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Old October 25, 2013, 07:31 PM   #51
toomb
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tag for later review
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Old October 26, 2013, 10:57 AM   #52
marklmurray
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Quote:
I want to thank you. A while back I read your post and thought to myself, "I can do that" I did with two revolvers. Both turned out pretty good too. One was an Official Police made in 1932 and the other was a Smith made between 1948 and 1952. Both turned out pretty good! In the beginning they were rusted with deep pitting in places. Not to mention some springs and a bolt were missing. I got them cheap off Gunbroker and thought it would be fun to play with them. They both are now in fine form and shoot just fine although I use some pretty mild loads with them.

Thanks!
That's awesome to hear!

There's nothing like being able turn an old 'beater', that would have otherwise ended up as someones 'truck gun' or sat in a pawn shop, unloved, into a gun that looks and shoots, sometimes, 'better than new'.

Police trade-in's, a C&R license, and Rust Bluing, have been my 'downfall'
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Old March 2, 2014, 08:36 PM   #53
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I'm inspired!

I just bought a similarly unloved Security six for $300. I had considered paying a professional to refinish it, but may take a stab at it myself.
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Old March 2, 2014, 11:23 PM   #54
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Just saw this old thread, a belated attaboy! Nice job rehabbing that old revolver. Projects like this are fun.
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Old March 4, 2014, 01:33 PM   #55
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Looks almost as good as a "shot out, rusted Model 19"! Seriously, that is a nice looking gun.
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Old March 4, 2014, 02:48 PM   #56
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It's really quite a simple process:
Take the gun apart
Strip the old finish
Clean the metal
Let the metal rust (with a little help)
Boil the metal to turn it black
'Card' the converted rust (brush off the powdery black stuff)
Repeat steps 4,5,6 at least 4 times
Soak the metal in oil for 24 Hrs
Put the gun back together

For me, the most challenging parts of the process are the diss/re-assembly of the gun. The actual rust bluing is pretty much just waiting, degreasing, and boiling water.
Quite tempting to try on my Astra 680. However, in the rusting phase how do you ensure the bore does not suffer from rusting as well? Surely that would pit the surface. Do you seal it with wax, an oiled rag stuffed in, a rubber bung at each end or something like that?
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Old March 4, 2014, 04:52 PM   #57
marklmurray
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Quite tempting to try on my Astra 680. However, in the rusting phase how do you ensure the bore does not suffer from rusting as well? Surely that would pit the surface. Do you seal it with wax, an oiled rag stuffed in, a rubber bung at each end or something like that?
I don't do anything special at all. I am careful not to get any of the rusting agent in the bore itself, but if any rust did form in there, it would just get converted to black oxide like the rest during the boil. I suppose you could run a brass brush down the bore each time to 'card' any black oxide that formed during the cycle, but I've never heard that it was necessary.

I would also think, that if the bore was chrome lined you'd have even less to worry about.

Oil, grease or wax would come out during the boiling phase and 'contaminate' the water - I have no idea what effect that would have on the conversion of the red rust to black, but you'd definitely have to re-de-grease completely after each cycle.

Thanks to everyone else as well for the latest kind words!

Mark
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Old March 4, 2014, 04:56 PM   #58
Pond, James Pond
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As I understand it, this is a particular type of fluid used: not just a case of dabbing the gun with light salt solution.

I also assume that one could not use something like Tetra Gun bluing solution.

That might be the fly in my ointment: my guess is no one is going to sell rust bluing fluid over here...
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Old March 4, 2014, 05:04 PM   #59
marklmurray
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That might be the fly in my ointment: my guess is no one is going to sell rust bluing fluid over here...
As I understand it, the commercial rust bluing solutions are really just mild acidic solutions. I've had good luck with Brownell's classic rust blue and Laurel Mountain Forge Barrel Brown and degreaser.

However, do a little googling and you'll be able to find 'recipes' of rust bluing solutions that other have used with good results. They usually use ingredients like Vinegar, Hydrogen peroxide, and salt - there's really nothing magic - just something that accelerates the formation of rust.

In fact, with the right conditions (humidity), you could probably do it without any solution - it would just make an already slow process a good bit slower.
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Old March 5, 2014, 11:27 AM   #60
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Blue that's really blue. Lovely work.
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