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messed up blueing.........update
hillbille
Member Posts: 14,192 ✭✭✭✭
I had on old marlin with a slight scratch on the side of the receiver, not much bigger than a hair, but all the way through the blue. I found an old bottle of cold blue and decided I was tired of looking at it, got a qtip and dipped it and swabbed the scratch, when I wiped it off it took the surrounding blue with it.
Next I tried some wonder blue I have had for a while, it didn't work much better, I now have a quarter size spot on the side of the receiver that is smeared almost case hardened looking. I cleaned the area both times with alchohol before blueing, and heated it up with hair dryer before the wonder blue.[:(!]
Has anyone had any luck with any type of cold blue that won't halo the original blueing and may match up better.The original blueing is still a deep black, with the exception of my experimental area...[V]
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well seeing as I don't have anything to lose now, I'll give it another try, do you heat it back up between blueings? before the activator??
Next I tried some wonder blue I have had for a while, it didn't work much better, I now have a quarter size spot on the side of the receiver that is smeared almost case hardened looking. I cleaned the area both times with alchohol before blueing, and heated it up with hair dryer before the wonder blue.[:(!]
Has anyone had any luck with any type of cold blue that won't halo the original blueing and may match up better.The original blueing is still a deep black, with the exception of my experimental area...[V]
________________________________________________________--___
well seeing as I don't have anything to lose now, I'll give it another try, do you heat it back up between blueings? before the activator??
Comments
Warm up the area, I use a propane torch sparingly, then apply the Blue Wonder with a clean swab. Let it set, apply it again. Let dry a bit and then apply the fixer.
After a day come back and brush off the rust and oil.
There does appear to be a finite life on the chemical, so if you have old stuff or compound that got corrupted by sticking a used Q-tip in the bottle, it may not work right.
anything that has been "hot blue" or "rust blued". They use different
chemical processes and the results are not comparable. Sorry for the bad news,but that's just the way it is.
I do, between every application of the blue. After you apply the fixer, if it's not blue enough to your likeing, just apply the acetone again, and put more blue on and then another dose of the fixer.
There does appear to be a finite life on the chemical, so if you have old stuff or compound that got corrupted by sticking a used Q-tip in the bottle, it may not work right.
that may be the problem, I have had the two bottles of wonder blue for 10-15 years. I tried the heat and acetone, was a little better but still has that marbled/case hardened look. Maybe it is just too old to use.
blueing was only $9.99 but shipping was $15. Still for $25 total it was worth it, a lot less than a total reblue,( and except for the very picky out there who just hav e to have totaly perfect ), I think the average joe would be more than happy with the outcome.
There is also a cold blue out there called 'Van's'. It doesn't work for touch-up with any other finish, because it will remove it. But on a completely stripped and cleaned surface, it is superior to any other cold solution that I have used. The first application produces a bright pale blue similar to that which appears on some of the earlier Colt parts. The second application will darken it, but still leave a definite blue cast, and the third application will approach black.