This is going to be a "how to" series to show people just how simple it can be to 'gussy up' some old firearms that are not particularly valuable. I use this term to ease some of the staunch 'it ruins the value' people out there into the world where bluing actually provides a needed service to the firearm by chemically controlled oxidation of the steel. This is not intended to 'get over' on someone for a larger cash payout thinking it is a 'pristine' or 'near pristine' example of a weapon. I have been doing 'stabilization' to firearms for quite some time and I have been learning ALL along the way. What I post here is the culmination of that learning to make it as simple and easy as I have been able to accomplish through time. This is by no way where I started but where I ended up...
This is the 'KISS' of metal working a firearm:
The 'KISS' of wood:
The subject (the one in the middle):
This last pic is the take from the last gun show I attended. The culprit is the Winchester Series 'D' 1897 12ga in the middle.
For the metal and the wood you want some steel wool with some bite to it, none of that Charmin grade stuff, we aren't wiping out butts we are resurfacing them!
Next is Blue Wonder Gun Cleaner. Amazing stuff! If you want to take off rust but leave all the blue just use a small pea sized drop on the corner of a coarse grade steel wool pad and go to town. you can't rub hard enough to get the blue off with this stuff, it will kill the rust and leave all the existing blue. If you do want to go down to bare metal then use the same stuff with a Scotch Brite pad. It will take everything off down to the 'white'. Notice there is NO SAND PAPER. Every maker has it's own milling/prep of metal. Sand paper obliterates these unique qualities of the metal. Some metal will have pitting, clean it out with the Blue Wonder on steel wool and possibly use a dental pick to get really stubborn or embedded rust but what you are left with is what your weapon IS. You aren't gonna be smart and say, "I can just sand out this small place and no one will know..." It just won't happen. It will be like the car or truck that has a big place in primer and the rest of the vehicle looks fine. All you see is the primer and shake your head. Don't do it.
Metal prep is 90% of the end product. If you aren't getting sore shoulders from scrubbing so hard, then you aren't doing it right. The steel wool phase will be 99% of the time it takes to get a good product. The rest is easy. Beer improves this process.
Once you have the metal as uniform as it gets (no rust bumps, old varnish spots, red remaining in the bottoms of pits) wipe it off with the blue shop towels (no lint) and use cotton balls with a pea sized spot of Blue Wonder to rub it all down. You will see how fast the cotton turns brown/black when wiping. I turn the ball over, apply another pea sized spot and go again. It is best to do this systematically as to not rush over or even miss spots. Repeat this process and you will notice the cotton balls are getting less and less brown, all that brown is what will keep you from getting a good looking bluing. The more you get off, the better the outcome.
Once you get the metal to where you only have a hint of discoloration, use a cotton ball wet with the alcohol to once again wipe down the total surface. This is to make sure all the oils are removed from the steel. Not pictured are a box of disposable nitrile exam gloves. This will be when to dawn a pair (if you haven't already) as to insure you do not have skin to metal transfer of oils. Wipe it a second time just to be sure and if by chance you are getting discoloration to the cotton ball, wipe it a third time. Cotton balls and alcohol are cheap.
This should all dry before your very eyes. When dry, open the bottle of G96 Gun Blue Cream. Do not get this on your exposed skin unless you think blue, scaly dry skin is attractive. It will make your skin as dry as a popcorn fart. For right handers, while holding the item in your left stick the tip of your gloved right index finger onto the top of the cream, take whatever little bit was transferred onto your finger and wipe it on a small part of what you are bluing and rub it on. Without allowing it to dry, grab your terry cloth towel and wipe off the bluing. You will notice the color change is already starting. The proprietary steel will regulate whether it turns blue, black or green to match the original bluing. Do small portions at a time and overlap like shingles as you go to get a uniform color wiping as you go. If some were to accidentally dry, wet it again with another application of the G96 and rub until the dark spot vanishes, then wipe off. Once it is the color your heart desires, spray it with the PB Blaster Multi-Purpose Lubricant. DO NOT USE THE PB BLASTER PENETRATING OIL as it has rust inhibitors that will strip the blue back off the metal before it 'cures'. (I get the Multi-Purpose at Tractor Supply for around $3 a can) Hand rub the oil all over the finish with your gloved hands getting into all the nooks and crannies. If there are places where you see small amount of the blue still adhered, use a small nylon brush wetted with the lubricant to carefully brush it away.
This process is the same if you are tearing down for a full weapon reblue or just doing a small part of a gun like touching up muzzle wear on a pistol. The Blue Wonder and coarse pad wont steal any of your blue and the color will match, if not at first with a reapplication. Practice on a junker and your eyebrows will go up on seeing the finished product.
It will take a few days to cure. I leave it out, do not reassemble, and apply more oil as needed to dry looking parts. If there is a hint of surface rust then it either got dry of oil or you did not adequately wipe it down with the lube. If it snuck up on you and you didn't catch it in time to where it rusts, then repeating the process from the beginning is the answer. The oil will keep the oxygen in the air from reacting with the steel before the bluing has the time to lock up all ports of entry.
The next post: wood.
This is the 'KISS' of metal working a firearm:
The 'KISS' of wood:
The subject (the one in the middle):
This last pic is the take from the last gun show I attended. The culprit is the Winchester Series 'D' 1897 12ga in the middle.
For the metal and the wood you want some steel wool with some bite to it, none of that Charmin grade stuff, we aren't wiping out butts we are resurfacing them!
Next is Blue Wonder Gun Cleaner. Amazing stuff! If you want to take off rust but leave all the blue just use a small pea sized drop on the corner of a coarse grade steel wool pad and go to town. you can't rub hard enough to get the blue off with this stuff, it will kill the rust and leave all the existing blue. If you do want to go down to bare metal then use the same stuff with a Scotch Brite pad. It will take everything off down to the 'white'. Notice there is NO SAND PAPER. Every maker has it's own milling/prep of metal. Sand paper obliterates these unique qualities of the metal. Some metal will have pitting, clean it out with the Blue Wonder on steel wool and possibly use a dental pick to get really stubborn or embedded rust but what you are left with is what your weapon IS. You aren't gonna be smart and say, "I can just sand out this small place and no one will know..." It just won't happen. It will be like the car or truck that has a big place in primer and the rest of the vehicle looks fine. All you see is the primer and shake your head. Don't do it.
Metal prep is 90% of the end product. If you aren't getting sore shoulders from scrubbing so hard, then you aren't doing it right. The steel wool phase will be 99% of the time it takes to get a good product. The rest is easy. Beer improves this process.
Once you have the metal as uniform as it gets (no rust bumps, old varnish spots, red remaining in the bottoms of pits) wipe it off with the blue shop towels (no lint) and use cotton balls with a pea sized spot of Blue Wonder to rub it all down. You will see how fast the cotton turns brown/black when wiping. I turn the ball over, apply another pea sized spot and go again. It is best to do this systematically as to not rush over or even miss spots. Repeat this process and you will notice the cotton balls are getting less and less brown, all that brown is what will keep you from getting a good looking bluing. The more you get off, the better the outcome.
Once you get the metal to where you only have a hint of discoloration, use a cotton ball wet with the alcohol to once again wipe down the total surface. This is to make sure all the oils are removed from the steel. Not pictured are a box of disposable nitrile exam gloves. This will be when to dawn a pair (if you haven't already) as to insure you do not have skin to metal transfer of oils. Wipe it a second time just to be sure and if by chance you are getting discoloration to the cotton ball, wipe it a third time. Cotton balls and alcohol are cheap.
This should all dry before your very eyes. When dry, open the bottle of G96 Gun Blue Cream. Do not get this on your exposed skin unless you think blue, scaly dry skin is attractive. It will make your skin as dry as a popcorn fart. For right handers, while holding the item in your left stick the tip of your gloved right index finger onto the top of the cream, take whatever little bit was transferred onto your finger and wipe it on a small part of what you are bluing and rub it on. Without allowing it to dry, grab your terry cloth towel and wipe off the bluing. You will notice the color change is already starting. The proprietary steel will regulate whether it turns blue, black or green to match the original bluing. Do small portions at a time and overlap like shingles as you go to get a uniform color wiping as you go. If some were to accidentally dry, wet it again with another application of the G96 and rub until the dark spot vanishes, then wipe off. Once it is the color your heart desires, spray it with the PB Blaster Multi-Purpose Lubricant. DO NOT USE THE PB BLASTER PENETRATING OIL as it has rust inhibitors that will strip the blue back off the metal before it 'cures'. (I get the Multi-Purpose at Tractor Supply for around $3 a can) Hand rub the oil all over the finish with your gloved hands getting into all the nooks and crannies. If there are places where you see small amount of the blue still adhered, use a small nylon brush wetted with the lubricant to carefully brush it away.
This process is the same if you are tearing down for a full weapon reblue or just doing a small part of a gun like touching up muzzle wear on a pistol. The Blue Wonder and coarse pad wont steal any of your blue and the color will match, if not at first with a reapplication. Practice on a junker and your eyebrows will go up on seeing the finished product.
It will take a few days to cure. I leave it out, do not reassemble, and apply more oil as needed to dry looking parts. If there is a hint of surface rust then it either got dry of oil or you did not adequately wipe it down with the lube. If it snuck up on you and you didn't catch it in time to where it rusts, then repeating the process from the beginning is the answer. The oil will keep the oxygen in the air from reacting with the steel before the bluing has the time to lock up all ports of entry.
The next post: wood.
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