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Like a lot of hobby gunsmiths, I had tried to refinish a rifle with cold blue years ago. To say the results were dismal would be an understatement of epic proportions, so I swore off the use of cold blue for a total refinishing. I have always had some cold blue around the shop for touching up, but I wasn’t inclined to try another rifle. That was until I received a sample of the new Wheeler Engineering Premier Cold Blue Kit. This kit comes with everything you need to refinish a gun, including stripper for the old bluing, degreaser and bluing solution. Also included are sandpaper strips, steel wool, cotton patches, vinyl gloves, an applicator brush, plastic cups and even an instructional video. All you supply is the rifle.
I thought I had just the gun, but before I started, I checked around with some gunsmiths I respect and learned a few things about cold blue.
First is that all steel is not created equal, so “results may vary.” Everyone agreed that the best candidate for cold bluing is the soft steel used on .22 LR rifles in the past, and it just so happened that was the rifle I had in mind. I have a Mossberg Model 350 KB semi-auto .22 that has served for other projects in these pages. Loyal readers have seen this gun’s barrel cut off and recrowned and, more recently, the front-sight dovetail recut. Now it was time for a new “paint job,” so to speak.
The first step is to disassemble the gun as far as possible. With my Mossberg, I removed everything from the receiver except the barrel. Next, use the applicator brush to coat the metal with the bluing and rust remover. Be careful with this stuff, as it will definitely eat through any bluing in a hurry. Wear the supplied gloves, so you don’t have to find out if it will eat through hands as well. (I should note that I spilled some on my shop floor and it etched the cement, damaging the floor.)
Let the bluing remover set for about 10 minutes, then reapply. No need to wipe off the old bluing remover, just keep adding to it. Rubbing with a little steel wool helps to speed up the process. When all the old bluing is gone, wipe the parts dry, and clean them with degreaser. Actually, a can of spray degreaser makes this job a lot easier. Simply spray it on, and let it run off.
Once all the old bluing is removed, polish the gun with the sandpaper strips. Three grits are included: 80, 120 and 180. The idea is to use the coarse paper to remove any pits, then progress to the medium and fine for the final polish. My rifle was in pretty good shape, so I just polished the barrel and receiver with the 180 grit. The best approach is to clamp the barrel in a vise and use a polishing motion with the abrasive strip by pulling on each end—like polishing a shoe. Be careful not to ruin the contour, as sanding does remove metal. Also, be careful around any markings. One sign of a good craftsman is when the stampings and markings remain sharp and clear.
Take your time with this, as bluing will not hide any scratches or defects. In fact, the opposite is true—it may accentuate them. One big key to the outcome of any bluing job is in the metal preparation. The better it looks when you apply the bluing, the better it will look when the job is finished.
Cold bluing involves: applying the blue remover (1); working sandpaper strips back and forth to smooth the metal (2); heating the metal before applying the bluing solution (3); rinsing blued parts in room-temperature water (4); and, finally, gently rubbing the blued metal with steel wool to even out the new finish (5). |
Clean the bore, and then completely degrease all the metal. Pour some of the bluing solution into one of the cups. Heat the metal with a heat gun until it’s warm to the touch. Using a cloth patch, apply the bluing solution to the metal with long, even strokes. Continue until the metal is no longer changing color and reacting to the chemicals. Don’t slop the bluing on, as this can lead to blotchy results. Instead, just keep the metal damp, and keep working it over and over with a damp applicator.
Rinse the barrel in room-temperature water. I used a bluing tank to hold the water, but a plastic tray made to hold glue for wallpapering will work well, too. Just make sure it’s long enough to hold the project.
At this point, your gun is going to look terrible, and you might think you have made a horrible mistake. Usually, this is when most hobby gunsmiths swear off cold bluing forever. But the reality is that you are a long way from being finished.
Dry the gun with clean paper towels, then heat it to completely dry the metal. Cut the supplied steel-wool pads into thirds, and degrease them with a spray degreaser. Use one of these steel-wool pads to “card” the bluing on the gun by gently rubbing to even out the finish.
Degrease the gun, heat it and apply more bluing. Then rinse, dry, card, degrease, heat, blue, wash, card, degrease again; and again; and again; and again. You may achieve acceptable results with just four or five applications, but it may also take 20 applications before you finally achieve that even and lustrous blued finish for which you are searching.
Nobody ever promised cold bluing would be easy. Cold bluing is labor-intensive, and that’s one reason professionals don’t do a lot of it. If your time is valuable, cold bluing is simply too time-consuming to be economically viable. But as hobby gunsmiths, we do this as much for the journey as the destination, and the results are the payment for the time invested.
When you have achieved the results you desire, coat the gun with good gun oil. This stops the bluing action and protects the metal against rusting. Don’t forget to lightly oil the bore. Put the gun back together, and admire the results.