Refinishing Metal

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Mosin Bubba

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I have an M44, Turk Mauser, and Winchester 190 whose metal all needs to be refinished. I refinished and cold blued them this last summer, and they came out looking pretty good. But after just six months sitting in a safe, that blue is already fading away. It's very dull and thin, and there are several good sized patches that are down to bare steel. I have never shot these guns over this time, and handled them only once or twice. It's just wearing away seemingly on its own. Clearly I'm going to need to try something else.

The thing is that these are all $100 guns that I've already Bubba'ed, and I don't want to put more into these rifles than they are worth for a hot blue.

What are some options for re-finishing metal on the cheap?
 
Black BBQ spray paint for Walmart.

You either need to bite the bullet and have them hot blued.

Or paint them with DuraCoat, engine enamel, or BBQ paint.

All cold blues result in the same result yours resulted in 6 mo later.

rc
 
Well.....forget about cheap. Do you have an air compressor? A sand blaster? Jon Norells moly resin can be done at home, with an oven.....some folks might recommend Duracoat, although once again, proper metal prep is a must. Basically to do any refinish properly, it takes a lot of tedious prep and at least a modest outlay of funds to get started.
 
Well.....forget about cheap. Do you have an air compressor? A sand blaster? Jon Norells moly resin can be done at home, with an oven.....some folks might recommend Duracoat, although once again, proper metal prep is a must. Basically to do any refinish properly, it takes a lot of tedious prep and at least a modest outlay of funds to get started.
Click to expand...

Have an air compressor, don't have a sand blaster.

How do these paint jobs end up looking?
 
I have re-blued a few guns with cold bluing over the years and I have found it takes a number of coats to getting any kind of lasting effect.

I did my Walther PPK about 3 years ago that still looks great. It took 4+ coats. I did a Winchester pump .22 last year and it took 4+ coats and a Savage bolt 30.30 that took 5 coats. All have held up well so far.

Having done these myself I felt that the job was pretty good but, if I could have had them hot blued at a reasonable price I may have gone that route.
 
I am currently looking into parkerizing without dropping a huge chunk of change. The worst part is the stainless tank. I am looking at stainless bar rails, which can be had for $30 or $40. These may not be water tight tho.....I will be going to a restaurant supply store to check them out as soon as I have a chance. I will post the results of my extreme cheap refinish when I am done.
 
Look for a metal refinisher in your area, they do black-oxide finishing. The refinishers do not do any metal prep the just dunk your parts in the bath. You have to have the parts ready. Black-oxide is usually a matt black very durable finish.
 
I highly recommend Brownells Gun-Kote. I thinks it's Duracoat in a spray can. I have done several AK's and other rifles with awesome results. You should have a sandblaster.
The only cold bluing that I have found that holds up is Brownells Oxpo blue.
Metal prep means everything.
 
I use a sandblast gun that I bought for cheap at Harbor Freight. It works good, but only with a really good compressor, you need consistent good air pressure. I have to borrow my father-in-law's gas powered compressor, otherwise it takes 3 times as long waiting for the compressor to catch up.
 
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