bluing chemicals

[guncheese]

ive decided to give a go at hot bluing some of my parts
and yes i know it can be messy and dangerous
but rest assured i can take the necessary precautions (in a former life i etched psychical parts and circuit boards, not to mention stainless finishing)
ill only be doing small parts, frames, slides and such
the question is, is there any difference in the finish color with using sodium nitrate versus potassium nitrate as the oxidizer ?
and also when is the proper time to buff up the fresh finish before running it back into the salt bath for deepening?during the hot water wash or after the wash when its in the water displacing oil? or no difference? sure would be easier in the water
thoughts and suggestions appreciated

 

[rcmodel]

http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-t...y-bluing-chemicals/dicropan-im--prod1067.aspx

http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-t...luing/bluing-salts/oxynate-no-7-prod1066.aspx

Call Brownell's and they will send you the instructions for using both free.
1-800-741-0015

Then there is this:
http://www.brownells.com/aspx/learn/learndetail.aspx?lid=11044

rc

 

[guncheese]

well im trying to shy away from the store bought stuff
im to much of a cheap skate for that (but dollar wise it wont be far off)
i just want to try it with the old fashioned stuff
all the results ive seen look just great

 

[Jim Watson]

Read up on "fertilizer bluing" using straight sodium nitrate or ammonium nitrate and lye.
Can't get much cheaper than that.

There was a guy on the 1911 board who got one of those sad old Argies from SARCO and home rust blued it quite nicely.

 

[guncheese]

yes i did a whole bunch of that reading, hence my desire to do it
and that led me to that question, does the oxidizer matter for color

 

[Jim Watson]

Roy Dunlap said ammonium nitrate gave a black finish similar to the WWII German finish.
I have not tried it.

 

[rehorne]

When my Dad had a full time gunshop we used the lye and sodium nitrate blend. A lot of times it depends on the steel make up as to the color outcome. Steel with a high carbon content came out black and steel with a lower content were more towards Royal Blue. Stainless will turn RED. Also the temperature of the mixture has a lot to do with the color. Normally we blued at 290 degrees.

Hopes this helps

 

[guncheese]

so i have the 8lbs of sodium hydroxide and 2 lbs each of potassium nitrate and sodium nitrate coming
and today im going to attempt the death defying feat of "unelectroplating" nickel
(new word there) and then stripping the copper flash off of the small parts of my 1911

 

[guncheese]

on the parts i "unelectroplated" i spent some time polishing and dehorning, just the GS,SS,MSH and the ambi safety and wow i have gained a new respect of the work you guys put into these things
i just super blued them to keep them from rusting before i finish polish them to go into the salt tank
and i must say the GS turned out like WOW!
and the other bits either are made of crap (likely) or those small parts are just really hard to get right or i guess both.