Opinions on cold blue touchup/repairs

[Max242]

I own this 15-3 (posted previously about sourcing grips). The blued finish is pretty good except for 2 spots on the cylinder. See the attached pics. Is it worth getting a cold blue kit to touch this up or not? Thanks

 

[Model29-26.5]

Sure.
It's a Band-Aid, but you might use it in the future for other blue loss or the odd small ding.
Completely de-grease, clean and dry, heated up with a hairdryer… maybe do it in the sun too, then add blue.
Clean and dry again, heat up, add blue..
Do this five or six times… or as many as it takes until there is no change.
That will be about as good as it gets. Not perfect but way better than missing Blue, which might lead to Rust.

 

[Max242]

Sure.
It's a Band-Aid, but you might use it in the future for other blue loss or the odd small ding.
Completely de-grease, clean and dry, heated up with a hairdryer… maybe do it in the sun too, then add blue.
Clean and dry again, heat up, add blue..
Do this five or six times… or as many as it takes until there is no change.
That will be about as good as it gets. Not perfect but way better than missing Blue, which might lead to Rust.

Your referring to blending in the repair to the effected spot? What kit do you recommend? Thanks

 

[bigggbbruce]

EPI Black Oxide. Does most touch ups. You can also do complete guns. I got the sample bottle. Last for years if you don't contaminate it.

 

[PattonTime]

This product certainly resembles the Oxphoblue product I have bought & used for years from Brownells.
If it is, it will work well.
I have always been happy with it for small touch-ups & agree about using heat & using it multiple times.

 

[ameridaddy]

I second the Oxpho Blue and degrease with alcohol - use solvent alcohol, methyl or ethyl, not the drugstore isopropyl, which is diluted with water. Follow the application instructions, neutralize with alcohol, rub with 0000 wool, repeat, as many as 11-12 times until you like the result (and probably no change), and you will get a pretty good match to S&W 1960's-1980's blue.

 

[Max242]

Had a friend who had a touchup bluing pen. Applied 4 coats. Cleaned and polished with a new dollar bill between each coat. Just enough hard texture. I think it turned out darn well.

 

[Model29-26.5]

Had a friend who had a touchup bluing pen. Applied 4 coats. Cleaned and polished with a new dollar bill between each coat. Just enough hard texture. I think it turned out darn well.

Excellent!!! Easy

 

[Yendor357]

I had no idea that level of do it yourself bluing existed.

I was going to say: send it to the mother ship.
That's still probably what I'd do.
I don't mind old stuff. I just don't like stuff that looks old.

 

[chief38]

If a gun is rarely shot I might still touch it up with cold bluing. Some touchups are actually more noticeable and uglier than the worn bluing. If it is a gun shot often and on a regular basis, cold bluing does not hold up - no matter how it is applied! I have tried using a heat gun, multiple coatings and all the other tricks some tout - it has never held up very long for me.

 

[Exmilcop]

The subject of cold bluing has been beaten to death on every firearms forum I haunt. I've used Outers cold blue to so-so effect. Cosmetically it looked great but it wouldn't last under handling. That said, I recently bought some G96 gun blue and I'm trying that. Upon advice from a friend, I heated the parts I wanted blued. I put them on tin foil in the oven at 100 deg. for about 10 min. to the point that they were too hot to touch with bare hands. OMG! The bluing compound took deeply and immediate. The pistol is still a work in progress and I've yet to get to the grip which is where I'll truly find out how good this stuff truly is.

 

[ken158]

The cylinder marks appear it has spent much of it's life in a leather holster… that possibly was a generic size and it rubbed the finish off… You have been provided good instructions for a home repair and if done properly and later stored properly it should fix nicely.

 

[Bullseye Smith]

I done touch up and got tired doing it, I started getting a model 64 stainless cylinder and install it and shoot all you want and still have a great looking gun. Still keep the cylinder that came with it in case you want to trade or sell it. Makes cleaning easier to.

 

[Rick Leslie]

Ditto on the Oxpho. Used it for longer than I care to remember. Degrease, warm and rub on the solution. I've always used cleaning patches to apply and don't double dip. Pour a small amount into a cup or saucer, saturate the patch and rub. Don't redip the used patch, toss it and use another for the next application. Double dipping will contaminate the solution.
I don't use steel wool any longer either because it has a film of oil on it. Although Oxpho claims to work through grease or oil, why tempt fate?

 

[Gun Relics]

Had a friend who had a touchup bluing pen. Applied 4 coats. Cleaned and polished with a new dollar bill between each coat. Just enough hard texture. I think it turned out darn well.

It came out outstanding. You guys did a really nice job. The key ingredient is "polishing and reapplying" which helps blend the metal to the surrounding surfaces. To do this without using chemical agents deepens the blue color with each application.

By the way, I use Super Blue as my go-to. I think it most closely resembles the original S and W color which is a deep, dark blue-black. I suspect the super Blue chemical is what is inside the Presto Pen. I don't like the pens because they have a tenancy to dry out.

 

[Max242]

It came out outstanding. You guys did a really nice job. The key ingredient is "polishing and reapplying" which helps blend the metal to the surrounding surfaces. To do this without using chemical agents deepens the blue color with each application.

By the way, I use Super Blue as my go-to. I think it most closely resembles the original S and W color which is a deep, dark blue-black. I suspect the super Blue chemical is what is inside the Presto Pen. I don't like the pens because they have a tenancy to dry out.

My buddy said he's had the pen a year or so, stored in his cleaning box. No harm giving it a try. I was happy with the outcome. I may try a few more coats. As I look at a close up of the photos, I can see the seams. But maybe I am looking to close.

 

[Max242]

I had no idea that level of do it yourself bluing existed.

I was going to say: send it to the mother ship.
That's still probably what I'd do.
I don't mind old stuff. I just don't like stuff that looks old.

To be truthful, after the 4 coats I very lightly cleaned/polished the entire revolver with Flitz. That made the whole revolver pop big time.

 

[ameridaddy]

....
I don't use steel wool any longer either because it has a film of oil on it. ...

you can get oil free 0000 steel wool from a woodworking supply house. Liberon and Briwax are good.

 

[msinc]

The only thing I would add is that I have found ordinary lighter fluid to be a very good "degreaser". Use a white rag and keep applying and wiping with a fresh spot on the rag until you don't get anymore color, then it's pretty clean and degreased. Degreasing properly and a little heat is the key to getting as good of a cold blue as you can.

 

[stansdds]

The keys to success with cold bluing are in the surface prep. The steel must be free of oil and moisture. A good solvent like acetone will remove the oil. Heating the steel drives the moisture out of the surface, leaving nothing but carbon steel to react with the cold bluing solution.