Bluing or Browning?

MountainMan83 · January 5, 2018, 09:51 PM

Hi all!
On my sporterized Springfield 1903 the steel appears to have a beautiful hot tank blue at a glance (it does not retain its original finish mind you, this was a custom rifle built from individual parts). Although when I ran my light over it it appeared very brown, the receiver more than the barrel. The receiver is visibly brown when observed in any light, but the barrel appears black until you hold a light up to it. I guess my main question is...were the parts of this rifle hot tank blued and contained nickel making them brownish or just straight up browned?
I included photos of the receiver and barrel!

burrhead · January 5, 2018, 11:48 PM

I bet if you look at it in really good natural light you’ll see the metal is “purplish”. It’s not uncommon and comes about for different reasons. The chemical mix can be a little off or worn out, the alloy doesn’t “like” the particular bluing mix, the heat of the solution was too hot. Sometimes it takes years for the change to become apparent. It also happens with factory bluing; I had an early Remington 700 with a very purple bolt shroud. Some years ago Ruger had problems with some of their guns turning purple over time.

It happens. I wouldn’t worry about it.

Scorch · January 6, 2018, 05:26 AM

Yep. That baby's purple! It happens with very hard metals, metals containing nickel, cast metal, etc. It's actually very common to see blued guns turning purplish.

WarPig1976 · January 6, 2018, 08:04 AM

L.E.D flashlights will reveal hidden colorations in blued steel. One can detect rust forming as well.

Oliver Sudden · January 6, 2018, 10:55 AM

The purple receive is because of the hard metal. When doing hot blue I would do the process as normal but when the salts reached full temiture I would pull the part out of the salts and quince them in the cold water bath then replace it in the salt bath. This is called "shocking" the part. A couple of cycles like that and I would have blue/black finish. And no this doesn't harm the heat treat of the steel as the salts and parts never exceed 300 degrees. So to your concerns the bluing was a hot blue by a fellow that didn't know the tricks of the trade. He may of not left the parts in the boil out long enough as well to kill the salts on the barrel giving the slight brown there. Still not a problem at this point other then appeance. Nice sporter by the way.

T. O'Heir · January 6, 2018, 01:20 PM

"...it appeared very brown..." That's 'patina'. Nothing to do with browning. Means the bluing is old.
The finish on a sporterised milsurp may or may not be the original finish. Given the amount of polishing that was done on your's, I'd guess that finish was done by whoever sported it.

dakota.potts · January 6, 2018, 05:18 PM

I believe it's the nickel in the steel causing a slight purpling effect. I have seen it before. Sometimes you can experiment with the heat and duration of the bath to avoid the purple color. Other times, not so much.

jaguarxk120 · January 6, 2018, 05:53 PM

Very true on the purple color, I have a Ruger No.1 where the receiver has turned color.

dakota.potts · January 6, 2018, 08:09 PM

Ruger No. 1 rifles were described to us in school as very difficult to blue in a standard gunsmith shop, being very prone to purple bluing.

FrankenMauser · January 6, 2018, 11:32 PM

We've had some very in-depth discussions about Rugers going purple/plum in the past. Some metallurgists stepped in to theorize that it's silicon in the metal causing it -- either put there as part of Ruger's desired alloy, or as a byproduct of investment casting. The fact that they generally only go 'plum' after many years was further proof, in their opinion.
I, personally, don't know. But I'm going to believe the metallurgists, at least on the Ruger 'plum'. (I like, it, by the way. Most of my Rugers are now 'plums'.)

Other manufacturers and gunsmith bluing... Who knows...

shootniron · January 7, 2018, 02:00 AM

Frankenmauser has the correct term..."plum"...and I like the look of my plum Ruger single-action's.

January 5, 2018, 11:48 PM	#2
burrhead Senior Member Join Date: July 6, 1999 Location: Chihuahuan desert, Texas Posts: 1,148	I bet if you look at it in really good natural light you’ll see the metal is “purplish”. It’s not uncommon and comes about for different reasons. The chemical mix can be a little off or worn out, the alloy doesn’t “like” the particular bluing mix, the heat of the solution was too hot. Sometimes it takes years for the change to become apparent. It also happens with factory bluing; I had an early Remington 700 with a very purple bolt shroud. Some years ago Ruger had problems with some of their guns turning purple over time. It happens. I wouldn’t worry about it. __________________ Join the GOA, SAF and the TSRA I'm offended by people that are easily offended.

January 6, 2018, 05:26 AM	#3
Scorch Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2006 Location: Washington state Posts: 15,248	Yep. That baby's purple! It happens with very hard metals, metals containing nickel, cast metal, etc. It's actually very common to see blued guns turning purplish. __________________ Never try to educate someone who resists knowledge at all costs. But what do I know? Summit Arms Services

January 6, 2018, 01:20 PM	#6
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	"...it appeared very brown..." That's 'patina'. Nothing to do with browning. Means the bluing is old. The finish on a sporterised milsurp may or may not be the original finish. Given the amount of polishing that was done on your's, I'd guess that finish was done by whoever sported it. __________________ Spelling and grammar count!

January 6, 2018, 05:18 PM	#7
dakota.potts Senior Member Join Date: February 25, 2013 Location: Keystone Heights, Florida Posts: 3,084	I believe it's the nickel in the steel causing a slight purpling effect. I have seen it before. Sometimes you can experiment with the heat and duration of the bath to avoid the purple color. Other times, not so much. __________________ Certified Gunsmith (On Hiatus) Certified Armorer - H&K and Glock Among Others You can find my writings at my website, pottsprecision.com.

January 6, 2018, 08:09 PM	#9
dakota.potts Senior Member Join Date: February 25, 2013 Location: Keystone Heights, Florida Posts: 3,084	Ruger No. 1 rifles were described to us in school as very difficult to blue in a standard gunsmith shop, being very prone to purple bluing. __________________ Certified Gunsmith (On Hiatus) Certified Armorer - H&K and Glock Among Others You can find my writings at my website, pottsprecision.com.

January 6, 2018, 08:04 AM	#4
WarPig1976 Member Join Date: June 13, 2014 Location: Delaware County, Pennsylvania Posts: 31	L.E.D flashlights will reveal hidden colorations in blued steel. One can detect rust forming as well.

January 6, 2018, 10:55 AM	#5
Oliver Sudden Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2017 Location: Colorado Posts: 272	The purple receive is because of the hard metal. When doing hot blue I would do the process as normal but when the salts reached full temiture I would pull the part out of the salts and quince them in the cold water bath then replace it in the salt bath. This is called "shocking" the part. A couple of cycles like that and I would have blue/black finish. And no this doesn't harm the heat treat of the steel as the salts and parts never exceed 300 degrees. So to your concerns the bluing was a hot blue by a fellow that didn't know the tricks of the trade. He may of not left the parts in the boil out long enough as well to kill the salts on the barrel giving the slight brown there. Still not a problem at this point other then appeance. Nice sporter by the way.

January 6, 2018, 05:53 PM	#8
jaguarxk120 Senior Member Join Date: February 28, 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,620	Very true on the purple color, I have a Ruger No.1 where the receiver has turned color.

January 6, 2018, 11:32 PM	#10
FrankenMauser Senior Member Join Date: August 25, 2008 Location: In the valley above the plain Posts: 13,424	We've had some very in-depth discussions about Rugers going purple/plum in the past. Some metallurgists stepped in to theorize that it's silicon in the metal causing it -- either put there as part of Ruger's desired alloy, or as a byproduct of investment casting. The fact that they generally only go 'plum' after many years was further proof, in their opinion. I, personally, don't know. But I'm going to believe the metallurgists, at least on the Ruger 'plum'. (I like, it, by the way. Most of my Rugers are now 'plums'.) Other manufacturers and gunsmith bluing... Who knows... __________________ Don't even try it. It's even worse than the internet would lead you to believe.

January 7, 2018, 02:00 AM	#11
shootniron Senior Member Join Date: April 16, 2011 Location: Georgia Posts: 1,599	Frankenmauser has the correct term..."plum"...and I like the look of my plum Ruger single-action's.