The Chief Gets a New Uniform

[Elroy]

I picked this pre-model 36 "Chief Special" up earlier this year at the local gun store. Over all it was in excellent shape. Took a few pictures:

It was priced right because the cylinder had a few finish issues. The pictures above were careful to avoid including the flaws.

Previous owner tried to cover the bad spots with some kind of cold blue that did little except to grow pits. We were not really excited about taking pictures of the flaws but this gives you a good idea:

The initial clean up

This progressed to getting more serious

A little acid and wire brush cleaned it right up

Proceed with the "process"

about 12 dips and cardings later it was time to set the finish with a 45 minute boil in fresh water

I think the cylinder turned out just fine:

Looks better as an assembly. The finish on the cylinder is simply flawless

Turned out nice and we now have a close to 60 year old pre-model 36 Chief Special with a new uniform that matches well to the dull OEM finish as the refinish is almost undetectable. Where's the turn line? Well we're working on putting that back on.

It's a good shooting little pistol and now it looks good too !!

 

[KEN L]

Ya done good! You've restore dignity to this old timer. You can be my wing man any time....... No wait, that's a different set of accolades!

 

[OIF2]

When can you do mine?
Bob

 

[hole saw]

Nice job looks great!

 

[Lenny_D]

Great job! The pictorial depicting the process was very well done. Thanks for taking the time to show us.

 

[RenoGuy]

about 12 dips and cardings later it was time to set the finish with a 45 minute boil in fresh water

Pretend I don't know anything about "the process" and explain what that quoted line means, please

 

[ksmedman]

Well done sir!
Wish I could find those $250 deals...

 

[adowns]

Elroy, what kind of rust blue solution did you use?

 

[Elroy]

Elroy, what kind of rust blue solution did you use?

ABB

Better known as Art's Belgian Blue

It works well to restore the finish to vintage ratchets as well

Pretend I don't know anything about "the process" and explain what that quoted line means, please

The "process" is your classic rust conversion.
Clean and polish component. Clean the parts again.

Did I mention the parts need to be clean?

Clean the parts and boil in water to bring them up totemperature. Apply ABB and return to boil.

Wait 5 minutes and card parts.

Boil again to get the temp back up. Remove and apply ABB

Boil, ABB
Boil, Card,
Boil, ABB
Boil, Card,
Boil, ABB
Boil, Card,

Repeat as necessary.

Finish off with a 45 minute boil in clean water. Remove, oil and polish with 0000 steel wool.

Call your buddies over to marvel at your home brewed kick butt blue job.

 

[chief38]

How does this stuff stand up as compared to the Factory blue?

 

[tennexplorer]

This needs to be added to the notable thread list.

 

[MAG-NUM]

I love these kind of articles!
Excellent job. Can't tell the difference from the factory finish and your refinish.
Trying to learn myself...what is "carding"? How are you applying the finish? Thanks, Bob

 

[TACC1]

I am impressed! You've done a wonderful job on that
cylinder. If you were here, I'd ask to shake your hand.
TACC1

 

[j38]

Thanks for a great thread and photos!

Jerry

 

[chp]

Good work and thanks for posting.

 

[RenoGuy]

I love these kind of articles!
Excellent job. Can't tell the difference from the factory finish and your refinish.
Trying to learn myself...what is "carding"? How are you applying the finish? Thanks, Bob

^^^^^
This, up there

What exactly is "carding" and how is the finish applied?

Otherwise, nice article. Something I really want to know more about.

 

[Elroy]

Elroy's Home Brown

Can't tell the difference from the factory finish and your refinish.

If you would see the gun in your hands you can tell something is different. Don't think for a second that ABB is your home brewed answer to all your finish problem. These little projects have their limitations.

I picked up this early chief at a good price precisely because it had finish issues. But it was a good candidate for ABB because the original finish on these early examples were fairly dull. ABB doesn't come close to duplicating the "bright" blue found on your typical S&W. ABB produces a finish that is more black than blue but it looks a hell of a lot better than the smugged up finish the Chief came with.

what is "carding"? How are you applying the finish? Thanks, Bob

Carding is sometimes referred to as "scratching". It's simply a few light pass with a very fine stainless steel or nylon brush between application of the rusting solution. The carding or scratching limits the size of the rust crystal that the acid produces and helps maintain a fine finish.

The finish is produced by the acid and is covered from a gray rust to black by the boiling action of the water. The "browning solution" is simply applied with a cotton ball moistened with ABB.

Before attempting this project, I performed the required due diligence and researched the subject. This 1936 publication went into detail on the "browning" process and listed close to a hundred different chemical formulas one could prepare:

Before attempting this project, The Snap-On ratchet was the guinea pig. It was "browned" directly to a sand blast finished and produced a very silky smooth finish. I was very pleased with the results and proceeded with this:

I reasoned the flat surfaces would be much easier to card than the fluted cylinder. The Browning Auto 22 turned out just fine. The cylinder was much harder to work because I browned it inside and out.

Is Art's your answer to all your blue problems? Nope. But it does produce a very durable black finish that can be done at home. I would warn you that it's a very messy procedure and it takes a good deal of time to pull off. It's not a 10 minute deal.

I'm happy with the results and I did it at home !!!

Just remember the proper terminology is "Browning" and no it doesn't come close to the bright gloss blue that Smith achieved in their retort but it beats the snot out of no finish.