Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Rust Bluing, should I try it?

I need advice on what to do about the bluing on my rifles. I like to do what work I can on my guns but try to stay within my limits. I have a CZ-24 with a FN (JC Higgens) .270 barrel and an older Rem 700 30-06. Both are real shooters and I plan to keep them. The bluing on both is thin or worn through in spots from honest wear and I would like to repair the finish or redo it completely. I have John Traister's book "Gunsmithing at Home" which makes it sound like that with patience and careful following of instuctions I could put a long lasting finish on these guns. Another reason I would like to refinish the mauser is that the barrel and the receiver do not match. Would this be a good project, is there something else I should try, or should I just plan to let an expert do it for me? I appreciate the help.

BooDude..You might consider a 'cold blue'.
Brownells sells a phosphorous liquid called Oxpho Blue which should deo very well for the rifles you have..Many feeel it's more durable when applied well than conventional hot blueing.
For the cost of the OxphoBlue*(about 20.00 for several rifles) and a few hours work with 0000 steel wool and a bit of heat( dry heat or hot water) you can have the old milsurps that are rebarreled looking good and fully protected.jim

I could be wrong on this but I think rust blue requires barrel removal for best effect. It is a very excellent finish though...

I do not know why one would need to remove the barrel from the action to rust blue. I have blued and browned a couple rifles and did not remove the barrel. Perhaps I did it wrong. Proper rust bluing takes a good amount of time and effort. Once you get it down and your results are what you want it becomes much eaisier the next time. As with any finish be it wood or metal the end results are determined by your prep. take a short cut and it will show. Take pride in the details and the finished product will show pride of workmanship. The reason hot blue is so popular is that it is a much less labor intensive process than rust bluing (cold bluing). There are literly hundreds of formulas for cold blue and many ways of working with these formulas but none make up for bad prep. Give it a try if you have the paticence you will have a fantastic "True Blue" finish when done.

Bullwnkl.

Rust bluing is a nasty labor intensive chore. If you do it right it looks good enough to be worth it.......DJ

Thanks for your helpful suggestions so far! The 700 might be saved with a touch up from Oxpho Blue, I will look into it. I have attached a picture of the kind of rust spotting and wear that it has over most of the barrel. It was a $200 gun <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> and with a 5.5 pound trigger is still shooting just over an inch with Rems new managed recoil load. The Mauser is the lower picture, I think you can see how the barrel is more purple and the receiver is more black. I would like them to match, this rifle has been my project for 3 years it is really coming together. (started as a $60 beater) I would like to get these guns looking as good as they shoot if I can.

If you try rust bluing, buy distilled water for the first try.
It can make a big difference, and you want to reduce the variables the first try.
Good Luck!

Try Winchester Restorations for your rust bluing needs and instructions. http://www.winrest.com/

Thanks,
Bill

BooDude, From the pics you posted, I think the OxphoBlue would do very well.
Remove the barrel action from the stockworks and all stiock hardware(swivels etc)
Apply a coating of oil to the bore & chamber.
Use HOT water(200F) and 400 grit wet or dry auto paper IF 0000 steel woold doesn't remove the rust.
I do this under running hot water in the shop sink.
Once prepped, use 1" squares of 0000 steel wool to apply the oxphoblue from muzzle to receiver, lightly buffing as you apply.
OxphoBlue works almost instantly, so add solution to your steel wool pad often until you get the desired color and consistency.
DON'T dip the steel wool in the Oxpho, apply the blueing solution to the pad with a dropper or some such.
For small parts, you can heat them a bit with hot water or apply dry heat from a paint stripper-heat gun.
I find that hot water really enhances the eveness of the application so there are no streaks or uneven colorations when useing the OxphoBlue liquid.

IF you have never used Oxpho Blue, do some tests of an axe or hatchet head or other common carbon content steel item in your shop so you get the feel for it.Pick something with surface rust and do the clean-up prep so you can get a feel for that also.

It works.That rifle shown in your picture I could have done in an hour..from the start to final finish coating of gun oil paste wax over all and back in the stockworks.jim

Hi all,

Here's what I've found from lots of web research and personal experience... 'Cold bluing' solutions might best be thought of as metal dyes. They have blue colored metal compounds in them (selenium, copper, nickel, etc.) that color the surface of the steel, but don't offer any protection from rust. Some have acids in them that convert a very thin layer of the steel, kind of like Parkerizing, but the layer is too thin to provide long term rust protection. Hot bluing and rust bluing both cause chemical changes in the steel that results in a deep, long lasting, surface layer. Before I knew this, I re-blued an old shotgun with a cold blue. It looked great when finished, then I took it hunting... I lived in Western Oregon at the time; lots of rain and high humidity. Long story short, I couldn't keep enough oil or wax on it to keep it from rusting, plus - over time it turned gray. Hence the term 'gray rat' on 'restored' guns.

If it's just a cosmetic touch-up the cold bluing might be okay, just watch it close and keep it dry and oiled.

If it's a restoration, or you want long term results, hot or rust bluing might be better.

As for receiver and barrel not matching - different types of steels turn different colors regardless of the bluing process you use. You might have to work on one more to get close to the color of the other. On some firearms it's historically correct for different parts to be different colors; either from different types of steels, or from using several different bluing process at the factory.

There's lots of info on the Web. Pre-bluing metal preparation (surface finish and keeping oils, waxes, and other surface contaminants out of the process) and following directions are the keys to a good result. Good luck!

kcinboise..:)
I've used OxphoBlue for over 15 years and NEVER had any gun-metal, knife, axe, machete, drawknife etc require rust abatement.

Spent elk season in October hunting the Nestucca watershed..Four inches of rain in three days.Cleaned and oiled all the rifles every evening and dried slings..as well as ourselves..:)No rust.not a hint.

Two vintage M99 Savages came back looking as clean and proper as when we left home..certainly not gray rats..:)
To each his own tho..jim

Here's a couple of my old hunting rifles..The older one dates to 1906, the newer to 1942.Scopes are Weaver & Lyman steel tubes, fixed 4X which are also over 60 years old..

Both were refinished with Oxpho Blue over 12 years ago and seen many a wet day here in Oregon..They do go afield waxed with Johnson's paste wax and get care when the day's hunt is over as it concerns cleaning, drying, oiling etc.
( like one would do with any firearm)

OxphoBlue may not have all that rust or hot chem blueing does, but it is simple for a fellow to do at home, lasts well and worse case, can be redone simply by the same fellow for pennies compared to having a smith do a professional hot blueing job..I consider it a great alternative unless one is restoring a collector's piece..jim

Thanks again Jim for your further information and the beautiful photos! I have already decided that the 700 will get the Oxyblue as soon as I order it and then I will see about the Mauser. I have become fond of this rifle and it is my first "semi-custom" rifle. A rust blue would be "cool" but not a priority at this time.