Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Oxpho blue 1975 Winchester 94 receiver

I've tried cold bluing 2 70's era 94's.

The first one was way before the internet and before I knew any better. I used Birchwood Casey blue because K-Mart had it and as I said, I didn't know any better. Who ever owned the rifle before me had sanded the receiver shiny, I always figured to try to give it a custom look as nothing else was touched or rusted. It actually dulled the metal but was never a deep finish. It looked almost original with very thin bluing on the receiver. Every couple of years I would give it another coat or two. It did help to keep rust at bay.

The second one was a basket case I got for next to nothing that needed just a couple of parts and a bunch of tlc. I bought it with the intention of fixing it and moving it along for a profit. I tried Oxpho Blue on it and it wouldn't cover. Thinking back to the Birchwood Casey I tried it, it wouldn't cover either.


Since I knew I wasn't keeping it I resorted to some of the Brownells spray and bake stuff. It covered but the black just looked ugly to me. The man who bought it seemed to think it was a thing of beauty.

To each his own I guess.