Small Shop Bluing With Brownells Dicropan IM

In recent years the problem of refinishing a gun in a small shop or by a hobbyist has been somewhat resolved with the introduction of a plethora of alternative finishes. These range from air cured epoxies, like Brownells Aluma Hyde II, to a number of spray on and bake enamels with Teflon or ceramic additives. I was involved in the development of many of these products when I worked for Brownells, and later at Battenfi eld Technologies and can attest to their ease of application and abrasion resistance.

They are an excellent choice for alloys and other items that cannot be blued. Their biggest drawback, however, the relatively thick coating they leave and the fact that many gun owners still think of them as "paint." In the case of alloy frames and parts there is little choice but many customers with steel guns still want their guns blued. A hot salts bluing system is simply out of the question for many of us.

Not only is it expensive to run gas lines, buy tanks, stands, and salts it also requires a dedicated building or very well ventilated room to operate in due to the quantity of steam generated and the caustic nature of the salts. Anything and everything in a hot salts bluing room that is iron or steel must be painted or it will turn into a pile of rust.

I have been searching for a bluing method that would allow the small shop or hobbyist to provide a professional bluing service to their customers I use an old camp stove. without having to farm the project out. I’ve tested any number of cold blues and asked several chemical supply companies about a quick and easy solution to the problem and have come to the conclusion that the magic elixir just isn’t out there.

Rust bluing is always an option and is an excellent choice for custom projects where time is not a factor. One day while browsing the latest Brownells catalog I stumbled on their Dicropan IM and remembered a research and development project I was involved in with that product back in the 1980’s. The IM originally stood for Immersion but the product was difficult to use and even harder to get a really professional finish with.

It was languishing in the catalog and would probably have been dropped if anew and better process could not be found. The result of that session was anew method of applying the solution that produced some truly impressive results. Brownells has been selling the product and offering detailed instructions on its use ever since. The instructions are available online from the Brownells web site (brownells.com) and they describe what is basically an accelerated rust bluing process.

Slowly it dawned on me that perhaps the product I had been searching for was right there all the time. I called Brownells and placed an order for a quart of Dicropan IM along with two carding wheels to make the process of removing the loose oxidation from the steel easier than hand rubbing it with degreased steel wool. For my test piece I chose a Colt 1903 Automatic that I purchase as a "gun in a bag." Someone had planned to refinish the gun and had disassembled, stripped, and tried to remove all the pitting.

At some point they realized that the pitting was deeper than the lettering and stopped just before all the lettering had been removed. At that point they evidently lost interest in the project so I was able to buy the gun at a very reasonable price. Following the direction that I downloaded from the Brownells site all the parts were thoroughly stripped, wire wheeled and degreased. From this point on you will be handling hot metal parts so a pair of insulated rubber gloves are required.

The parts will be suspended in boiling water so it is necessary to make up some wooden bore plugs and wire hangers. Suspend the parts in boiling water for fi ve minutes, remove and allow to air dry. Shake off excess water and the part should be dry in short order. Once dry, card the parts – that is, remove the surface Materials List Materials I Bought Brownells Stock Number Approximate price 1. Dicropan IM (Pint) 082-008-016AD $40.00 2. Two Row Carding Wheel 360-164-581AD $15.00 3.

TCE Cleaner/Degreaser 083-060-024AD $25.00 Other Items you will need but may already have on hand 1. Cotton balls used to apply Dicropan IM 2. 0000 Steel Wool, to card parts in lieu of a carding wheel 3. Gun Scrubber or other degreaser in lieu of TCE Cleaner/Degreaser 4. Wire to hang parts in hot water tank 5. Large pot big enough to immerse parts 6. Insulated rubber gloves, to hold hot parts while carding rust with degreased steel wool or a wire wheel.

Once all the surface rust is removed and with the part still hot, swab on the Dicropan IM. When the part is thoroughly covered with the IM suspend the parts back in the boiling water for 15 minutes. Once again remove the parts, shake and allow to completely dry. At this point the parts will be covered in a brown coating. Don’t panic, just card the brown off and apply another coat of IM. Then it is back in the boiling water for fi ve minuets, remove, dry, card and reapply another coat.

These steps are repeated until a deep rich blue is achieved. Most gun steels will require fi ve or six applications but some may take more. Don’t despair, just keep repeating until you have the depth of color you want. When you are satisfi ed with the color, the parts should be coated liberally with a water soluble oil like Ballistol and allowed to cure overnight.

The next day wipe the excess oil from the parts with a clean soft rag, reassemble the gun, call your customer and tell him his gun is ready to be picked up. With the instruction available on the Brownells site you can download and print them, giving plenty of time

to study them and decide what you will need before you order. The first time I did it on my own I was concerned if I was doing it right as the Colt didn’t seem to be getting any darker until the sixth coat. After ten coats the color was simply beautiful and tough as nails. Remember, you are carding each coat with steel wool or a wire wheel.

As one of the techs said at the time of that long ago R&D session, "Unless you can rub the finish hard enough to raise sparks, it’s not going to scratch." An alternate and faster method involves heating the parts with a propane torch, applying the IM, allowing it to work, carding the surface, reheating the metal and applying the IM. There are no instructions for this method but it is something I have experimented with and it has worked well for me on the few guns I have tried it on.

The difficult thing to control is the heat applied to the part. It must be hot enough to allow the IM to dry without running but still be cool enough to handle so the part can be carded. The hot water method is virtually foolproof as the parts never get hotter then the 212 degrees of the boiling water and is safe to do with soft soldered doubles. The propane torch method is faster but you do run the danger of overheating parts.

You must keep the flame moving and understand that heavier areas require more heat and cool slower than thinner areas that should be heated last because they will cool faster. Both methods can be used to blue a gun in your shop in a few hours time with excellent results. The finish is dark, tough, and superior to any of the cold blue solutions I have used. For large volume work there is still no substitute for hot salts bluing but for occasionally bluing one gun the solution is Brownells Dicropan IM. AG