Removing gun bluing

[350skylark]

i have a Springfield officers sized frame that is pretty beat up with scratches and should be refinished, 1. can i remove the bluing and leave it without and not worry about rust? And 2. if so how to i remove all of the bluing?

[LovingTheYear1911]

Wool pad will remove the finish. It's a lot of scrubbing.

[cundiff5535]

Hey 350... I do this on the side (and work with my uncle who has been rebluing for over 45 years). Seeing that the firearm is most likely Carbon Steel, I would 100% tell you NOT to take the bluing off of your pistol. It WILL rust for sure.

I would highly advise that you to let the guys/company that is going to reblue/refinish it and take the bluing off. There are a few things that can go wrong when stripping bluing off of a firearm... like rounding out edges or making flat surfaces uneven (then it looks like crap and cost a lot to fix the mistakes). Its just worth it to use a guy who knows exactly what he is doing, and since he is going to have to throw it on a buffing wheel anyway allow him to take off the finish.

If the guys are Cerakoting, its a simple sandblast which he will need to do anyway before the Cerakote.

I think its just wasted time and unnecessary risk for you do it on your own. Plus, if you don't end up refinishing it, you will regret it... because your guns will rust or get damaged from not having any protection on it. Trust me it will happen!

If the gun is Stainless Steel... then go for it, just use some light grit sand paper and some oil, or some scotch bright and oil! You need to make sure that you are evenly sanding or scrubbing otherwise you will have issues. If you are looking to make it "chome like" or shinny throw some flitz on it and really polish it!

If your firearm is Stainless and has a Melonite or Black Nitron finish, just leave it alone. That stuff is far more trouble to refinish than anything I have seen.

Hopes that helps!

Bc

[Press Check]

i have a Springfield officers sized frame that is pretty beat up with scratches and should be refinished, 1. can i remove the bluing and leave it without and not worry about rust? And 2. if so how to i remove all of the bluing?

Remove the bluing from a carbon steel pistol and it WILL start developing rust.

[JohnFLand]

If you insist on removing the bluing, ordinary white vinegar works fine. See http://www.m1-garand-rifle.com/debluing/. I tried it on a blued peep sight, worked fine.

[Cyc Wid It]

Let whoever is refinishing your gun do the prep work.

[Ledbetter]

Birch wood-Casey Rust Remover. But, then it will rust.

[350skylark]

i wasnt going to have anyone refinish the gun and thought about leaving it stainless with a blue slide. i combine a Springfield officers frame with colt combat commander slide in 9mm. The gun functions great and the slide bluing looks alright, the frame is all scratched up though. What about duracoat?

[TATER313]

It won t be stainless, it will rust

[Rob454]

Remove the bluing from a carbon steel pistol and it WILL start developing rust.

Huh thats interesting. Because I removed the blueing from a over under shotgun I had and then I polished it. My buddy traded me for a revolver and to this day there is not one spot of rust anywhere on the gun. Once in a while he throws a coat of oil and wipes it down with a cloth. And its been like this for over a year.