Rust blueing questions

[Nhoro]

Hi all, anyone out there have experience with rust blueing ? I have a few questions:

1. I am thinking of fixing some rusty worn areas of factory blueing with rust blue.anyone done that and got pictures ?

2. Normal procedure is rust/boil/card 4 or more times. Can you rust/card over and over and only boil once at the end ? I am sure that there is a reason.

 

[bruce moulds]

do you need a humidity box?
i know any oil at all on the job is bad news.
however it is done, it sure looks good when done well.
bruce.

 

[Nhoro]

Humidity i have aplenty. We have had one of the wettest rainy seasons for many a year. Humidity is at 46 %. So rust wont be a problem.

 

[marcosfal]

I have done it multiple times. Pictures were on a phone that died.
As Bruce has stated, no oil can be present. I usually boil mine in some of that powdered soap that has sulfates in it and degrease with different degreasers. It’s overkill but I’ve never had any issues.
You need to card and boil each time for the conversion to work properly.
Mark Novak “Anvil” has several videos on it.

I also finish mine with linseed oil mixed with lamp black pigment baked on to seal it. It is a time consuming process that in my opinion is worth the results.

 

[Nhoro]

I kind of figured I would have to complete the conversion of each rust step to blue magnetite before rusting again.

 

[Vintageguy]

You also need pure water to do it. Most tap water will not work. Also it is best to strip the whole thing because it is nearly impossible to tell how deep of a color you have because it’s very light until you apply oil then it darkens dramatically. Lastly, you’re not done until the rust solution won’t act on the steel any more, no rust just a very pale whitetish/green hue, and that is an unknown number. Parker barrels took me as many as 20 plus while AH Fox barrels typically were done at only 6 passes tops. If the color doesn’t suit, don’t strip, just degrease in boiling water and pick up where you left off. No pics, I never bothered with the process just the finished product. Oh, I never used a humidity box just a humid basement and if I had a stubborn area a few huffs of breath on that spot usually did the trick.

 

[Nhoro]

Thanks, Good advice. Did you ever leave the factory caustic blue on and just rust blue to fix the bad spots ?

 

[Vintageguy]

I don’t think it would come close to matching and wouldn’t waste my time personally. The problem is you can get nice color but as soon as it gets oil it darkens and deepens so much that you really can’t have any idea of the finished color until you see it. Also boil your 4/0 steel wool and poor the water off it rather than removing it from the water. Nothing sucks more than going to card and leaving oil streaks. I also go to at least 400 grit paper or finer because rust blue will show sanding lines if too coarse. Good luck, nothing beats a nice rust blue.

 

[Vintageguy]

If you’re only looking to spot cover you can try, Birchwood Casey Super Blue Liquid. I’ve had some good results degreasing and apply it, let it deepen, wipe clean then spray a film of WD40 on it and leave it overnight and lightly card with 4/0 steel wool wet with oil to blend. I restored a Winchester 101 whose barrels were good but had scratches with red rust in one area and now no-one can pick that spot out. I’ve also had cases where I said “Oh well, it was worth a try”.