Getting a gun Blued??

[Jkidd]

Guys I have a Frenchi 20 ga that has the Matte finish on the barrel. I tell ya that joker is nothing but a rust bucket. DO any of yall know anyone that can do a real blueing job on it. $$ is not an option as I will pay what ever it takes as long as its done right.

Jason

 

[CK'n]

PM

should be sent?

Don't know how to answer this one without getting into trouble about advertising. I do this for a living, espcially restorations that are period correct (including bluing/blackening)... but this is a forum for gunsmiths.

You being a moderator, what are the guide lines?

Thanks,
Chris

 

[duckbill]

How about this........................Give Chris (CK'n) a shout. I believe he does that sort of thing for a living. I've heard good things about him around the other gun forums.

 

[Jkidd]

CK you can tell me anything you want since I asked. Best I understand. So CK tell me about how much is it to take a barrel in pretty much perfect shape and strip it down and put a real blue job on it.....

Jason

 

[CK'n]

bluing

Duckbill, even with that Gator stuff "adverb" this fine forum....you are okay. Thanks man!

the price is $175 to about $200. Depends on what you call perfect shape, just how tricky/curvy the surfaces are and how much real estate needs to be covered. Just a barrel is about $100, something with several zip codes will be more.

I do a slow rust process that requires a mirror polish. When it is done, you will have a barrel that looks something like a black mirror. It does not reflect light very well, but it does have a black gleam that only comes from the high polish and the type of "rust" that can only be built up in layers over time. It takes about 1 - 2 weeks. BTW, if rust does show up (very rare if you take some precautions occasionally), you can use steel wool to remove it. Part of the process is descaling with a wire wheel and steel wool. Best not to do that on modern bluing. I do use my rifle barrel to push branches etc. out of the way. It is a very tough coating.

In one of the threads recently http://forum.gon.com/showthread.php?t=92397 I went into some details. Scroll down aways...I have the long winded post.


I can go into more details here....but then all those eyes glazing over, and the snoring....

Take care,
Chris

 

[Jkidd]

Chris
Thanks for the Reply. This guy was bought new last year and other than a couple of places where you can see rust in the matte finish if you look REAL close its in perfect condition.

Pretty much what I'm looking for is for the barrel to be something like what my Remington or Winchester barrel has on it. I mean this joker will start to rust on a dry day just from where your hand has held it. If you've ever rabbit hunted all day you know that the gun is slung over your shoulder being held by the barrel at some point in the day. In which if I don't wipe the gun down afterwards It will have slight rust on it the next time I get it out. If you think that the process you stated above is what I need to do I'll be bringing you my barrel at the end of Feb. (after Rabbit season)

Oh just so ya know this is a 26'' vented rib barrel. Don't know if you have to take it off or not.

Thanks
Jason

 

[CK'n]

certainly

sounds like you have one of the acid jobs. It is faster and easier then the caustic bluing. It is also a whole lot softer and slightly spongy - for lack of a better word. It soaks up sweat and doesn't resist corrosion very well as you are finding out.

Modern firearms are usually sanded/polished to something close to 220 grit sandpaper. If the barrel is a little shiny, then they get up to 360 grit. I go to something like 1500 minimum. This allows the bluing to have a luster that stands out. It won't reflect or flash light to scare off game.

The corrosion part is also put on a back burner. Part of the process I use is a "forced rusting". I want it to rust in small controlled amounts. Then I dye it black (kinda/sorta), scrub any part that is not well attached off with a wire wheel and steel wool. Then repeat as often as needed until I get the covering I want. The rust is forced and each time it gets harder and harder to get it to rust, you are left with something that doesn't corrode very easily. The polishing I do first also helps prevent corrosion. Now I do have to admit that it is not rust proof, you will occasionally have to wipe an oily rag over it, or as odd as it sounds, the same wax you use on the stock. You will find it works pretty well. Might help in your situation for the moment as well....it may also streak pretty bad too, so be careful.

The rib can stay on. The solutions I use will not bother the solder that holds it to the barrel. I do not even plug the barrel ends...makes life easy.

Hope this explains a few things.

If I can get some sunlight or my flash to work on the camera, I will try to take some pictures of a barrel for a Sako Vixen I am working on now. I will put beside it a normally (caustic process) blued barrel for comparison.

Please be a little patiant with me though, I don't get onto the computer until 11:30 at night.

Take care,
Chris

 

[Jkidd]

Chris

It sounds like you can do what I want done... Ill keep in touch with you and after rabbit season Ill get with ya about bringing my barrel to ya... That way you have all the time you need to do the job your way...

Jason

 

[CK'n]

Thanks!

(are there any other 'smiths around here?)

CHris

 

[mike bell]

One trick I use on barrels is at the end of the blueing process when I pull it out of the hot water, I wait about five seconds for the water to evaperate and I then imediately soak the hot barrel in a mixture of WD-40 and way lube (oil we use on the CNC machines, might be a Vistect 68 grade oil , not sure though) But I think anything like Remington Gun Oil with teflon would work, just aint tried anythig else.

My theory is this, while hot, the metals pores are open. When I dip and soak the barrel or gun in the oil/lube mixture its seals the mixture in the pores as it cools.

In the years Ive been doing this I have never had a gun come back with rust on it.

 

[CK'n]

differant bluing methods

don't know how well this comes through. I did play with the picture a little to bring out the differances. No sunlight today so the only source of light was a very bright fluorescant hanging over head.

The bull barrel is the slow rust, the skinny barrel is a caustic version you usually get from a 'smith.

Something I imagine Mike Bell can probably tell you more about then I can.

take care,
Chris