Old metal finishing/protection techniques?

[bolus]

I want to do some metal bluing for rust prevention on some small parts but I cant get anything that is considered haz-mat shipped to me (ground only does not work on an island unless you are putting a full container of it on a ship).

So I cant order any cold bluing stuff (Birchwood casey) and most of the products for hot bluing finish are out as well. I have one gun store that stocks birch wood casey but is 3 hours away from me and open only on weekdays and down by the active volcano. Not that desperate yet. no gunsmiths on the island best I can tell.

Considered hot bluing with stump remover (Potassium nitrate) and none of the hardware stores stock it on the island.

So having only access to grocery stores, home depot and autoparts store, ( basic pool chemicals ), is there any combination of products I could use to do some metal protection?

I am considering rust bluing but not sure I can get access to HCL or Nitric acid which is traditionally used. Can I do that with vinegar? I guess I can try it on some tools that I dont care about. How about hydrogen peroxide and salt? not sure how much these will etch the parts though

I'm not at the point of considering urine bath though I know that can brown steel and provide some protection.

TLDR: how would you blue some metal after the apocalypse?

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[Velzey]

I'm sure you can put some combo together to rust blue, I need to dig a book out and find a list.
On another note I have researched gunsmiths on the Big Island and it seems to be seriously lacking in that department. So ina few years maybe....

 

[GOG]

That's a tough one in your circumstances. Are there some McGuyver or prepper youtube videos? I know there are a number of guerilla gunsmithing books and and such out there. Good luck.

 

[bolus]

I'm sure you can put some combo together to rust blue, I need to dig a book out and find a list.
On another note I have researched gunsmiths on the Big Island and it seems to be seriously lacking in that department. So ina few years maybe....

Thanks! Even a name of a book with historical finishing techniques would be good. I can get books shipped here. Went to the biggest gun store in Kona and it is the size of my computer room.

Even the couple of machine shops we have are just for automotive. Not gun friendly at all but it still has its advantages.

 

[bolus]

That's a tough one in your circumstances. Are there some McGuyver or prepper youtube videos? I know there are a number of guerilla gunsmithing books and and such out there. Good luck.

Im looking but Im only finding videos that use pre-made products like the Birchwood Casey or are doing something like oil bluing (oil plus blowtorch) but I'm guessing that destroys any heat treatments the parts might have had.

 

[Joe13]

Im looking but Im only finding videos that use pre-made products like the Birchwood Casey or are doing something like oil bluing (oil plus blowtorch) but I'm guessing that destroys any heat treatments the parts might have had.

Depends on how hot you let the metal get. Lots of dunks in water following very short heating times should be ok. YMMV.


What about patina like they do with knives?

My buddy uses lemon juice I believe.

 

[bolus]

Depends on how hot you let the metal get. Lots of dunks in water following very short heating times should be ok. YMMV.


What about patina like they do with knives?

My buddy uses lemon juice I believe.

Thanks, that opened up some options searching the blade forums. they use mustard to patina blades. must be the vinegar in it. I assume citric acid in the lemons does the same thing

 

[jbett98]

I had very good results using Laurel Mountain Forge products. It's normally used on black powder firearms for that vintage plumy brown coloring, but if you boil the metal parts after the rust process in distilled water, it changes the brown rust into a satiny black color.
You don't have to worry about de-greasing the parts since it has a de-greaser added into the formula.
I didn't see any hazmat warnings when I had them ship it to my door.
Very easy to work with. Brownell's sells it and a 2 oz bottle goes a long way,

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj9mKTtlrnbAhUpCTQIHaKbAgUQFggpMAA&url=http://www.laurelmountainforge.com/barrel_brown_inst.htm&usg=AOvVaw0k_ibWbIx0gadMKWDCXIVe


Finest, Classic, Rust Browning System Available
Highly acclaimed by Gunsmith and Author, John Bivins, in the March/April 1977 RIFLE. Contains no mercury salts, and is non-toxic.
Cuts through grease and oils, making pre-cleaning much less critical. Works fast, 4 to 6 applications 3 hours apart. The resulting brown is fine-grained with excellent color.


https://cdn-us-cf2.yottaa.net/53ff2...s/products/p_519100025_1.jpg?yocs=p_&yoloc=us

 

[bolus]

I had very good results using Laurel Mountain Forge products.

Thanks, Interesting. Brownells is not listing it as restricted but Midway and a few other places say it cant be shipped by air. I'm going to try to see if Brownells will ship it. *crosses fingers*

 

[jbett98]

It's by far the simplest bluing process I've used. It can be a little tedious carding small parts over and over to achieve a certain depth of color, but I was able to refinish a WW2 Radom Vis 35 pistol to an original like condition.
The better you pre polish the parts the better it looks.
I bought it straight from their website. Send them an e-mail and see if they will ship it to you.

 

[Lilhigbee]

You might try "Firearms Blueing and Browning" by R.H. Angier, original copyright 1936. It has pages of recipes (the cover claims 230 formulas), perhaps some of them are made from chemicals available to you.
Good luck!!

 

[bolus]

You might try "Firearms Blueing and Browning" by R.H. Angier, original copyright 1936. It has pages of recipes (the cover claims 230 formulas), perhaps some of them are made from chemicals available to you.
Good luck!!

Cool thanks, picked it up for the kindle reader. Already found one to try

Tannic acid (from grapes), sold to make wine
Tartaric acid (cream of tartar)
Water.

I should be able to get tannic acid shipped here.

some of the stuff they used back then is scary - mercury, lead and arsenic compounds, I can see why they fell out of favor. Also probably why you dont see new firearms that have the same look to the finish as older ones.

 

[etrain16]

Saw this video a while back - managed to find it again. I've never tried it, nor researched its viability, but it's something you could certainly do there. Maybe this technique would work for you until you can get something better.

Came across this video too while I was searching for the other one - homemade 'red rust' bluing. Looks like stuff you should easily be able to get:

And this came up under the recommended videos when I opened the other one:

Good luck - I hope you find something that works well! Be sure to show us the results.

 

[jbett98]

Steel wool is coated with a fine oil, you need to de-grease it with lacquer thinner before using it on parts that need to be oil free while going through the bluing process.

 

[BillM]

Do a little research on Hydrogen Peroxide and Acid rusting. I used to use Peroxide and pool acid (HCL)
to rust the steel background plate on outdoor signs---should work equally well for rust bluing.

 

[bolus]

Do a little research on Hydrogen Peroxide and Acid rusting. I used to use Peroxide and pool acid (HCL)
to rust the steel background plate on outdoor signs---should work equally well for rust bluing.

Yeah, it looks like rust bluing will be the way to go for easy to obtain ingredients.

acid etch
oxidizer+salt
Boil in water.

 

[jbett98]

Don't forget the carding part. Black crap all over everything.

 

[bolus]

Don't forget the carding part. Black crap all over everything.

yes, I have 0000 steel wool, acetone and brake cleaner on my shopping list.

No wonder my steel wool at home did not rust. I did not know about it's oil coating.

 

[Geardo]

Thanks, that opened up some options searching the blade forums. they use mustard to patina blades. must be the vinegar in it. I assume citric acid in the lemons does the same thing

This was going to be my suggestion. It is what I do to all my knives. You can layer different condiments, cleaning it off in between, to get multiple textures and layers.

 

[RVTECH]

Unless you are already aware of it there is oil blackening. I have used this many times, up to recently on the front sight of a muzzleloading rifle. When done correctly (and it ain't difficult) it produces a very nice finish on small parts.