Rust Blue Refinish….38 Top Break

[dnonac]

I really enjoy seeing pics of projects that others have posted, so I thought I'd show you one I just finished.

Last year I posted pics of a .38 Double Action, 2nd Model that I obtained at a small show for $50. Finish was completely gone (original was nickel), some surface rust and pitting, it had a couple of internal issues and any collectible value was long gone. But hey, it's 130 years old so I wanted it to last for my grandkids.

Over the past few months, I've repaired the internal parts and gotten the gun functioning again. Now it was time for the exterior.

Fast forward to this past month. I decided to attempt a more durable finish than cold blue and I ordered some Pilkington's American Rust Bluing Solution. If you are not familiar with rust bluing, it's a fairly time consuming process involving application of the solution, allowing the parts to rust for at least 3 hours, boiling the parts which turns the red rust to black, and then carding (I used 0000 steel wool) to remove the surface layer oxides…….and then repeating the process up to 6 or 7 times over a period of several days. The final step is to oil the parts and let them soak for at least 24 hrs. before reassembly.

Once the metal parts are sanded/polished to a desired level and degreased, you must wear rubber gloves to prevent contamination. One mistake I made was that there were a couple of places where small bits of nickel remained that I didn't see and failed to remove. Later, I'll remove those nickel spots and touch up the bluing.

I've put together several pics showing the progress of the project. My understanding is that rust bluing is much more durable than cold blue. I'll get back to you on that. It was a enjoyable project. Now to load some and shoot it!
Here are the pics. Enjoy.....
Craig

Parts hung from wire while boiling...

After 4-5 applications. Metal turning darker. Last frame shows gun oiled in ziplock.

The final (for now) product!

 

[hole saw]

Wow that's a great job you did!

 

[gunlovingirl]

It looks great!

 

[cgt4570]

Great job!
A rust blue refinish is on my short list of projects. I've got all the stuff, and a couple frames that would be great candidates. I did do a parkerize job on a custom 1917 last year. It turned out great. A little less work than rust blue, but not by much.

 

[DWalt]

There are several different ways to do rust bluing, as you have probably discovered, and none are easy. One of the simpler methods involves (in part) rusting of metal by exposure to fumes from a mixture of hydrochloric and nitric acids in a sealed container, but that can be a bit dangerous as concentrated acids are required. Some of the older gunsmith manuals from the 1940's-50's go into the rust blue procedures in some detail.

 

[delta-419]

Rust Blue

That is a beautiful job!!! Well done!! I have finished several guns in the past few years using the same brand of rust blue chemicals. It is time consuming but well worth the effort. The old art is not dead and the rust blue does out last the cold blue method. Enjoy and thanks for sharing. I too love projects.

 

[dnonac]

Thanks for all the kind comments. It was an enjoyable exercise.

A couple of things I noticed.
1-I did 6 or 7 applications/boiling to achieve the darker color on the gun. I noticed that after 4-5 applications, the color shade and finish closely resembled other S&W's that I have with a satin finish. At that point, it had almost an exact looking finish/color as my Mod 28 and an older K38. As expected, when I increased the applications, the color darkened. I've got a .32 Hand Ejector 1903 model that is next in line.

2- As long as it might take to complete the process, most of the time is consumed waiting for the metal to rust. Boiling, carding and reapplying the Rust Blue are only about a 20 minute exercise.

3- Lastly.......this is about the 5th time I've completely disassembled and reassembled the top break. I've gotten faster. The first couple of times were a bit slower. I've learned to take several close-up pics during the disassembly process. They come in handy later for sure.

Craig.....

 

[Dragon88]

Craig, what cupped tip punches did you use for getting the pins out? I need to order some for my own project 38 Top Break.

Also, was the original nickel finish completely gone on your gun? Or did you have to remove some, and if so, how?

 

[dnonac]

Craig, what cupped tip punches did you use for getting the pins out? I need to order some for my own project 38 Top Break.

Also, was the original nickel finish completely gone on your gun? Or did you have to remove some, and if so, how?

Dragoon88.....
I used 3 punches....none of which are cupped. Luckily, the pins were easily removed. I bought mine at Home Depot. I use a 1/8", 3/32" and a 1/16" for most of my gun projects. It takes special care to prevent the punch from slipping off...and I agree that cupped would be much better.

As for the nickel, 99% of the original nickel was long gone. Small bits that remained were removed gently with a fine stone on a mini-dremil tool that I use. After getting the flakes of nickel off, I used 350 grit and then 600 grit to blend in the minor mtool marks. As a final step, I polished the area with Flitz using a small felt pad.
Craig...

 

[mmaher94087]

I bought my cupped tip punches from Brownell's. Purchase a set of short "starter" punches also. As the name implies, they start the pin moving - then switch to the longer drive punch to knock the pin out of the frame. Mike #283

 

[STCM(SW)]

I like it!
Nice job may I say.....

 

[gwpercle]

That is a wonderful job you did.
I also have a top break that needs a blue job. The polishing is what scares me...others can spot a bad refinish by the poor
polishing. If you would detail me on how to do it properly and not ruin the gun with a bad polish ,I would do mine. I just don't want to mess it up.
Yours came out very nice.....gary

 

[dnonac]

That is a wonderful job you did.
I also have a top break that needs a blue job. The polishing is what scares me...others can spot a bad refinish by the poor
polishing. If you would detail me on how to do it properly and not ruin the gun with a bad polish ,I would do mine. I just don't want to mess it up.
Yours came out very nice.....gary

Gary.....thanks for the compliment.
On a project like this....at least in my opinion....the object was to make the gun a little more pleasing to the eye. I can tell you how I did it but I'm sure others here have a much better method.

I try to stay away from power tools on a little project like this and polish the entire gun by hand. It takes a little longer but it helps avoid that "oops" moment.
For the most part, I used 320 grit wet paper to work the pits, scars and scratches down and did a final polish with 600 grit wet. As I recall, a couple of spots had to be done with 150 grit since the pitting was so deep. I tightly wrapped the paper around small pieces of flat wood and tried to stay away from any factory markings and imprints. Particularly on the top rib of this gun, there are several patent dates that I left completely alone. I also removed any screws to avoid flattening them while sanding.

There are still small pits under the bluing but I took it as far as I thought practical. I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out.
Good Luck...
Craig