silicosys4
Member
- Joined
- Jun 29, 2012
- Messages
- 3,733
Hello,
I have a question that hopefully someone can answer.
Why does the bluing on some older guns turn a "plum" color over time?
Ruger is particularly notorious for their bluing going "plum", I have a 3 screw single six flat top from the mid 60's that is VERY plum, I mean a wine colored burgundy.
From what I have seen, its not just a formula used for a short time, It seems to be a consistent 25 year long problem with the consistency or formula of their tanks...I have seen Rugers from the 60's all the way through the 80's with plum bluing, both their pistol frames and rifle receivers. Of interest to me is that ONLY the frames and certain parts of the guns plum up. I have never seen a plum revolver cylinder or barrel with bluing going plum, so that leads me to believe either there is a different bluing process or formula used on those parts, or the characteristics of the metal is different and doesn't cause plumming, or both. I have seen a Ruger P89 slide that was a beautiful plum color though, so it happened on more modern guns too.
I have seen other guns from the 60's and 70's with plum bluing, but Rugers are the most common.
I personally like the effect even though I realize it is unintentional and undesirable from a manufacturers viewpoint, and have purchased guns specifically because I liked how they looked with a flawless plum finish. Is this "plum" coloration specific to bluing processes that are no longer in use, or unavailable because of EPA changes? If I want to restore a plumming finish is there any way to get the same effect with a refinish?
Thanks for everyones answers
I have a question that hopefully someone can answer.
Why does the bluing on some older guns turn a "plum" color over time?
Ruger is particularly notorious for their bluing going "plum", I have a 3 screw single six flat top from the mid 60's that is VERY plum, I mean a wine colored burgundy.
From what I have seen, its not just a formula used for a short time, It seems to be a consistent 25 year long problem with the consistency or formula of their tanks...I have seen Rugers from the 60's all the way through the 80's with plum bluing, both their pistol frames and rifle receivers. Of interest to me is that ONLY the frames and certain parts of the guns plum up. I have never seen a plum revolver cylinder or barrel with bluing going plum, so that leads me to believe either there is a different bluing process or formula used on those parts, or the characteristics of the metal is different and doesn't cause plumming, or both. I have seen a Ruger P89 slide that was a beautiful plum color though, so it happened on more modern guns too.
I have seen other guns from the 60's and 70's with plum bluing, but Rugers are the most common.
I personally like the effect even though I realize it is unintentional and undesirable from a manufacturers viewpoint, and have purchased guns specifically because I liked how they looked with a flawless plum finish. Is this "plum" coloration specific to bluing processes that are no longer in use, or unavailable because of EPA changes? If I want to restore a plumming finish is there any way to get the same effect with a refinish?
Thanks for everyones answers
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