Lee Loader

Need to Blue a Barrel..

Anyone have any experience with Brownells "Oxpho-Blue or Formula 44/40 Blue?

Thanks!

I've used some of the Birchwood Casey cold blue . Mixed results . It worked great on a Mauser and is wearing well . I couldn't get it to darken much past gunmetal grey on a Brazilian O/U barrel set . It stayed good on a Browning barrel but not on the receiver .

I've used the BC as above. Get all the metal to the same color by sanding and polishing then clean it. CLEAN! CLEAN! CLEAN! Then clean with alcohol. Heat with a blow dryer first then apply EVENLY. Don't leave it on too long. Wash with detergent and HOT water. Add oil.

GasGuzzler wrote:I've used the BC as above. Get all the metal to the same color by sanding and polishing then clean it. CLEAN! CLEAN! CLEAN! Then clean with alcohol. Heat with a blow dryer first then apply EVENLY. Don't leave it on too long. Wash with detergent and HOT water. Add oil.

I remove all old bluing and then polish with increasingly fine wet-dry paper finishing with 1000 grit or better. The barrel is then washed in boiling water and Mean Green degreasing detergent. It is then rinsed with boiling water and it dries almost immediately without air. The barrel is a uniform temperature. I use G96 gel blue applied with a sponge brush and keep the surface wet by continuous applications brushing in long strokes. After 2-4 minutes, some superfine steel wool is dipped in liquid blue and I gently blend the whole surface. Wash with hot water and dish detergent and then spray all over especially in the barrel and the nooks and crannies with WD40. Wipe off and a light oil coating applied with a soft cloth. Can't overemphasis about getting the whole surface as close to the same degree of polish. If you are not looking for a glossy result, I have found a brass wire wheel on a bench grinder does a good job of surface preparation. It also gets into minor pitting to remove rust.

Thank You Gents.!!

Blued as I described with an additional buffing on a wheel with blue compound before final clean and bluing. This is the first shotgun I owned. Bought it in 1974. It had little original bluing left and was at that "Patina" stage.

Macd wrote:Blued as I described with an additional buffing on a wheel with blue compound before final clean and bluing. This is the first shotgun I owned. Bought it in 1974. It had little original bluing left and was at that "Patina" stage.

Cooey Cold Blue.JPG

Looks good!

Very nice looking!

What make and model is your shotgun Macd?

Ranch Dog wrote:What make and model is your shotgun Macd?

Cooey Model 840 12 gauge, full choke 28 inch barrel made in Cobourg Ontario. Cooey was bought by Winchester in the 1960's. I bought it for hunting geese and ducks but it was also a good bunny buster. I can still hear the beagles and feel that sense of anticipation in waiting for the rabbit to make its circle and give you a quick shot.
Here is a picture. Note the wood is the same colour for both stock pieces but I couldn't get the light right and had to take the picture from an angle.