Why bluing?

[DeepSouth]

If your blued guns are rusting just setting around the house, you need to learn how to take better care of them.

I agree.

I have several blued guns 30-35 years old with 0 rust on them, some of these guns sit in gun racks for 9 months a year with no attation, only touched in hunting season. I also have one less than 3 years old, (a single shot Savage youth) that rusts like crazy if you don't coat it in oil. Makes me think all bluing it not created equal, but I don't know.

 

[SSN Vet]

R.C. thanks for posting the link to the Brownell's article

very good read....

who would've thunk it, that humble ol' WD-40 did as well, if not better than all the uber-technical rust preventors...

 

[GoWolfpack]

I don't have a rusting problem and NEVER touch the metal barehanded or allow anyone to touch them barehanded.

I'll bite; how do you pull that off? I try to wipe all mine off and not put them away with fingerprints on them, but NEVER touching the metal, EVER? I'm very curious.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

That is what the stocks are for. I wear cotton or medical gloves when cleaning. There is no need to ever touch the bare metal. I also wear gloves while shooting or hunting. It actually takes no effort at all.

 

[FRJ]

I would like to point out that oil is hydroscopic ( yes my spelling is probably wrong) which means it attracts water. I never leave oil in the barrels of my firearms as it may cause rusting in the barrel. On the rest of the gun I wipe it down with alcohol and store them dry. FRJ

 

[berettaprofessor]

Oil (i.e. longchain hydrocarbons) are NOT hydroscopic. Oil is hydrophobic, thus the old saying "Oil and Water don't mix".

 

[gatorjames85]

Makes me think all bluing it not created equal

I definitely agree. It seems that, in general, older guns are more rust-resistant than newer guns. Could be the metal composition, though.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Compare the control test piece in the Brownell's rust preventative comparison test to ANY type of treatment and dry metal looses big. Even the poorest rust preventative beats out bare metal. You must live in a very arid environment,FRJ.

 

[gatorjames85]

Oil (i.e. longchain hydrocarbons) are NOT hydroscopic. Oil is hydrophobic, thus the old saying "Oil and Water don't mix".

I think it's actually "hygroscopic" and yes, try putting some oil and water in a jar and see what happens.

 

[pikid89]

i think that blueing is a poor choice for a working firearm, I much prefer and only buy stainless guns. I wish that stainless would become the de facto standard for guns these days, and that bluing was the other option but as they say wish in one hand and s**t in the other and see which fills up first

Blue is okay for guns in the safe or the range but ill take stainless over blue any day (unless its free)

 

[jimmyraythomason]

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygroscopy> I didn't see oil of any sort listed.

 

[Brimic]

If your blued guns are rusting just setting around the house, you need to learn how to take better care of them.

Yes and no.

Out of the 50 or so firearms that I have, I have had orstill have 3 that rust no matter what. One is a Savage enfield that had rust around the last inch or so of the barrel when I bought it. I cleaned the rust off and it still rusts no matter what I do (I suspect that the metal may have been exposed to acid at some point in its life). I had a remington 597, though not blued, I could not get the exterior of the barrel to not rust. I have a springfield 1911A1 that is problematic as well, though not as bad as the other two examples, I have to give it a fresh coat of RIG every month or so when its not in use or it gets red fuzzies on it on its sharp corners. I've heard of some Browning shotguns having similar problems, but mine haven't had any prroblems at all. The rest of the guns I've owned have never had rust on them while I stored them, and that even includes a Winchester 94 that I bought with some surface rust/pitting on it and cleaned up.

 

[gatorjames85]

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hygroscopy> I didn't see oil of any sort listed.

Because it's not hygroscopic. Try the opposite of hygroscopic (hydrophobic).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrophobic (Wikipedia article)

 

[gatorjames85]

I've heard of some Browning shotguns having similar problems

I have a BPS. Very nice gun, except for the finish. It will rust immediately if you don't keep it soaked in oil.

 

[General Geoff]

Even the poorest rust preventative beats out bare metal.

Stainless steel would disagree.

 

[jdowney]

"I'm not bashing anyone who likes bluing, but it seems to be one of the poorest things going to protect the finish of a weapon. "

In all fairness, bluing (rust bluing) and browning were the only practical processes available before wide spread electrical power became normal, thus establishing the tradition. While not providing exceptional rust protection, they were still better than bare metal.

I think if parkerizing were more aesthetically pleasing, it would have long ago eclipsed bluing as the standard, non-stainless gun finish.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Not talking stainless. When my brother and I were doing bluing (part-time)for the public in the late '70s early '80s, we were polishing on one Saturday and bluing the following Saturday. We had a problem with rust forming so we bought Brownell's Hold<http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1071/Product/HOLD> thinking it would prevent the rust and subsequent re-polishing. It did not. We finally just polished what we could blue that day and soaked all blued parts in WD-40. Blued parts didn't rust. I still only polish just before bluing.

 

[CWL]

I know I sound like a spokesman for national wax sales, but I can't help but recommend simple wax for most people's problems with corrosion prevention on their firearms.

Wax, whether car wax, floor wax, beeswax, RenWax, whatever you have on hand, will protect the surface of exposed metal extremely well. It stays in place and forms a moisture barrier whereas oils and lubes have a tendency to pool and migrate from large surfaces. Wax also doesn't rub off when brushed against clothes or the pad of your gunsafe.

Wax has been used to protect weapons for thousands of years. Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

While wax does a great job at sealing metal against oxidation,(I used bee's wax on traps for years), I have found that automotive waxes have an odor that I don't want on my hunting guns. The deer around here(the big ones anyway) are very wary of any non-natural odors. So maybe wax for storage purposes during the off-season but it'll have to come off come hunting season.

 

[SSN Vet]

why blueing???

cause it looks a lot better than browning

and is quite a bit less expensive than Stainless steel (both more expensive metal and more expesive to machine)

 

[Creature]

If your blued guns are rusting just setting around the house, you need to learn how to take better care of them.

Now thats not fair. I do take care of all of my rifles taking them down to clean after EVERY shooting.

You're not taking enough care of your guns if they're rusting...

 

[gym]

Buy desicant packets for your safe or whever you keep your guns. I picked up a box of the packets on ebay for five bucks. They can even be microwaved and reused when they get moist. I got enough for the next ten years for a lousy five dollars, put some in the ammo drawer, closet etc. Just a little common sense.

 

[SG1]

Has anyone heard of waxing their guns instead of oiling to protect the finish? I read in a couple places that a good, pure-carnuba wax will seal out moisture. This is not to take the place of lubrication, obviously, but to protect the outer finish.

Editing to say I wrote this slowly, before another poster had mentioned waxing. Sorry for the redundancy.

 

[rcmodel]

See this about that:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=4110525&postcount=7

rc

 

[bhk]

Most of my handguns and long guns are blued. With the exception of one, rust has not been a problem. My 'bird' gun, an old Browning Citori, has been hunted hard (today in the rain, for example) for at least two decades killing thousands of quail and doves. The bluing is totally worn away from the bottom of the receiver from carrying. Not a spot of rust anywhere on it. My main carry gun is blued. It never rusts. A little care is all it takes on most correctly blued guns.

Now, my problem gun is a different story. It is a Sako .223 and its barrel will rust in a matter of days if not reoiled. I read somewhere that the bluing process contains a 'stop bath' that is supposed to stop the bluing (really a kind of rusting), and if the stop bath is not used correctly, the bluing/rusting never truly stops. This may be the problem with some of our 'problem guns.' I had a Ruger 77 a few years ago that had this same problem. I tried every rust preventative known to mankind on my Sako. Nothing worked until one day I tried some Johnson's Paste Wax. No rust for years now, even though I hunt it pretty hard most winters. I put a new coat of wax on each year. No more oil for the exterior of that gun.