[PinnedAndRecessed]

I've got a couple of handguns with itty bitty scratches. I've found both pro and con about cold blue. Anybody here tried it with success? If so, what brand did you use? The guns are M-19-3 Smith and late 80's vintage Colt Python.

From what I've read you've got to keep applying the blue, yet rinse it with running water so as not to stain the surrounding area. I thought I might give it a whirl before sending them off to be reblued.

[Rockrivr1]

I bought the stuff a few years ago so unfortunately I don't remember the name. As to the product, I didn't like it at all. It never blended in correctly so close up you could tell what was done. Maybe I was doing it wrong, so maybe YRMV. But for me, I'll not use it again. If the scratches, blemishes,etc are bothering me that much, I'll save up and have the gun refinished.

[Bill Z]

I'll touch up my blued guns from time to time with Oxpho blue creme from Brownell's, it works okay, I'll even use it when I fit a part for someone and they are not wanting it refinished at the time. having a firearm re-blued isn't really all that expensice, but I guess that is a relative statement. One thing though, with use it will wear off and get scratched up again.

[Erich]

I've used Oxpho and the Birchwood Casey pens and liquids. The Oxpho is best of those, but BC is fine for touch-up. Bill is right: it will wear off fairly easily. A decent wax over the re-blue will considerably slow wear (Turtle Wax works fine).

[dfaugh]

Ive done entire guns with the Birchwood Casey stuff...and gotten compliments ("As in who did that bluing job for you?")on them. Key is surface prep, and I usually apply multiple coatings, buffing with 0000 steel wool in between. Some have been well used, and are holding up well.

[standingbear]

Ive had good results with the liquid "super blue"... it seems more durable.


as mentioned in an earlier post, make sure its clean.rubbing alcohol will remove fingerprints from the metal that contain oils. the bluing will only look as good as the surface prep..

[Dean Taylor]

If worse comes to worse and you are really pushed Black Magic Marker will work in a pinch as a quick fix. It is cheap and available many places.

Dean
deanrtaylor@att.net
410-952-7848

[romulus]

This is going back maybe ten years, but I got excellent blending with Van's Gun Blue. All the other blues I tried, BC, 44/40 creme, Hoppes, stuck out like sore thumbs. The Van's blended near invisible.

[Jim K]

The best I have used for touchup is G96 Gun Blue Paste. IMHO, it is much better than Birchwood Casey.

It is possible to do a reasonably good full bluing job with cold blue, using the boiling and rusting process used with rust blue chemicals. But I have never found any cold blue that is as durable or as deep as a good tank blue or rust blue.

Remember that bluing is nothing more than controlled rust, so if it is not solid, oil or penetrant type preservatives will take it off fairly quickly.

Jim

[Bill Z]

You know, I'm tempted to try that Blue Wonder blue, they make some really neat claims, but I've just got to much Oxpho laying around to justify spending the dough on it.

Okay, who's close to running out and will volunteer to do a test?

Blue wonder advertisement (http://www.bluewonder.us/BlueWonderGunBlue.html)

[kimbernut]

I've bought the Blue Wonder to try a touch up to my Star BM. Probably won't get to it 'til next week but I'll let you know after trying it. If it works well I plan to try it on a 1911 slide next.

[Tinkerer]

I've had excellent results using Van's Gun Blue, but ya gotta follow the directions! It's not a paint-on blue like most, it really blues the metal. I did a Marlin 1894 CB bolt that someone had messed up with a laser engraver. The owner still gets compliments on that bolt.

http://www.blackfinishes.com/vaningunblu.html

[molonlabe]

I had this little pen that looked like a magic marker but the stuff in it was clear had a blue cap. A local Armory gave me back a re-barreled M1 carbine with it re-crowned with no Parkerizing. The pen reblued it perfectly. I can’t find the dammed thing :cuss: so I can’t tell you who made it. Maybe someone here knows. I got it a gun show. Wish I had it cause I got some dings in my guns.

[Sam]

Vans is the best, blends well. Follow the directions to the letter, except you clean it twice. Depending on the steel you can do nice work with it. Indespensible around the shop. Always touch up work to be done.

Sam

[Walt Sherrill]

I think I've tried them all, including Vans...

The best I've found is Ox-Pho Blue mixed with G96 paste.

A secret that helps is to heat the metal with a heating gun before you apply the blue.

(I've done whole guns with the mix above, and its held up very well. It'll get a little thin on front and back straps with a lot of handling, and that'll need to be touched up, from time to time.

I've tried the Novum stuff, but can't see that its that much better than anything else. I'll try it again. A lot of it effectiveness seems to depend on the composition of the metal on which its being used.)

[HankB]

Blue Wonder

I saw this stuff demonstrated at a gun show a couple of months back. It looked like it worked pretty well . . . BUT it won't "take" on something like a Glock or HK slide that has a "tenifer" or similar treatment from the factory.

[petrel800]

I tried the birchwood casey stuff and was not impressed at all with their bluing liquid. I tried it twice, and both times I had similar bad results.

[Desert Dog]

I have gotten really good results with Oxpho Blue Creme.

The key for it working well is localized heat and removing any oil, even though the directions say you do not need to degrease the parts to be blued....