[TheForge] Gun blue finishing

[Grover.Richardson at gtri.gatech.edu]

Side works are plating shops.  First bath is hot soapy water (20 minutes) with some caustic.  Rinse.  Second bath is reverse plating (also 20 minutes, I can get the Voltage and current next visit, current is based upon surface area<G>).  The reverse plating takes the top less than 1 thoughsandth of an inch of metal off of the surface.  Rinse.  Then plate or prepare as desired.

Brake drum degreaser works wonders for small stuff<G>.

All the best.

-----Original Message-----
From: theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net [mailto:theforge-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of peter fels & phoebe palmer
Sent: Tuesday, January 11, 2011 10:37 PM
To: Blacksmithing List Sponsored by ABANA
Subject: Re: [TheForge] Gun blue finishing

Put the piece in a slowly rising toaster oven till it turns blue..slower 
is better...surface prep is critical.
Gonna be a big toaster oven to do a whole table though.

On 1/11/2011 12:27 PM, Andrew Vida wrote:
>
> Widham, Mitchell P. wrote:
>> I recently blued a tomahawk head, it came out a little blotchy, almost
>> had the look of color case hardening. I was pleased with the results.
>> However when I did some chopping with it, the bluing whore off quickly
>> on the contact areas.
> Cold bluing is substantially more work than hot.
>
> That said, you have to make sure your surfaces are squeaky-clean - no
> dirt, oils, or other surface contaminants.  Different salts work
> differently.  Some work better with hot metal.  Some require the metal
> be boiled in water after application if the solution.
>
> The way to a good blue is repeated applications in most cases, but not
> all.  I have used cold blue that, when applied in a second coat, the
> first is eaten away.  Winchester's Antique Rust Blue is an example of
> this - it contains some nitric acid and that kills existing surfaces.  I
> used it on wrought iron and after boiling in water the result was OK,
> but not really what I wanted in terms of depth.
>
> You need to experiment a bit.
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