Anyone in central florida ever try Hot dip gun bluing??

Post by **X711** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 11:48 am

Seeing if anyone close to me has ever tried it or has a home brew setup i could use/see/or purchase..

I'm talking about the chemical hot bluing not the cheap wipeon cold stuff..

I have a old spanish 32 revolver (copy of colt police) that I want to use as a guinea pig.. and if it turns out use as a wall or shelf decoration (not very safe for use anymore)

More or less I want it to look like a real colt police when it was new (going to find colt grips also)

If anyone has some knowledge on the process and setup let me know.

Post by **nachogrande** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 12:14 pm

you want to diy? good luck but I suppose you could if you had the facilities and studied up on it. the diy ones I've seen are pretty much just ok, even some of the pro jobs are just ok. but the GOOD pro jobs are unreal. having the exp of doing many is a big + and the age and type of steel dictates how they should be done as many re-blues come out a plum to purple color. fords gunsmithing in Crystal river is one of the best and specialize in old colts. I was there in aug or sept and they were not taking phone or online orders (too busy, as the good ones are) and the wait for walk ins was app 12 weeks. they have diff colors types and grades and are not cheap. I paid app 250$ for a higher grade re-blue on a 1952 marlin waffletop lever and another 50$ to put it at the top of the list and got it back in 2 weeks. ended up paying more for the re-blue than the gun. but for something that makes you happy just looking at it for years and years, how can you put a price tag on that? check out their work online.

Post by **Cr0ck1** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 2:11 pm

I bought a kit. Made the barrels and action look just as new as the day i bought it.

Post by **nachogrande** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 2:26 pm

there's a big difference between good enough, not bad,pretty good and OMG. I used to take it for granted and not give it much thought until you actually see a real good one. the older colt revolvers were famous for the quality of their bluing. it would be worth a 90 minute drive just to look in their showcase, they are that nice.

Post by **X711** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 4:32 pm

nacho: its a spanish copy of the colt police.. in other words its not worth much, they were known for low quality and wear out to point of being unsafe for use. I paid 50 bucks for it only because the steel was all in good shape and will me a perfect experimental piece...

I've watch lots of videos and read alot of online info all pointing to it being able to be done, of course the proper setup and chemistry is always going to dictate the outcome..

I wasn't really asking if it could be done as i'm confident it can, but more along the lines of if anyone has the setup already sitting around since most of my time would be spent building the setup compared to the process itself.

I spent a few years at a metal finishing company and got a few minor degrees in work related chemistry working with heavy concentrate caustics and acids..

so anyone try it before??

Post by **nachogrande** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 7:37 pm

I did a few brown finishes on cva mzl kit guns, never blue. the older steel blues differently than newer, so good accurate directions may be hard to find. as I recall you had to bake or heat them in the oven for a time to set/cure the finish or accept the coloring. it was over 30 years ago so I'm sure things have changed a bit.

Post by **X711** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 9:21 pm

my train of thought was to use the smaller internal parts as first in process and adjust/redo as needed then do main frame and cylinder..

Post by **nachogrande** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 9:34 pm

you could do a test area somewhere on the frame covered by the grip. don't do any internal working parts as it actualy changes tolerances. I know, how much could it possibly change them? for me a nickel plating of a sig frame ended up costing me 300$ to replace the whole frame when all I needed was a pin. off by a rch can make a big diff.

Post by **X711** » Sat Dec 01, 2012 10:59 pm

haha.. whats funny is if it did change tolerances it would only help!! the thing is sooooooooooo sloppy its not even funny..

Bluing is actually just he metal itself reacting with a chemicals at higher temp. It differs from plating alot and will not add material to the existing metal.. its more along the lines of a really tough wax job then compared to plating.

that was my chemistry based job.. plating company that did powder coating, epoxy, zincs, moly and ceramic coatings. I was lab tech and wastewater treatment operator, but got bored horribly and became a professional motorcycle tech instead..

Post by **nachogrande** » Sun Dec 02, 2012 7:23 am

my godfather worked at a "wastewater facility plant", he called it a pickle factory and said it taught him not to bite his fingernails.

Post by **30.06** » Sun Dec 02, 2012 9:20 am

i redid a cheap $50 dollar llama 380 with the blue paste. redid a lot of the parts, heated the small ones with a hair dryer and applied, put the larger parts in the oven for a few minutes and applied to those. the gun came out considerably better looking than it was. if i had the courage i would take out the pitting on the frame and the slide, but it is my future stepdaughters, and i dont want to damage the gun. If it were mine, i would really try to bubba it up, sand that pitting away, and try my hand at engraving on it.

Post by **drgn4sr** » Sun Dec 02, 2012 10:46 am

My python is going to Colt after hunting season for a reblue. $350.00 plus shipping and hand. to me it is worth it on a quality piece. But if your just having fun...have at it.

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