Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Rust bluing needed?

Can anyone recommend somebody to do rust bluing...I've got a model 70 that needs some love and I like the appearance of rust bluing better

Glenrock Blue

+1 on Glenrock, many custom engravers use their services.

Have you considered doing it yourself? It's not rocket science, and requires minimal equipment to accomplish.

Sending you a pm...

I'm seriously considered trying my hand at it. What I'm kinda worried about is being able to card the awkward places, like say, the sear slot or bolt release area. Someone suggested using thoroughly degreased taps to card the tapped holes (like scope mounts), which seems like a good idea. Also, if you want all of the parts to match, don't they have to be rust blued too? I've seen nitre bluing recommended for small parts, but I wonder whether you get the same color?

You would want to rust blue everything to be the same color. But small parts don't come out the same way and it's a pain. Nitre bluing is not the same color. Rust blue is a dark blue/Black depending on polish, method of application, length of rust time, carding frequency, style of carding and method to convert rust to black oxide. Nitre blue is a heat blue 550-700 degrees and it turns the color anywhere from straw to a purple-black. Most commonly an electric light blue. And it's polished much higher than a piece prepped for rust blue.

Ryan

Thanks, Ryan. Another question I have is about whether the barrel needs to be plugged for the boiling step. It seems to me that if you don't get any bluing solution in the bore, the bore will dry out on its own from the residual heat in the metal. Or is it that plugs at the muzzle and chamber make the barreled action easier to handle?

I don't plug the bore. Put some RIG in it or swab it with lacquer.