Faux color casehardening

[Hickok]

Good day to all. Read the board alot but hardly post much.

Just wanted to get opinions and show pictures of some "chemical" color casehardening I did. After much trial and error, it is starting to look promising. Brownells Ox-Pho blue, Q-tips, 91percent Iso alcohol, toothpicks, paper towels, fine bronze wool and Tru-oil.

Not the best picture, but the but the shine on the metal keeps reflecting and ruins the shot. I get some beautiful colors that you cannot see in the pictures, light cobalt blue, light and dark blue, red-bronze. As I said, the process is starting to look promising.

[Hickok]

Maybe somewhat better pictures.

[dusty texian]

That's lookin rite nice Hickok !

[Bugscuffle]

Dang! That's nice. Why not get a patent on that process and then sell it to Brownell's.

[Hickok]

Many thanks fellows! The colors in the pics look gaudy, but in fact looks nice in real life. Like Edison with light bulb, it been a lot of trial and error.

This Pietta 1860 Colt has been carried over hill and dale with the 25th Virginia in WV, Gettysburg Pa and Va. in re enactments. She also has had alot of powder and roundballs shot through the barrel. Time for a reblue and refinish. She has a taller front sight blade, hits dead center @ 25 yds, and groups 5 shots into 2 1/2" off the bench.

[Abilene]

Very interesting indeed.

[rbertalotto]

That looks great! I have three or four guns that I simply don't want to spend the $$ to send out and have real case color. Please post a step by step if you would. Much appreciated!

[longinosoap]

+1 to rbertalotto

I have a couple of guns, one a SAA that needs refinishing.

[Hickok]

Glad you fella's asked and happy to oblige!

First, you may have to try, repeat and try again, but you can get good results. I used Brownells Ox-pho Creme Bluing. The liquid type Ox-pho may work as well, but I always have used the creme.

Start with hammer first, as it is easy to get practice on, then you can move on to the frame when you are satisfied with your technique. Clean and de blue your metal. Shinier the better, and degrease with alcohol, etc.

A picture of the setup I put on my dremel tool to shine up the metal. Buy a small wooden dowel about 3/16", cut about 3 inches long, carefully cut a split in one end about a 1/2 inch deep. To the other end, take a small file and and file down a shank to the size that will fit in your dremel collet.  Take 1000 very extra fine sandpaper, cut apiece 1 inch long and 1/2 inch wide and slip it in the slit you made on the dowel. Chuck the other end in the dremel. Let the sand paper stick out long on one end of the dowel, and let about 1/8th of an inch stick out of the other side, and bend this short piece against the dowel. This keeps the paper in the dowel while buffing. Run your dremel fairly slow speed and you can polish your metal like a mirror with this fine sandpaper.

Get a cap full of 91 percent Iso alcohol, (Dollar General, Drug store etc.) and have it ready. I take a q-tip or a toothpick  or some small piece of paper towel and dip into the Iso alcohol and then into a dab of Ox-pho blue. Then take a quick stab or dob on your metal. A thick glob like a raised pimple of ox-pho blue seem to give the light cobolt blue color. I start with the q-tip first. Use the toothpick for very fine dots, or lay about 1/8 or 1/4 of an inch of the toothpick flat on the metal and roll it in your finger to get a wavy effect. At times you can take a piece of tissue and very quickly "smash" a blob of the OX pho blue and get a good effect. Press and pull away very quickly. Use and try a variety of combinations, and watch the bluing to tell when you are getting different colors. Sometimes use more alcohol to dilute or sometimes use pure Ox-pho blu to get darker colors. Experiment, and try leaving the Bluing set for long periods, very short periods, or wipe off immediately, so you can vary the colors.

Also this is very important, only wipe off your metal with a paper towel, NO STEEL WOOL when your are wiping off the OXpho blu. wipe the metal at numerous times to observe your colors and get back again to work. If you wipe any of the light blue or cobolt colors with steel wool, they vanish and leave only black color. You can also wipe with FINE bronze wool, and it will leave an orangish tint to some areas of metal. I also use common typing paper tp wipe down the blued areas to polish, Just remember, only wipe with a paper towel, typing paper or FINE bronze wool. NO STEEL WOOL or you loose you colors.

Keep working at it until you are satisfied. If it looks bad or you want a do over, simply de blue and de grease/de oil your metal and start again. When you get the look you want, simply set the piece aside for about 24 hours and let the bluing cure or set up. I know it sounds strange, but trust me, the rainbow colors will take a set and get hard. NO OIL, NO TOUCHING, NO STEEL WOOL, just leave it alone and come back later and do this final step

Lastly, this is what really makes your finished work look like a piece of glass that you can see into. Get some Tru-oil stock finish and LIGHTLY put a thin coat on all your metal, right over the bluing. Use a little dab on you finger, or alittle dab on a piece of cotton cloth, NO COTTON BALLS.

Don't gob it on like sap out of a pine tree, like I see some many people do to wood, just a nice thin smooth, shiney coat on the metal. Then set it aside for about one to two days, depending on how long the TR-oil needs to dry good and hard.

It will look beautiful and have "depth" to the finish that you can look into. As always, tru oil can always be touched up easily if a big scratch happens, and it can be polished anytime with a little dab on a cotton cloth, just like waxing furniture.

Hope this helps and works out for you all!

[Hickok]

Pictures of the Dremel tool Polisher;

[Bugscuffle]

Thanks pard! I'm thinking of trying your method on my 1892 receiver.

[Hickok]

I would use caution in trying to buff/polish any large flat surface such as a model 92 receiver with my homemade Dremel tool "buffer."
It works well on cap and ball frames and hammers, due to the small surface area. It may not give inconsistant results on larger pieces creating dips and waves on the surface. A large buffer/ polishing setup is the way to go on bigger and larger projects.

Also test a small piece of metal as to what color the cold blue will produce on the Model 92 receiver, as some different metal or alloy blend is sometimes used on rifle and shotgun receivers and actions.

When my Dad had his gunshop, we would run into this when we hot-blued some shotguns and lever actions rifles. The barrels would come out a dark blue, and the actions/receivers would be a plum purple due to different alloys in the metals.

[Bugscuffle]

Hickock - I appreciate the advice, but that's not a problem with me. I have an electric grinder, wire wheel and two buffing wheels for it. I took out the rifle today and was looking at it and trying to touch up a couple of little nicks in the bluing, and the Birchwood Casey's Perma Blue doesn't want to take. I'm wondering now if the gun doesn't have an alloy receiver. It does attract a magnet with about the same force as the barrel does, but I couldn't get the bluing to take. It could be that I had oil on the metal. I didn't do a very good degrease before I tried the touch up, and I didn't have time to putz with it hardly at all. I'll delve into that on another day.

[rifle]

Looks good Hickock.
The traditional covering to prolong the life of case hardening colors is laquer. It's hard and lasting. Used on the real case hardening colors too.
There is a kit sold at gunsmith supply places (Midway USA) that is used to fresh up or redo faux case colors.(or maybe bring back the colors to real caseharden colors)
The laquer comes in the kit. Maybe the kit is nothing more than what you have done. Never used the stuff. Just saw it there at MidWay USA.
You know....the truth be told..... real case hardening colors are kinda dull and not glossy. The colors get glossy from the laquer.
The real case hardening can get somewhat shiny from alot of polish before hand though. A Second Generation Colt cap&baller is an example of the dullness of casehardening. That's how to tell it's the realthing...dull. Maybe the cyanide case hardening is more shiny.

[Blair]

rifle,

Thank you!
You are very correct. Real 'color' case hardening does indeed fade with exposure to light and the elements. Another words, normal usage and/or cleaning.
Lacquer and/or clear Varnish will help keep the colors a bit more visible, and in some case even help to bring out some of the faded colors.
Providing the original finish has been cared for and not been molested.
  Blair

[Hickok]

I had read older literature stating that the casehardened finishes indeed had a lacquer/varnish coating, so Tru-oil came to mind. Having used Tru-oil for years, I can say it is a great product. Linspeed is also good.

[Blair]

Hickok,

These do work better than nothing.
However, giving the clear UV "Spar Varnish's" a try. It might last longer. Depends on you cleaning methods.
Just a thought.

[GunClick Rick]

What was that stuff we used in crafting class that smelled like rottin eggs,we put copper in it to antique it or give it a patina.

wonder if that would work?

[damdane]

Hey Hickok! Great thread! I have been looking for this for sometime so I had to join this forum.  I am restoring a Stevens favorite that was in pretty bad shape. Relined and reblued the barrel and other parts but am too cheap to send the frame off for CCHing. At least not on a gun that won't be worth the cost when I'm done.
Also I have a question, Was the frame you worked on case hardened origonally? I ask because I always have trouble trying to blue parts that were origonally hardened, for obvious reasons, and this could solve that issue. It costs $2-300 for color case hardening and I can't see see it for a $300 gun.
Thanks again and good work
Mark

[Kent Shootwell]

Damdane,
If you anneal a cased part before polishing then blue you will get better results. Also if can anneal you can color case harden with a minimum of cost. Lump char coal and Kasenite can do a good job.