Gun Blue pens

[hometheaterman]

Are the gun blue pens they sell at Dicks any good? Would the be good to use where little spots of bluing have worn off? Do they actually look like gun blue or are these crap?

 

[Duce1]

I have no clue yet !

I purchased one today at Dicks Sporting Goods and will give it a try over this coming weekend on a few spots on one of my rifles .

I will let you know when I am done and how it works out .

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

I've used cold blue for years to blacken engraving on brass plates. It works fine for that.

It's OK for touching up an idiot mark on a 1911, or any other careless scratch, but for honest wear, just leave it alone.

If you want your guns to look untouched, don't touch them! Otherwise, enjoy them and don't worry about some honest wear.

 

[hometheaterman]

I'm starting to realize if I want to keep them unscratched I can't hunt with them. If I want to hunt with them I'm going to have to live with them being scratched up and having finish worn off in spots. I hate that as I like them scratch free but I don't think it's possible to use them and keep them in perfect shape. Unless I just target shoot or something where it's always in a case.

 

[Publius1688]

I tried the same pen from Dicks on an idiot mark. Didn't work worth a hoot.

 

[FROGO207]

I get the same results with a black Sharpie. It's cheaper also.

 

[Darkness]

I used a gun blue pen on my Blackhawk to cover some scratches, basically to prvent rust from settling there. It covers reasonably well, but upon close inspection, you can see that the pen leaves blueing that is a different hue than the original gun finish, and a bit shinier.

Black sharpie did not work as well for me, and wiped off with the first good cleaning. The gun blue stuff seems to stick around longer.

 

[Larry Ashcraft]

The best I've found for touch-up is Birchwood Casey Aluminum Black (which works just fine on steel or brass BTW).

The steel has to be squeaky clean. Apply with a cue tip and wipe off as soon as the metal turns black. If you leave it on too long, it'll make a thick coating of oxidization that will wipe off more easily.

 

[PTK]

Brownell's Oxpho-Blue. I've blued entire guns with it.

 

[FROGO207]

+1 to PTK for the Brownell's. I mix the liquid type with the paste type for a more even touch up. I think it holds up better also.