Make an antique finish on a new blue rifle?

[10mmman]

Antique finish on a new blue rifle?

I have a new blue rifle (Taurus 62C) that I would like to “age.” The receiver has a case hardened finish to it, but the barrel, tube & tang are blue. I would love to get some sort of patina to it, but would settle for a worn gray finish. I am not gonna buy a spray can of “shake & bake,” as I want it to look old. Is there a way a DIY gun plumber such as myself can come up with a new/old finish? I would like for it to have rust resistance. Any thoughts? Thanks

X

[Hand_Rifle_Guy]

Bluing IS rust. Rust applied hot turns black, not brown.

I suggest rusting it gently with warm water . Mist it on lightly with a spray bottle, and let it work over night. In the morning, scrub it BRISKLY with 0000 steel wool. Repeat to achieve the desired finish, which should be in the realm of brownish-gray, with hints of the old bluing still underneath. It wil take several iterations to get the appearance right. Most steel wool is covered with a light oil film to keep it from rusting, so you will need to degrease the areas you want to mist befor you do it again.

Note: Oil the bore heavily before you start. If you want to preserve the case colors, give the reciever several liberal coats of paste wax. If you get a bit heavy-handed while waxing, you can get the wax off what you want to rust with a good aromatic solvent like acetone or lacquer thinner, which is great for degreasing for above. Just make sure you always have a clean spot on the rag to pick up the oil/wax, or you'll end up spreading it around instead of removing it.

Note the second: This info is basically from observed mistakes I've made with guns of mine, not from deliberate experiments at aging. That means the info is not guaranteed, but "ruining " a blued finish is pretty easy.

Note the third: Rust-proofing when you're done is best achieved with numerous layers of paste wax. You're finish won't be as vulnerable as bluing, as more spots just add "honest wear" to your gun, but you can keep it from getting worse, for the most part.

[George Stringer]

There are a couple of browning products sold by Brownells www.brownells.com. George

[4 Eyed Six Shooter]

Another trick is to pack the parts in wet used coffee grounds. I use this when I want to match a part to an old rust worn firearm. It usually take about 2 or more days in the grounds to work. This works great on such things as mag tubes on a win 94. Just be sure to check the parts from time to time. You may want to try this on a spare part and see if you get the type of results that you are looking for. The nice thing about doing it this way is it does etch the surface making it look old.
Good Shooting, John K

[10mmman]

NT