dfariswheel
Member
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2002
- Messages
- 6,658
Heat bluing was how Colt used to blue all their guns in the pre-war era.
The parts were packed into metal drums with a secret mixture that contained charcoal, bone meal, and charred leather.
The drums were baked in temperature controlled ovens, and when they came out, they had the most beautiful blue color you ever saw.
The Colt Custom Shop still offers custom guns with heat blued screws. This blue is a very pale, tremendously shiny blue thats very fragile.
Whatever the process used, all the heat bluing processes are actually methods of color tempering the metal. Heat a piece of steel to the right temp and it turns a nice blue color.
As in all bluing, no matter what the process, the quality of polish determines the appearance of the blue job.
Thats why the Python had the best post-war factory finish. Most of the people doing the polishing had at least 10 years experience before they moved up to the Python.
The parts were packed into metal drums with a secret mixture that contained charcoal, bone meal, and charred leather.
The drums were baked in temperature controlled ovens, and when they came out, they had the most beautiful blue color you ever saw.
The Colt Custom Shop still offers custom guns with heat blued screws. This blue is a very pale, tremendously shiny blue thats very fragile.
Whatever the process used, all the heat bluing processes are actually methods of color tempering the metal. Heat a piece of steel to the right temp and it turns a nice blue color.
As in all bluing, no matter what the process, the quality of polish determines the appearance of the blue job.
Thats why the Python had the best post-war factory finish. Most of the people doing the polishing had at least 10 years experience before they moved up to the Python.