Rustbluing HELP !

[ford8nr]

So my son is working on his shotgun reblue project using Brownells rust bluing. It's been going well, coat, let rust, boil, card, repeat. He's on coat 7 or 8 and the last two haven't boiled well. The previous ones went in red and almost immediately turned black, he then boiled for 1/2 hour. The last one and now this one tonight don't want to turn black even after 1/2 hour in clean boiling water.
Any ideas ???

 

[rcmodel]

I'm no expert.

But maybe the black oxide is finally getting thick enough it can't get through to rust the base metal any longer??

What's the rust blue color & depth looking like at this point?

rc

 

[ford8nr]

From what I've found on the net it might be a water / dirty pan problem

 

[4v50 Gary]

Clean pan to boil in.
Clean water (no chlorine, no flouride which causes streaks).
Make sure the wire brush is oil free. It may not be after it has been used so much.
Wash those cotton gloves before use.
Clean cotton swab.
Clean container that solution is poured into.
Clean work surface.

 

[Jim K]

And don't handle the blued surfaces, even with gloves. Tap wood dowel rods into each end of the barrel to hold it by while moving it in and out of the tank and swabbing on the bluing.

Jim

 

[jrhines]

Don't use cotton swabs...

Go to Wal-Mart and buy the cheapest pack of tooth brushes you can find. Nothing but plastic bristles. The FDA doesn't allow anything on a toothbrush, no oil, lanolin, skin softener, nothing. I have used the same brush for over a year. Clean pan? My iron pan is a rust bucket, hardly clean. But I rinse it out and use distilled water to boil in. No cotton gloves! Same problem, get nitril gloves, cheap and disposable. Wooden dowels for holders? You bet, the only way (more or less). Six or seven cycles thru the process should be 'nuff. Keep everything oil FREE! Hands, gloves, carding wheel - Acetone is your friend!
Keep at it, it only took me three or four years to get it right, now it's fun to do. And all this assumes your prep was up to tickety-poo. It was, right!
Best,