Firearms greatest enemies, other than politicians, is rust.

This month I'll talk about one of firearms greatest enemies other than politicians: rust. What many people aren't aware of, is that what we know as "blueing" is in fact a form of controlled surface corrosion: rust. Find an old tool or object out in the barn made from a good quality steel - like an old wrench or pliers. Fit a good wire brush onto your bench grinder. Now - very, very gently touch that rusty steel pliers to that spinning wire wheel. Move it back and forth in long, even strokes. Don't press too hard or you'll remove the surface finish and expose fresh bare metal. Watch the loose surface rust vanish and leave a polished, gleaming black finish on the metal. The better quality metal, the better it restores. I'm always amazed at how well most 80 or 100 year old firearms respond to a wire wheel.

Modern chemical finishes involve hot caustic salts that boil at around 320 degrees and at room temp looks like dirty dried mud in the tanks. It requires some specialized equipment like gas burners, personal protective gear and good ventilation. Great care is needed: getting splashed with 320 degree highly corrosive chemicals will leave a lasting inpression. Hot blueing gives a black oxide finish that is very durable protective and aesthetically pleasing on firearms, knives, tools and other steel parts.

Cold blueing can be done easily at home. A properly prepared surface involves filing and sanding out imperfections, buffing or polishing for a gloss finish or wire brushing / sanding for a matte finish. Rubber gloves and safety glasses and a good work surface (not the wife's antique dinner table) Apply the gun blue with a cotton pad or q-tip to the degreased area. Wait for it to thoroughly dry then repeat x5. The more you repeat, the deeper the color. After the final coat has dried, rinse it thoroughly in boiling water. This "fixes" the color and removes excess chemicals and the heated metal will flash-dry before rust sets in. Now use a good quality machine oil on a piece of 0000 grade steel wool to burnish that part. You'll be very pleasantly surprised at the finish. Keep it clean and oiled and that finish will outlast a painted surface.

After last year's flood my shop has restored over 70 firearms that were in really bad shape. One group of six rifles were in a safe that was washed into a pool and not found until two weeks later. Then the safe could not be cut open for another two weeks until electric was restored. They're all back in good working order now. Bring your water or even fire damaged firearms to my shop for a free estimate and you'll very likely leave smiling. 

In a future article I'll discuss other gun finishes like Ceracote, Parkerizing and nickel plating. 

As always, be careful out there.

Capt Jon.

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