue touch -up.

[prettyvacant007]

Wht type of cold blue would you use to touch this S/W 10-6 up. According to this forum it is about a 1961/62 production and there is NO rust or no pitting on it but large area's near the end of the barrel is void of blue.What blue would I use to best touch up this mirror like blue?? Would you do it? Or leave it alone?

 

[Cpt. Obvious]

I'd leave it alone, it's honest wear, not the result of abuse.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

Yep...leave it be. Besides, cold blue smells bad.

 

[Vblackwell]

I agree. Leave it alone. I would never try to refinish a gun unless it was to far gone to hold ANY value.

 

[dfariswheel]

Cold blue has some problems that made me stop using it years ago for touch up of guns.

1. Due to the acids and other chemicals it can actually promote rust.

2. The chemicals cause blotches in the original finish around where it's used. These blotches are permanent and often make the scratch or wear look even more noticeable.

3. It usually turns brown rather quickly.

4. You can wipe it off with a rub of your thumb so durability.....isn't.

5. In no way is it going to come even close to matching the original blue.

My feeling considering the above problems, is to just live with the wear and scratches normal use bring, or have the gun totally refinished by a top refinisher service who can match the original finish.

 

[Warren Sear]

Absolutely leave it alone IMHO.

 

[twofish]

Honest patina is cool!!!

 

[old bear]

Clean it and apply a thin coat of wax, then shoot the wheels off it.

 

[Frizzman]

Ditto...I have a well worn but mechanically sound Detective Special made in 1940. It has very little blue left but it shoots fine and I just make sure to wipe it down after I carry it. I can tell you a real horror story...A family member had a commercial Colt M1905 .45 auto that was a family heirloom. It's finish was quite worn and it had about 70% of the original blue. A helpful neighbor offered to put it on his buffing wheel to remove that nasty old finish. He then cold blued it. It looked awful and the markings were nearly gone. I thought I might break down and cry when I saw it...Leave it alone!

 

[Frank46]

I have a used model 15 and it has a few nicks, chips and scratches on it. But you know what?? I'm leaving it that way. I can afford to have someone stone out the nicks and stuff but those markings are part of the guns history. Could have belonged to a young police officer just starting his career.Or belonged to another police officer who was marking the days until his retirement. Who Knows?. Frank

 

[Gunhacker]

Trust me... it will look way worse after trying to touch that up with a cold blue than leaving it alone, I've tried it once and regretted it big time.

It was once explained on the forum that cold and hot bluing are a different PH, one highly alkaline the other acidic, and where the edges of the two meet, it's like a battleground and the two will never blend, and you end up with a distinct border. I don't know if that all is true, but it sounds plausible, based on the results I've experienced.

Besides... your gun is no comparison to 'ol ugly here which I decided to leave as is... to me it rightfully earned all of it's character, why deny it it's history.

 

[Old Corp]

Have to agree with the concensus here. Recently picked up a c.1970 M15-3 that had obviously been a 'working gun' at some point. Mechanically perfect +.
Alot of finish wear in the expected places. Was undecided on touch-up until I ciphered on it some and decided that if I attempted that, that the appearance would be just that - a finish-worn gun that someone decided to 'fix'.

 

[larry8]

Well, I'm going against all the learned posters above, but I had a 10-11 with the same type wear. I used a cold blue after polishing the gun with Flitz and a wash with solvent. Then heated it up with a hair dryer and applied the blue to the barrel. It came out great, almost as dark as the original and no brownish color at all. Cannot rub it off even with 0000 steel wool. I'd do it again if/when I get another like worn gun.
I used Van's Instant Gun Blue that I got at a local gun show. This is the 3rd gun I did with like results on all of them.

 

[A10]

It's your gun so do as you wish. I have grown to appreciate guns with honest wear. They may never be collectors items but they're mine so who cares? If you want to apply cold blue, the best results I have heard of are by using the technique larry8 describes, and make sure the surface is completely clean of grease or oils. Regardless of what you decide to do, make sure you shoot the heck out of it!

 

[cgt4570]

The best luck I've had is in using several different quality cold blues in layers until it's dark enough. Still far from perfect but ok for covering the shine on a shooter.

 

[chief38]

I have tried many of the cold blues on the market and have never been fond of any as they are not really permanent. My first instinct is to leave your revolver as-is, or if it truly bothers you in the condition that it's in, then send it out to have it professionally hot blued. S&W would be my choice if you were to go that route.

The advise that the fellas posted above is sound, however being that S&W manufactured so many Model 10's I doubt that rebluing it would really make much of a difference (unless of course it is of historical value).

Chief38

 

[adowns]

Here's a Cheifs Special I bought on GunBroker for only $170 because of the lousy finish. I used Brownell's Oxpho-Blue. Before and after pictures are attached. I used Kroil to get rid of the rust before using the cold blue.

 

[Malysh]

Vans and Oxpho Blue (both cold bluing) are considered by many to be the best cold bluings. The gun must be degreased and the surface moderately heated (as in blow dryer) in order to get the best results. I have blended Oxpho Cold bluing very well to the existing border of factory bluing but it's no slam dunk the results will please you.

Specifically about carbonia bluing - to the best of my knowledge carbonia bluing was a finish that only Colt used in the pre WWII era. It wasn't used by Colt in the post war era. I don't think it was ever used by S&W. It would not be an appropriate finish for a pre or post war S&W revolver. Please correct me if I am wrong.

If I paid the $199 I see on that S&W's tag I wouldn't be considering sending it off to S&W for a refinish. It will cost more to get the gun refinished than the cost of the gun itself.
I'm with the members who advise just enjoying the gun with the honest finish wear it has.
There's nothing wrong with a well worn gun that functions fine. They have their own charm.

*Possible correction: Carbonia Blue may have also been used by S&W in the pre WWII era. My knowledge of S&W bluing is not as good as it is about Colt's pre war bluing. At any rate it would not be appropriate for the post war S&W you bought. Google the subject to see how Carbonia Bluing was done (if you are interested) - via coal ovens and later gas fired ovens. Traces of charcoal and whalebone were also used in the process to achieve the cast and color of the finish.