Gun not taking cold bluing.....

Yes, hot bluing is miles ahead of normal cold bluing. But before you do!!!!!!

Do a search on slow rust bluing. I've done a couple. It is real bluing, and you can do it yourself with some patience.

hi,
I am not an expert but I had the same issue with bluing that can be a royal PITA.
When you say cold bluing I hope you don't mean no heat at all. Warming up the metal a bit helps with the bluing and then using the wool-wire and cloth and repeating.
But the composition is what might required a different formulation for the bluing. I ended up buying another type from brownless taht works better.
If you call them and tell them the action they are normally pretty good about recommending a formula that might work best with that alloy.
If you want I can look up mine, I have to find the container somewhere in the shop. I have one for stainless steel too.

It's a little more tedious than Larry Potterfield makes it, but his videos are nice and concise.

Make an 'easy bake oven' or get a heat gun from the hardware store. Makes things much easier.

You don't want to torch the alloy and harm the tempering or worse but get it just hot always below 200 degrees vs cold from the garage. That enhances the oxidation.
Some alloys do not react the same and might need a more specialized formulation.
That is why I ended up calling brownells and got a very knowledgeable guy on the phone.
That is the only way I got rid of all the marks I was getting with the original cold blue.
If it is too cold in the garage, that is not going to help that is for sure.

Country_Soldier said:

Wow, I had not thought of that. Come to think of it when I did the muzzle loader barrel I had mentioned, I had done it during the summer, this is the first time trying to do it in the winter. Thank you for that piece of information, while I'm doing my research I'll look into that as well.

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It does makes a difference. You don't want hot bluing using cold bluing with fumes and everything but you will see. Here will also be too cold to do it in the garage.
But the composition of the alloy is also a huge factor. I am sure yours is super clean but might require a different formula too.
After I did the last bluing repair I realized I like ceramic coating even more. LOL

Country_Soldier said:

Is this to heat the metal before using Super Blue? If that's the case couldn't I just put it in the oven at a low heat? I'm still kinda new to bluing and firearm refurbishing (for lack of better terms), so I am still larning

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Yes this is just to 'warm up' the metal you are working with. The oven in the kitchen would work as well. It's just 'easier' to have your own out in the work space(garage) that to have to explain it to the kitchen boss.

Call brownells.

OxphoBlue works on most anything but Brownells will give you the best advice.

Cold bluing is not really bluing, rather it is a stain and provides no protection at all against rust. I use it only to touch up scratches. Hot bluing and rust bluing are genuine bluing that provide some degree of resistance to rusting, but not as good as Parkerizing or a spray on finish like Gun Kote or Ceracoat. As noted, rust bluing is fairly easy and in my experience provides a better, more durable finish than hot bluing. It is a bit labor intensive, but nothing too difficult. I've done double barrel shotguns with it and the finish looked as good or better than factory. Brownell's sells the rust bluing solution with instructions.

Use acetone.

Then do this:
https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...ld-bluing-chemicals/oxpho-blue--prod1072.aspx

BETTER than any DYI hot or cold blue. Bet the egg money on that.

Big7 said:

BETTER than any DYI hot or cold blue. Bet the egg money on that.

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Sorry, I have to disagree, and I think BBBBill would too! That formula probably IS the best cold blue on the market, but it still isn't real bluing. If you really have to go with a cold blue, that is the way to go though.

Brownell's Oxpho Blue in a gel form is about as good as cold blue as there is as it stays there long enough to absorb a bit better for firearm surfaces, screws and stuff like that is easier to use the thinner form of it. That being said, using it as a general rebluing for a firearm to be used in the field is not really what it is designed for but it can work okay. As BBBBill said above, cold bluing is a surface stain on the firearm's steel and does not result in a chemical change of the surface as with true bluing. Thus, it will wear, offer little in surface protection (but then hot bluing does not offer that much either), and the cold bluing color can depend on the alloy, heat used, level of polish, number of applications, and contamination of the cold bluing stain (don't double dip into the bottle with a used applicator--I use cotton swabs--a lot of them to apply).

One thing that oxpho blue hates though is silicone--if the firearm has had some contact with silicone wipe down rags, oils with silicone, etc.--the bluing will swirl, not adhere well, etc. If the surface is very highly polished then it won't get much adhering to it either and different steel alloys show different colors. I have never tried the product on aluminum.

Oil contamination such as using non-deoiled steel wool or not properly degreasing the surface can introduce something like case hardening colors--kind of an opalescence. As Big 7 said above, use acetone to swab it down between applications and otherwise follow the directions as given by Brownells to get best results and temperature of the metal makes a difference.

OxphoBlue works on most anything but Brownells will give you the best advice.

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I used OxphoBlue, but in some spots had the same (bad) results the OP mentioned. I want to believe it was something I did wrong, but am pretty sure I did everything that was mentioned here. My thought for my case is just maybe I didn't degrease the steel wool enough. I used acetone, blotted it on a clean towel and allowed it to dry, but maybe I should have washed it more than once or something.

I used to strip the old blue with navel jel 1st . Really gets the metal clean down to its poors. I also found the oxpho blue from Brownell's to be the best of the cold blues. I never had one look quite as good as a hot blue though

Muriatic acid to take all the old blue off, a good polish job, and oxpho blue will get you a good looking gun.

Charliefrank said:

I used to strip the old blue with navel jel 1st . Really gets the metal clean down to its poors. I also found the oxpho blue from Brownell's to be the best of the cold blues. I never had one look quite as good as a hot blue though

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What Oxpho blue excels at is relative ease of application and being able to blend in the fading bluing on a lot of old firearms. It also does not have the sulfur stink that other cold blues have. I use it primarily on buggered screw heads etc or barrel scratches, or to blend in worn spots. I have used it on an old Krag receiver that I had and it gave it the look of a faded thin commercial bluing job. (BTW--it was a stripped 1894 receiver with no bluing left so not destroying historical dirty finish--- er... I mean patina) as a wallhanger.

I used oxpho to refinish an old double barrel wall-hanger. I put about 6 coats on it, using steel wool in between and using steel wool as the applicator on the last few coats. It looks great on an old gun!

Years ago I bought a used Remington 581, like the one I'd foolishly sold many years before. The previous owner had stored it under his bed in a soft case for many years. It was rusty and pitting pretty badly. I got it for next to nothing. I cleaned the bore to determine if it still shot well. It was still very accurate, so a keeper. Used the navel jelly to strip the old bluing and rust off. Used the oxpho bluing to refinish the metal. The Metal still has pitting but it still looks pretty descent. Refinished the stock with 18 coats of true oil. Still hunt with this rifle today.
When I get a minute to dig it out of the safe I'll include a photo.