Slow Rust Bluing

[sengk]

I have a question for those that have done rust bluing before.

I'm planning on rust bluing a 1911 frame. Should I rust blue the entire frame inside and out or just the exterior and leave the inside "in the white"? I would like to rust blue the entire frame but it seems like carding the mag-well area would be difficult.

thanks

[kcstott]

Steel wool is your friend. Use it in tough to get to areas along with steal wire brushes.
You don't want to leave any area unblued

[sengk]

thanks.

[Zenith]

Last time I checked, there are some steel wire carding type brushes at Homedepot in the small tool section where all of the hammers and power tools are located.. if they aren't there, they can be had at Brownells. If the brush is too wide, you could probably cut them in half so that it could fit inside of the mag-well area. For the exterior areas, a rotary carding wheel is highly recommended. This gets the job done faster and you will get better results
In my experience of rust bluing, if a part did not come factory blued, then chances are it won't get blued without the proper tools and techniques. One reason is that the steel is hardened to a degree that the bluing won't properly rust the steel, so this leaves it either intact or achieve a very inconsistent finish. Although rust resistance is a good thing, but in this case.. not so much. I could be wrong, but this is what I have come to find.
Remember, if a part doesn't blue after 1-2 or even 3 attempts, leave it! Bead blast it, then ceracoat it.

-Jarred

[sengk]

it was originally blued but it's wearing off. I was going to get it ceracoated but having to ship it overnight both ways gets kind of expensive.

[kcstott]

The only time a part wont rust blue is due to being hardened cast steel.
You may have to pickle the part first to get it to take the rust blueing

[kcstott]

Keep in mind too that the wire wheels at the hardware store are going to be way to coarse.
Brownell's has fine wire carding wheels. They aren't cheep but if you want anything near a professional job the correct tools are needed.

[gesundheit]

Kerry which Brownell's carding wheel would you recommend. Last time I checked I got too confused by all the options available.

[TURBOELKY]

Rust bluing is pretty fun! I media blasted first though. How do you plan to prep first?

[jennifersmith]

Balanced concentration of bluing salts and acids that require diligent metal preparation and multiple applications to achieve the truly stunning metal finish you expect from rust bluing.

[sengk]

Degrease,Media blast, sand with 400 grit, heat, degrease.

[kendog4570]

I have a question for those that have done rust bluing before.

I'm planning on rust bluing a 1911 frame. Should I rust blue the entire frame inside and out or just the exterior and leave the inside "in the white"? I would like to rust blue the entire frame but it seems like carding the mag-well area would be difficult.

thanks

Most commercial, and some military contract Lugers were rust blued, leaving unfinished areas inside in the hard to reach places. Get what you can and leave the rest white. The mag well area would be easy enough to get with steel wool on a stick or a fine wire brush. The tough spots might be the trigger slot and hammer/sear areas. If you want to rust blue evrything you might try fume bluing.

[kcstott]

I recommend this one if you want to keep a some what glossy finish
Carding wheel

Or this one if you want it a little more matte finish
CArding wheel

The fine one is what I use for blending in polished lines on custom parts I make and leave in the white.

[Gunsmith Dan]

Just remember Slow Rust Bluing is a multiple coat process to get to the right blue/black color. You will in most cases need to do a minimum of 10 coats before the bluing starts to look the right dark blue/black color. So make sure you put aside plenty of time to do this bluing project.

Steel wool wrapped around a square dowel you can buy in Home Depot will solve your reaching into the magwell area problem.

FYI you can ship handguns to FFL's using 2nd day if you still want to Cerakote. I am a Factory Certified Cerakote applicator and I would provide you with a discounted UPS shipping label if you still wanting Cerakoting done.

[sengk]

Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions. I purchased a bottle of laurel mountain forge barrel brown and degreaser to try out. I'm going to try rust bluing a small part first something like a MSH to see what results I can get before tackling the frame.