Messed up a magazine

[Gumbercules]

Hey all,
I have been read this forum for a while. I was cleaning some brass in a sonic cleaner the other day and thought might as well drop in the magazines also. Well apparently the vinegar, soap and lemi shine can really strip the bluing off of a magazine. So here is my dilemma, do I try to do a cold blue, rust blue or use some type of spray paint?
I have heard that cold blue will wear off fairly fast.
Rust bluing I have not heard a lot about.
Spray painting, well I am concerned that the paint could/would chip off.
And while I can obviously just buy a new magazine, I am looking at this from a learning Point of view. So what are your suggestions? Thanks

 

[rcmodel]

Yep! vinager (mild acid) would do that.

BTW: Magazines for what?

rc

 

[Sam1911]

What kind of magazine, for what gun, what material, etc? Kind of surprised that those took the finish off of a mag.

Mags get so much wear and tear slamming into the mag well, bouncing off the range floor or gravel, in and out of mag pouches all the time, spending a whole lot of time refinishing them might not be worth it, and a painted finish isn't going to hold up very well. That's likely why so many mags for new guns are a combination of stainless and plastic.

 

[Gumbercules]

Sorry. The magazine is for a S&W M&P 45. As far as what it is made of I assume (yes, I know what that means) that it is metal. It could be aluminum, however I did not think that aluminum would rust. I could also be wrong and the magazine had some type of powder coat or other treatment on it from the factory.

 

[rcmodel]

I was thinking M&P mags were powder coated stainless.

Maybe just finish cleaning off what isn't already, use it, and see if it rusts or not.

rc

 

[walking arsenal]

You could Duracoat it too and see where that goes.

 

[Sam1911]

Yes, I think they are all stainless, so bluing it would be out. No real point in refinishing it, really. The paints (duracoat, gunkote, ceracoat, AlumaHyde, etc.) are all you're going to be able to do yourself, and they won't last terribly long in regular range use conditions.

You could send it out for some high-end treatment (Melonite/tenifer, etc.), but if it is already stainless, the only benefit would be color.

 

[Gumbercules]

Well bloody hell,
So it looks like I will then be stripping it down completely. Then if it rusts then I will be trying the bluing. If stainless then a light coat of oil. Thanks for the input.

 

[Mr. D]

Yup, white vinegar is what i used to strip the bluing off the Pietta Remington 1859 and Euroarms Enfield Musketoon that I use for CW reenacting. Worked like a charm.

~D