Cold Bluing: Another Approach

Those of us in the gun-repair business get lots of inquiries about rebluing firearms. What do you tell a customer who wants to rejuvenate an older gun that has been neglected for many years? Well, as you well know, there can be more than one answer.

If the gun is a collectible firearm, of course, you’ll advise against bluing it or refinishing the stock. (You don’t want to be beaten silly or burned at the stake by a collector who may find you out some day.) But what about that "family heirloom" that’s been kicking around the family for years, has been "rode hard and put up wet," and really needs a major cleanup job? In the latter case, hot bluing will often cost more than an owner is willing to spend—or more than the firearm is actually worth.

In these cases, cold bluing just might be the answer to getting the job and keeping the customer happy. A couple of months ago in the September 09 issue, Leslie Jonsson detail his method in an article titled "Cold Bluing: Restoring ‘Family Heirlooms’ on the Cheap." His method certainly seems to give good results, but we all have different ways of doing things, so I’m going to tell you about my method here and give you another alternative.

First off, when you get an old gun with the blue or brown patina worn off in some places and scratched in others, that gun probably needs to be field stripped, thoroughly cleaned, inspected, lubed, reassembled, and test fired—before you do anything else. And the time involved is the first thing you’ll write down on the estimate you give the customer. Then, assuming the customer is willing and the firearm proves to be worth the investment, you can proceed with a complete disassembly of the major components.

A number of years ago I discovered a cold-bluing method that produces a very deep and dark finish that amazes my customers. It will make any older gun look better and resist rust better. Although it’s less expensive than hotbluing, I’m still well paid for doing the job. And what’s most important is the money stays in my shop rather than being sent to an outside hotbluing firm. To give you the details, I’m going to use an actual job I did recently for a real-life customer.

The customer brought in an 1894 Winchester .30-30 carbine that was issued to his grandfather, who was a cavalryman in the Nebraska National Guard in the early 1920s. The rifle was manufactured in 1916. From my initial inspection, I doubt that the carbine was ever disassembled since it was new. It probably spent untold hours in a rifle scabbard outdoors under the stars in all kinds of weather.

I wasn’t too surprised when my customer made this comment: "My family made it a habit to never ever clean a gun." They were used and put aside until needed again. This rifle undoubtedly had some care while in the service, but that was along time ago. There was a fair amount of fine surface rust but no really deep pitting. It showed wear but there were no big dents or gouges in the metal. There was rust inside, but nothing that I could not get at with a stiff wire brush.

My customer was concerned about the appearance of the rifle, and wanted the rust removed. I told him that once the rust was gone, there would be very little finish left. I told him about the options of hot bluing, cold bluing, and other coatings. He said he would never sell the gun, wanted to use it, and didn’t want to spend the money to hot blue it. He wanted to keep it as original as possible, but wanted a finish that would look good and resist rust in the future.

This is a good example of a case where you can sell your services for

AGARAD7 Armorer’s Course, AMG Ver. – 2 pg spread (p/u from 9/09 issue)

AGARAD7 Armorer’s Course, AMG Ver. – 2 pg spread (p/u from 9/09 issue)

doing a complete cleaning up of the gun, and then simply do the three extra steps needed to get this great cold-blue finish that will make the old metal look like it was taken care of better over the years. In this case, the customer also agreed to ante up the additional cost of redoing the stock with a satin finish. Okay. Let’s get started with the cold-bluing process. As always, make sure the rifle is unloaded, and then completely disassemble it. I clean all of the parts with Birchwood Casey Gunscrubber.

I then use a power wirewheel unit with a soft stainless-steel brush (available from Brownells) to buff off all of the rust and dirt that remains after hand cleaning. After using the wire wheel and any hand brushes needed, I once again wipe the parts with a rag soaked with Gunscrubber to get the metal as clean as possible. The nice thing about the product I use—Brownells Oxpho- Blue—is that it will work even through a little grease and oil, so no boiling of the parts is necessary.

I then take a cleaning pad, soak it with Oxpho-Blue Creme, and liberally coat each part. Be sure to wear rubber gloves. Wipe it on thick once or twice and let the bluing-covered parts sit for at least 15 minutes. Again, I’ll stress to use plenty of the creme to get the parts coated. You’ll start to see the parts get dark as you wipe on the bluing, but it will get even darker in the next step.

After sitting 15 minutes to an hour (or even longer if need be), grab your can of Tri-Flow and spray down all of the parts (without removing the Oxpho-Blue). Spray them down liberally. I then take each wet part and rub the bluing and Tri-Flow around with my gloved fingers. Just make sure everything is very "smeary." Then I take a couple of the blue paper shop towels and wipe off the solution. You’ll notice that, as you are rubbing the parts, the Tri-Flow seems to drive the bluing into the metal and make it darker.

Use compressed air to blow all of the solution out of the screw holes, nooks, and crannies. After I have wiped all of the bluing and Tri-Flow solution off of the parts, I recoat them all with more Tri-Flow and reassemble the gun. Once again, I use compressed air to blow the Tri- Flow into every nook and cranny. That’s all there is to it.

You’ve just completed three extra steps to a complete cleaning job—the wipe with Gunscrubber, the bluing application, and the Tri-Flow setting of the blue— and you’ve got a pretty darn nice blue/black finish on the metal. And you can charge accordingly. You can easily increase your shop’s profit by offering this service. But don’t take my word for it; dig up an old gun and try this method for yourself. When you’re finished, you’ll have a showpiece to use as an example of your cold-bluing services.

Show it off and you’ll be amazed how many jobs you’ll get and how much the service can improve your bottom line. ■