Refinishing Gun Metal

Most of my friends consider me tight with a buck. Never one to pass up a scrap of metal or broken tool, my shop is littered with stuff I plan to use … someday. When my wife decided it was time for anew stove for the kitchen, I immediately moved the old one into my shop. Since then, I have done numerous handguns with baked-on finishes, but lacked the equipment to do rifles or long-barreled shotguns because of the limited space inside the oven.

I briefly considered getting a hot bluing setup, but balked at the space and dollar requirement for a first class operation. That idea was put on the back burner (pun intended) until a visit to the shop by a friend and mentor. Bluing, browning, and the various sprayed-on finishes are there for a couple of reasons; to make the gun look presentable and to protect the underlying metal. While bluing isn’t the sturdiest finish, it has legions of fans because it just looks right.

The beauty of Belgian bluing is the quality, strength of the finish, and the ease with which it can be done. Even if you only have about $200 (the price of a used stove and various supplies) you’re in business. For those who wish to get involved in this sort of work, I have included a list of items at the end of this article. Bluing the Belgian Way My friend and fellow gunsmith had put together a nice, yet very inexpensive, set-up.

His starting point was the same as mine: A cheap stove for $75 at a local used appliance shop. Much like the traditional hot bluing process, Belgian bluing requires a Everything can be purchased for around $200, yet even this humble set-up can turn out some fantastic looking finishes! heat source since the metal must be a consistently warm temperature to allow the bluing to take.

After trying a couple of different containers to hold the amount of boiling water needed (glass and stainless steel were tried) he found the best quality bluing came with using a plain, old, black iron tank. The tank he uses is nineinches deep, six-inches wide and forty-inches long, so it will accommodate most any barreled action. Water and iron equals rust, so a can of high temperature black paint from the auto parts store was used to coat the tank to prevent rusting between uses.

In order to get the very best finish the old bluing and any rust on the barrel must be removed before starting the refinishing process. To meet this requirement a soaking tank is needed. Scrap pieces of PVC pipe, commonly found in hardware and home improvement stores, can be used to construct this.

The materials needed areapiece at least forty-inches in length and fiveor six-inches in diameter, a pair of end caps in the same size, a couple of lengths of smaller tubing approximately two-inches in diameter for the legs, a can of PVC glue, and a saw. The end caps are glued to the large tube and half-moon-shaped notches are sawed into the pieces of smaller tubing. This will allow the big tube to nestle into the cut-outs and create a stable base.

A very healthy coating of glue is brushed onto the legs, the larger tube is set in place, and everything is put aside to dry. Once the adhesive sets up, the saw is used to remove a section from the

top of the main tube. This will allow the metal to be easily placed into the soaking tank. A helpful option is to drill and tap a hole for a PVC plug in the soaking tank to allow fluid to be drained in a much less messy manner. With all the preliminaries out of the way, it’s time to work some magic. I use a product called Steel White to remove the old bluing. It doesn’t attack the base metal (only rust and blue), is not hazardous and is very economical to use.

I start by diluting the Steel White with water, as per the directions on the bottle, and pour the mixture into the soaking tank. The barrel and other metal parts are gently lowered into the tank. Within a few minutes the metal is clean. With the metal soaking the bluing tank is put on the stove, filling it approximately half full with distilled water (the minerals and other contaminants in tap water can mess up the bluing.) The heat is turned on to get the water boiling.

Because this process deals with chemicals and a fair amount of heat, it is wise to take some precautions. I recommend a pair of heat and chemical resistant gloves, an apron to keep stuff off nice clothes and some form of eye protection. After removing from the Steel White soak, place the barrel in the boiling water and pour a small quantity of the Belgian bluing material into a plastic cup.

When the barrel is removed from the tank, I wait a few moments for the water to evaporate and then apply the bluing solution with a small swab. After an even coat ing, the metal goes back into the water to be reheated. When it is taken out for the second and subsequent applications I use apiece of rough cloth to "card" the surface, meaning to gently rub the metal to make it ready for the next coat. Usually two or three coats does the trick, but will vary with the barrel material.

Once the bluing looks right, the barrel is carded for a final time and is liberally sprayed inside and out with a light oil such as WD- 40. I then set everything aside until the next day before putting the pieces back together. The gun now has bluing that rivals all but the finest (and most expensive) professional jobs. Browning: Almost a Lost Art The next type of finish dates even further back than some forms of bluing.

It is quite common to see browning on original muzzleloaders and good quality replicas, but seldom on more modern firearms. That’s a shame as this unique finish can be used to disguise a multitude of "sins." I recently received a Winchester model 1897 shotgun that was to be used for Cowboy Action shooting. It was certainly no collectible. While the action was still very tight, the surface was covered with rust and tiny pits. This is a bit of a different case than many firearms as at some point in cycling

the ‘97’s action, most parts are visible and all of them must be refinished if the job is to look right. I began the process by taking the old gun down to its tiniest components, a tough job as it has lots of bits and pieces. These parts were then subjected to abrasive blasting by using fine grade aluminum oxide propelled by fairly low air pressure and then into the soaking tank to remove any remaining rust. The free stove is about to get another workout, this time using the oven.

While some people claim to successfully brown by using a propane torch to heat the metal, I have never been able to achieve a consistent finish in that manner. The browning material I like isn’t what was used in the old days. This more modern stuff is called Plum Brown and is made by Birchwood Casey. While preheating the oven, I get out my "specialty tools," an old cookie sheet, a wooden dowel (inserted into the bore, it makes the barrel much more easily managed), another swab and more carding cloth.

The small parts and receiver are placed directly on the cookie sheet and the barrel is suspended by using some pieces of coat hanger (this last bit is optional as I’ve never seen much difference but continue to do it because I’m a creature of habit.) Once everything is up to temperature, the pieces are given a good coating of Plum Brown and returned to the oven. Then, much like Belgian bluing, the pieces are carded before their next coat. Usually two coats does the job.

On this shotgun I used three because of the rust pits. Once the browning is done to my satisfaction, the parts are coated with automobile engine oil (I use the least expensive stuff I can find) and set aside for a couple of days. For whatever reason, the oil seems to give Plum Brown-coated metal an even more pleasing appearance. After removing the car oil and applying a light coat of gun oil, the parts are reassembled into a working shotgun.

The final finish is matte rather than shiny and it requires a very close inspection to see those pesky pits. Oh, and if for some reason you choose to take a Model ’97 apart, do yourself a big favor and find a detailed instruction manual. It is very difficult to put the thing back together correctly without one. Gun-Kote Gun-Kote has been around for awhile and for good reason. It was originally made for military-type firearms that are subjected to conditions most of us will never face.

For that reason, it will hold up well for duck and deer hunting or for a gun that is holstered a lot such as police and concealed carry use. Gun-Kote is an epoxy material that contains molybdenum disulfide, so it can also function as a friction fighter in addition to protecting the metal. And, because each coat is so thin (approximately .0004"), this can be used to coat the inner workings without any binding problems. Gun- Kote also has one more interesting characteristic: It helps dissipate heat.

While this may seem to be only useful on a machine gun, I spray it on the cylinders and heads of my air-cooled drag bike as a cool engine makes more horsepower. This time the rifle requiring a makeover is an old, beat-up Mosin- Nagant carbine with a fine bore and an exterior that looks like it went through the Battle of Stalingrad. The abrasive blaster was set up with much coarser aluminum oxide media and double the air pressure so the rifle’s exterior would soon have a much rougher surface.

For some idea as to its new look, check out afield grade Remington 870 that has a much tougher skin than the blued version. Since all the rust and most of the pitting was removed, I skipped the soaking tank routine and sprayed the parts with TCE cleaner (brake cleaner from the auto parts store works almost as well) to insure that the coating would stick. With the oven preheated to 100 degrees and the parts "cooking" I got out a can of matte black Gun-Kote and put on a respirator.

If these parts were coated outside that kind of protection may not be required, but I do most of my work inside and don’t want all those airborne particulates in my lungs. With the metal warmed, I lightly spray the piece until it is evenly coated. After allowing a few minutes for the Gun-Kote to completely dry I reset the oven to 300 degrees

Gun finishes don’t get much easier or cheaper than this. and bake for an hour. Once cooled and reassembled the rifle looks much better and is now resistant to cleaning chemicals and abrasion. The old "trunk gun" can now take its rightful place alongside all the nicer and more expensive rifles. Dura Coat I get a lot of good out of my free stove, but I’ve got great news for those without a one. Dura Coat is air dried. That’s right, no heat source required. And this stuff is really tenacious.

It will bond to old bluing, Parkerizing, most any material as long as it is well cleaned. It can also be layered to allow for any sort of camo pattern you can think of, or the manufacturer can provide specialized camouflage templates. While there was recently an article about Dura Coat in this publication I have a few things I’d like to add. Dura Coat is blended just before applying, much like auto body paint. By adding more or less hardener the material can take on a glossy or flat tone.

In this particular case, a twelve gauge slug gun, flat is preferred to glossy, so I mixed the two materials to achieve that look. I chose to work in my garage so I could suspend the barreled action from a section of the garage door track. This allowed me to work my way around the piece and see it from a variety of angles so I could insure an even coating (good lighting is a great help.) Dura Coat is not available as an aerosol, so applying it requires your own air pressure.

Not to worry, a starter kit is available which has all the needed items including an airbrush and a container of canned air for propellant. For those who like to sporterize beat up old military rifles, Dura Coat offers a product called Du ra Fill which can be applied to pits and gouges. Once they are filled in, the coating is sprayed on and the defects vanish like they were never there. The key to applying Dura Coat products (and other coatings too) is to follow the directions to the letter.

Insure that all pieces to be coated are surgically clean and take plenty of time to do the job right. The first and subsequent coats must dry a few minutes before spraying again. The use of a small heat gun on its lowest setting or an inexpensive hand-held hair dryer can be used to speed up the drying process. Gently heat the metal as fresh Dura Coat needs to be dried, not cooked.

Although the folks at Dura Coat say that, if necessary, coated parts may be used the next day, I always like to allow a slightly longer drying time for maximum hardness. Oxpho-Blue This stuff is the ultimate for a good, cheap finish and, like Dura Coat, can be applied at room temperature. While this material doesn’t have the look of "real" bluing being somewhat lighter in color, it is a whole lot tougher. Again, the metal needs to be very clean with all the old bluing and rust removed.

The first coat involves using a swab and a generous coating of Oxpho-Blue. Set it aside for a minute or so to allow the magic to happen, but don’t let the metal become dry. Carding can be done with the usual cloth, but I prefer to use steel wool. No, that isn’t a misprint; I told you this is a stout finish. The second and subsequent coats are applied with fine steel wool such as 000 or 0000 and a minimal quantity of the bluing liquid. It seems the harder the steel is rubbed, the better and deeper the finish.

Once the color is to your liking, wipe off any remaining Oxpho-Blue and burnish the metal with another piece of steel wool. Apply a coat of your favorite gun oil and the pieces are ready to put back together. Making that old gun look new again ain’t rocket science. All that’s required is detailed preparation of the parts and a bit of old fashioned craftsmanship. Now is the time to start checking with appliance shops or the local used furniture store for a pre-owned stove and hardware dealers for scraps of PVC pipe.

Once people see the quality of your refinishing efforts, they will beat a path to your door.

These items are available through Brownells or brownells.com Black iron bluing tank: 082-003-664 Bottle of Belgian Blue: 464-100-016 Bottle of Steel White: 082-055-032 Package of shop swabs: 080-529-040 Bottle of Plum Brown: 167-000-002 Can of TCE cleaner: 083-060-024 Respirator: 284-000-003 Can of Gun-Kote: 083-051-001 Dura Coat Starter Kit: 100-000-989 Durafil: 100-001-005 Durafil Hardener: 100-001-001 Bottle of Oxpho-Blue: 082-024-008 For further information on the complete Dura Coat line of products, contact Lauer Custom Weaponry AG