Do-it-yourself bluing kits

[Ceapea]

I have an old Marlin 57M .22 mag, lever gun that is in poor shape. It was given to me in poor shape several years ago. Lots of rust and the stock is pitiful too. I am planning on refinishing the stock and wanted to know if anyone has tried the Hoppe's bluing kit. I can pick it up for $13 at Meijer's.
Is there any better option?

Thanks.

 

[Smith357]

I used some of the cheapie cold blue for minor touch up and it is not very good, I can't imagine using it to do a whole gun. The best cold blue I have used was Oxpho-Blue cream from Brownells.
BROWNELLS : OXPHO-BLUE CREME - World's Largest Supplier of Firearm Accessories, Gun Parts and Gunsmithing Tools
That was many years ago and I'm sure there is something better, hopefully someone with more knowledge than I will chime in.


Here is a link to a vid on the basics of using a cold blue on a large surface.

 

[Pisgah]

It is possible to get a decent-looking blue with a cold-blue kit -- but it is NOT easy! Sometimes, you do everything right and end up with a mess.

More reliable, and not really any harder to apply, is browning. You don't see many browned guns these days, but it can be a very attractive and extremely durable finish. With solutions like Laurel Mountain Forge and Waukhon Bay browning formulas, you can get a 100% professional-looking result.

Here's a Marlin I refurbished with a new stock and the metal browned (except for the small parts, which were nitre-blued).

 

[GregG]

I bought the stuff to hot blue a couple of Remington 700 receivers. Lye and nitrate of soda.


I'm going to do these in a cooking pot, a long gun would need a custom tank. Too cost prohibitive for just one gun.

You could do the metal prep yourself, then send it out to be hot blued. It's not too expensive, depending who you use.