Cold reblueing

[iouri]

What's the secret ? So, I've decided to reblue PA-63 slide; watched youtube videos, degreased with denaturated alcohol. Stripped old bluing, steel wool 000, degrease again. Apply cold blue (Birchwood), wait, rinse, light steel wool (all the steps from instruction on the bottle) and all blueing is gone It just doesn't stick at all... What am I missing ?

 

[GtownGeorge]

This past weekend I used the BC cold bluing stuff and it worked OK, sorta. the pistol I am doing is a *** 50's 22. The side plate is a different material and it took several applications B4 the color started to show up. Keep at it, it should finally kick in.

 

[Jinglebob]

I used Birchwood Casey Perma Blue on a Model 10 barrel that had considerable exterior rust. It looked pretty good when I was finished but the blue didn’t hold up well. The only blue worth doing is hot blue but that’s way out of my league.

 

[BigBill]

Clean the area to be blued with rubbing alcohol. Now take a hair dryer and heat the area to be blued. I apply the cold blue then while it's wet rub it in with 0000 steelwool. Repeat till the depthness of the bluing meets your needs.

 

[2152hq]

The cold blue products work to a degree, but never quite achieve the look of a rust blue or hot salt blue.
You can get a nice look on smaller parts at times and have some success on larger pieces,,frames, bbls, ect.,,but it's usually pretty easy to tell it's been cold blued.

Some cause nasty after-rust if you don't rinse them well. A few will not.
Stannic acid is the main component of many cold blues. It has a distinct odor even after application and can be detected on touch up jobs.

I'd say more damage to blue finishes is done with cold bluing touch up soln's than is accomplished with them.
OK for what they were originally inended for,,the tiny scratch in the bottom of a screw slot or a nick in the edge of of a sight blade type of repair.

Trying to do entire guns with them can give OK results if nothing else is available.
A cold (slow) rust blue finish is really not all that difficult to do and is many times better looking and more durable. Easy and cheap to accomplish too if you don't charge for your own time.

Just my .02

 

[Rule3]

Is the slide carbon steel or stainless steel. Cold Blue will not work on Stainless.

I believe the frame of those pistols is alloy but not sure of the slide?

You may have better results with one of Brownells spray on epoxy finishes like Aluma Hyde II. Sticks to anything. Kinda like the CZ poly coat finishes.

 

[LouisianaJoe]

Many years ago I bought a package deal that consisted of RB+ cold blue, RB-17 cleaner, and RB, a thick oil. You use the cleaner to degrease the metal and use water to rinse it off.

Then you apply the RB+, allow it to work then wipe it down with 0000 steel wool. You can repeat this process as many as 20 times. I think that the steel wool helps the chemical process.

When the metal is as blue as you want, you use the oil to stop the process. I have had good results with this over the years. Recently, I obtained an 1934 vintage M&P .38 that had most of the bluing gone. I did not want to restore it, just make it bluer. I used the above process applying 5 or 6 coats and here is the result:

Click the image for a larger view.

My research indicates the the partners that made this split and one of them created a product line called Blue Wonder. Some forums state that the Blue Wonder bluing product was not as strong as the original. EPA?

Link to the Blue Wonder products: http://www.bluewonder.us/Products.html

 

[chief38]

I've tried at least 5 or 6 of the different brands of cold blue over the years and have found the best of the lot B/C "Perma-blue". That said, it's DEFINITELY NOT permanent!

Yes I use an Alcohol prep and a hair dryer and repeat 3 - 5 times, but at best it will only last a short time.

I kind of suspect that people who report great success with Cold Blues don't really shoot the treated firearm too much because after trying them for 30+ years I have come to realize at best the results are but temporary.

 

[Strato]

A few years ago I wanted to refinish an old revolver and picked up a hot bluing kit from Brownells. I decided not to do it, largely based on input from some members of this forum but the instructions seemed to be not much harder than cold bluing. After the usual degreasing and prep you warm up the parts in the oven, take em out, spray it on and put em back in to bake on the finish.

 

[iouri]

Just an update: so I've used 0000 steel wool to rub in solution and it did make some difference. Slide does look darker and w/o "bald" spots but still definitely not a factory blue Thanks all for the info.

 

[Rule3]

Some videos from Brownells

Brownells - Introduction to Cold Blue Finishes - YouTube

How To Episode 10: Cold Blue - YouTube