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This is my first double rifle, but I've been tinkering with guns for longer than I can remember. I've built a number of magazine rifles and done a fair amount of passable restoration of older guns. My interest was drawn to doubles some time back and it's naturally developed to this stage - double rifles. My biggest problem is controling my eagerness!

I'm presently using Brownell's Rust Blue solution. Since this is my first experience with rust bluing (on my own at least) I couldn't comment on it's qualities compared to others or on homebrewed formulas. We're lucky in The States in that we can readily obtain so much of the stuff to address thes hobbies!

Not having the space for a permanant set up I bought a two burner gas stove. The type used for camping or patio cooking. It's two feet long stainless steel. My 6x6x40 inch tank came from Brownell's. I bought the black iron but in retrospect since it's not being used for anything but boiling parts, I wish I'd gotten the stainless. I use city water. So far no problems but I understand the minerals in many wells can cause some nasty problems. If by chance you have a dehumidifier in the home, it's a great source of pure distilled water if needed!

Here's a photo of the tank and burner.

I'm using plain old degreased steel wool for carding - 4/0 because its what I had on hand. To degrease the parts before starting I use boiling water and a carpet cleaning agent (degreaser) I bought at Lowes (home improvement store). It's made by Johnson Wax company and is "professional strength." This stuff is powerful and will take the oil right out of your skin if it gets on your hands. I'd guess an auto engine cleaner like "Gunk" would do about the same thing just make sure its non-flamable.
The parts of course dry quickly when removed from the boil but wet spots (especially weep holes in the rib) can be hit with the heat gun (or a hair drier). The solution is then swabbed on VERY THIN, just barely wetting the surface and ideally drying almost immediately due to the heat of the parts. The time it's left on can vary according to the humidity in the air. Yesterday and today we're in a thunderstorm mode so rusting is going pretty well. I've boiled and carded as quickly as two hours and as long as twelve so far! You have to judge it case by case each time. I made wooden plugs for the bores as per the instructions but my professional gunsmith buddy told me last evening he rarely does so. Stated he uses plugs mostly as handles but scrubs the bores throughly once bluing is complete with no ill effect. His bluing work is renowned so personally I'll take his advice but can't reccomend it over Brownell's instructions to anyone else!

I did degrease my wire wheel by spraying with aerosol break cleaner NOTE: do this ONLY while the machine is OFF!!! Break cleaner is highly flamable and the vapor can burst into flames from a spark in the motor. Spray the wheel liberally and allow to drain, turning by hand a few times as it does. Once most of the solvent is off the wheel you can turn it on momentarily but any remaining solvent will be slung everywhere! So far however I've only used the wheel once. I encountered a bad streak on the buttplate half way through and blended it out with the wheel. Once the desired color is acheived the parts are saturated with oil. I used ATF (auto trans. fluid) because it's cheap and creeps into every nook. I dunked as many parts as possible and slopped it on everything else very heavy then set them asside for 24 hours. Here's some of the small parts.

After 24 hours the parts are wiped off and buffed with paper towels. My results so far have been great. This is a terrific way to get professonal blue with minimal investment in equipment. Other than the burner and tank, everything else is commonly available - except the solution of course. It is time consuming but then this is a hobby right?

Edited by CptCurl (30/06/08 02:17 AM)

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