Purple receiver?

Echo23TC · July 17, 2002, 12:04 PM

My wife's new shotgun (Stevens 311) has a purple receiver. Unfortunately, neither of us cares all that much for purple! It is my understanding that this was probably caused when a former owner had the receiver hot blued after it was engraved. Is there any way to remove the purple finish without damaging the engraving and inlays? I'll rust blue it if I can just get that dang purple off!

Romulus · July 17, 2002, 12:18 PM

Rust bluing requires "abrading" the surface with something like emery cloth to give the metal a "tooth" prior to the bluing process itself...you could lose definition and "erase" some of that engraving

In addition, you have no guarantee that the rust blue will color the metal any darker, it just may be that the receiver's alloy is too hard to take any kind of stain. Have you thought of leaving it in the white like so many beautiful engraved receivers?

Walt Sherrill · July 17, 2002, 12:18 PM

Try some of Brownell's Ox-pho (cold) Blue. It does a great job and is surprisingly durable. You can probably do it OVER the purple.

(If not, get some Birchwood Casey "rust and blue remover" and start again.)

The are pictures of a CZ-75 that I redid using primarily Ox-Pho Blue on this forum. (Look for an article about Cold Bluing gone amok, or something like that.)

I've used it on several guns that I've taken down to the white, and you generally can't tell them, redone, from factory bluing.

Romulus · July 17, 2002, 12:20 PM

I forgot to add...It may have been a cold blue or botched rust blue job, even a botched hot blue...maybe a new hot blue is the way to go

Echo23TC · July 17, 2002, 01:24 PM

Thanks, guys.

Brownell's says that If I use their rust and blue remover, it will also remove the case hardening colors - know anybody who could re-harden it?

I don't know about leaving it in the white, wouldn't it be pretty susceptible to rusting?

Romulus · July 17, 2002, 02:00 PM

Only marginally more than a blued receiver...

You would have to be a little more devoted to maintenance if you keep a carbon steel receiver in the white,,,keep in mind the use, will this be a field gun used in the fall? Blue in and of itsef offers little protection against the elements, a corrosion preventer is still required. Wipe down and wipe down often...

You're reciver is blued right? Where does the color case hardening come into play?

Echo23TC · July 17, 2002, 02:32 PM

Well, I don't know if I'd call it "blued", it's more "purpled".
The reason I suspect case hardening is because my other Stevens 311 has a case hardened receiver, and also because I've never seen this color on a gun before. It's very different from the color of the barrels. Wish I could take a pic and show you.
The more I look into it, the more I think it's gonna stay purple or be white. I didn't mention that it has a couple of ducks inlaid on the bottom of the receiver - I don't know how they would take to being blued or case hardened.

Romulus · July 17, 2002, 03:31 PM

You can tell case hardening usually by the variegated, multi-colored mottled appearance...usually streaks of color ranging from the green to the bluish to bronzish...If your receiver was case hardened at the factory and is now monochromatic purple, the color case hardening is now gone, not just the color but the case hardening itself...I'd talk to a qualified gunsmith at this point, since you may be looking at a metallurgical problem not just a cosmetic one...

Harley Nolden · July 18, 2002, 06:05 AM

A cause for the purple color could have been caused by the bluing temp being to high during a bluing process. If my memory serves, and many times it does not, bluing temp should be about 240 degrees. Depending upon the inlaid material, another bluing could or would not deface the inlays. This would depend upon the mellting temp of the inlay.

HJN

BPNovum · July 30, 2002, 11:44 PM

Echo,

If you would like I would be glad to put you in touch with our technical people who might be able to give you some ideas on how to proceed if you haven't done anything yet. Send me an email with your phone number and I will have someone call you.

George Stringer · July 31, 2002, 08:27 AM

There are different reasons a part will come out of the bath purple colored. It's usually a direct result of the composition of the steel or how it was heat treated. Having the temp too high more often than not results in red streaks/coloring. Just last week I had a Winchester 37A that was blued along with a few other guns. Everything except the 37's receiver came out blue/black. The 37A had a purplish cast to it. I left it in the tank for the full day's bluing and at the end of the day it too was blued. A couple of months ago I had a guy bring in a Mauser with a purple reciever and in addition to rebarreling he wanted it reblued. It gave the same result at first but after leaving it in the tank for the full day it too finally blued. That way has worked for me many times over the years but there have been a few that just refused to turn black and wound up with the purple or plumb cast to them. I don't ever recall seeing one that had been cold blued turn purple. George

4 Eyed Six Shooter · August 2, 2002, 05:32 PM

George is correct. One other thing, do not remove the part from the bluing tank after it reaches 200 degrees except to take a quick peek at the color. Fine rust forms sometimes when the part is removed at high temp.

July 17, 2002, 12:04 PM	#1
Echo23TC Member Join Date: January 30, 2001 Location: Helena, Montana Posts: 54	Purple receiver? My wife's new shotgun (Stevens 311) has a purple receiver. Unfortunately, neither of us cares all that much for purple! It is my understanding that this was probably caused when a former owner had the receiver hot blued after it was engraved. Is there any way to remove the purple finish without damaging the engraving and inlays? I'll rust blue it if I can just get that dang purple off!

July 17, 2002, 12:18 PM	#2
Romulus Senior Member Join Date: January 18, 2001 Location: Kettle Moraine country Posts: 897	Rust bluing requires "abrading" the surface with something like emery cloth to give the metal a "tooth" prior to the bluing process itself...you could lose definition and "erase" some of that engraving In addition, you have no guarantee that the rust blue will color the metal any darker, it just may be that the receiver's alloy is too hard to take any kind of stain. Have you thought of leaving it in the white like so many beautiful engraved receivers? __________________ I knew Thomas Jefferson, he was a friend of mine...Governor Clinton, you're no Thomas Jefferson Ti faccio vedere come muore un italiano

July 17, 2002, 12:20 PM	#4
Romulus Senior Member Join Date: January 18, 2001 Location: Kettle Moraine country Posts: 897	I forgot to add...It may have been a cold blue or botched rust blue job, even a botched hot blue...maybe a new hot blue is the way to go __________________ I knew Thomas Jefferson, he was a friend of mine...Governor Clinton, you're no Thomas Jefferson Ti faccio vedere come muore un italiano

July 17, 2002, 02:00 PM	#6
Romulus Senior Member Join Date: January 18, 2001 Location: Kettle Moraine country Posts: 897	Only marginally more than a blued receiver... You would have to be a little more devoted to maintenance if you keep a carbon steel receiver in the white,,,keep in mind the use, will this be a field gun used in the fall? Blue in and of itsef offers little protection against the elements, a corrosion preventer is still required. Wipe down and wipe down often... You're reciver is blued right? Where does the color case hardening come into play? __________________ I knew Thomas Jefferson, he was a friend of mine...Governor Clinton, you're no Thomas Jefferson Ti faccio vedere come muore un italiano

July 17, 2002, 03:31 PM	#8
Romulus Senior Member Join Date: January 18, 2001 Location: Kettle Moraine country Posts: 897	You can tell case hardening usually by the variegated, multi-colored mottled appearance...usually streaks of color ranging from the green to the bluish to bronzish...If your receiver was case hardened at the factory and is now monochromatic purple, the color case hardening is now gone, not just the color but the case hardening itself...I'd talk to a qualified gunsmith at this point, since you may be looking at a metallurgical problem not just a cosmetic one... __________________ I knew Thomas Jefferson, he was a friend of mine...Governor Clinton, you're no Thomas Jefferson Ti faccio vedere come muore un italiano

July 17, 2002, 12:18 PM	#3
Walt Sherrill Senior Member Join Date: February 15, 1999 Location: Winston-Salem, NC USA Posts: 6,348	Try some of Brownell's Ox-pho (cold) Blue. It does a great job and is surprisingly durable. You can probably do it OVER the purple. (If not, get some Birchwood Casey "rust and blue remover" and start again.) The are pictures of a CZ-75 that I redid using primarily Ox-Pho Blue on this forum. (Look for an article about Cold Bluing gone amok, or something like that.) I've used it on several guns that I've taken down to the white, and you generally can't tell them, redone, from factory bluing.

July 17, 2002, 01:24 PM	#5
Echo23TC Member Join Date: January 30, 2001 Location: Helena, Montana Posts: 54	Thanks, guys. Brownell's says that If I use their rust and blue remover, it will also remove the case hardening colors - know anybody who could re-harden it? I don't know about leaving it in the white, wouldn't it be pretty susceptible to rusting?

July 17, 2002, 02:32 PM	#7
Echo23TC Member Join Date: January 30, 2001 Location: Helena, Montana Posts: 54	Well, I don't know if I'd call it "blued", it's more "purpled". The reason I suspect case hardening is because my other Stevens 311 has a case hardened receiver, and also because I've never seen this color on a gun before. It's very different from the color of the barrels. Wish I could take a pic and show you. The more I look into it, the more I think it's gonna stay purple or be white. I didn't mention that it has a couple of ducks inlaid on the bottom of the receiver - I don't know how they would take to being blued or case hardened.

July 18, 2002, 06:05 AM	#9
Harley Nolden Staff In Memoriam Join Date: January 8, 1999 Location: Brunswick,GA USA Posts: 1,884	A cause for the purple color could have been caused by the bluing temp being to high during a bluing process. If my memory serves, and many times it does not, bluing temp should be about 240 degrees. Depending upon the inlaid material, another bluing could or would not deface the inlays. This would depend upon the mellting temp of the inlay. HJN

July 30, 2002, 11:44 PM	#10
BPNovum Member Join Date: July 24, 2002 Posts: 90	Re-bluing Echo, If you would like I would be glad to put you in touch with our technical people who might be able to give you some ideas on how to proceed if you haven't done anything yet. Send me an email with your phone number and I will have someone call you. __________________ Let's Blue Bob Price Blue Wonder Gun Care Products www.BlueWonder.us [email protected]

July 31, 2002, 08:27 AM	#11
George Stringer Staff Alumnus Join Date: October 12, 1998 Location: Earlington KY Posts: 2,299	There are different reasons a part will come out of the bath purple colored. It's usually a direct result of the composition of the steel or how it was heat treated. Having the temp too high more often than not results in red streaks/coloring. Just last week I had a Winchester 37A that was blued along with a few other guns. Everything except the 37's receiver came out blue/black. The 37A had a purplish cast to it. I left it in the tank for the full day's bluing and at the end of the day it too was blued. A couple of months ago I had a guy bring in a Mauser with a purple reciever and in addition to rebarreling he wanted it reblued. It gave the same result at first but after leaving it in the tank for the full day it too finally blued. That way has worked for me many times over the years but there have been a few that just refused to turn black and wound up with the purple or plumb cast to them. I don't ever recall seeing one that had been cold blued turn purple. George

August 2, 2002, 05:32 PM	#12
4 Eyed Six Shooter Senior Member Join Date: October 4, 2001 Location: Idaho Posts: 105	George is correct. One other thing, do not remove the part from the bluing tank after it reaches 200 degrees except to take a quick peek at the color. Fine rust forms sometimes when the part is removed at high temp. __________________ www.savagegunsmithing.com Fight Crime-Shoot Back!!!! Anyone worth shooting is worth shooting more than once!!!