Cold Bluing -- myArmoury.com

Josh MacNeil · Posted: Fri 22 Aug, 2008 3:30 pm Post subject: Cold Bluing

Hey everyone. I want to try cold bluing but I've never done it before and am totally ignorant on the subject. I noticed Thom R. used it on his Cold Steel axe project ( http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t=13772 ) and i liked the way the finish looked. I didn't wanna hijack his thread so I started a seperate one. Can anyone pass me on to some info as to how to go about it? Thanks.

-JM

William Goodwin · Posted: Fri 22 Aug, 2008 4:46 pm Post subject:

I had a thread sometime back on blueing the guard & pommel of my Windlass 15th c. longsword

http://www.myArmoury.com/talk/viewtopic.php?t...highlight=

Not a hard process using Birchwood Casey gun blue.

Make sure the item your going to treat is well cleaned of any oils and dry.

Try a small test area first...then the number of treatments will determine the overall effect. Use a small 1/4" or 1/2" art brush to apply..the smaller brush makes it easy to get to small places. Not all
metal reacts the same to it. I did the basket of my Windlass type 2 Schiavona and it turned out completely
different from the longsword.

Cheers

Bill

Joel Minturn · Posted: Fri 22 Aug, 2008 6:40 pm Post subject:

I have done this a couple of times on some pistols not that I'm an expert or anything though.

I like the the Birchwood Casey's Perma Blue Cold Blue Paste. It works as advertised.

Some advice from personal experience.
1. figure out how and where your going to put the blue on. nothing like having a half blued object in you hand and trying to figure out how to hold it to finish the job. Yeah that was fun.

2. Prep the surface. if your not having to sand or remove rust then this won't be a big deal but remember blue won't/hide scratches.

3. clean the surface. Make sure you have removed ALL the oils and finger prints. I have used Isopropal alcohol because that is what I had on hand but brake cleaner or some other cleaner might work better. Just make sure the cleaner doen't leave a residue and drys quickly and completely. This is the most important part for getting a good even finish.

4. apply the stuff. The more layers you apply the darker the color. It also becomes lighter as it drys so apply a few more coats then you think you might need. Just remember to apply the blueing evenly and consistently.

5. once its completely dry, over night or so. oil or wax as you prefer to keep it from rusting. the blueing helps prevent rust but still needs to be treated.

that was longer than I expected but hope that helps and it turns out beautifully for you.

Russ Thomas · Industry Professional

Hi Josh,

One other thing that you might keep in mind, is that any items that might have been welded, for example a swept hilt guard, may also come out different colours around the welds, depending on the metal used as a 'filler'.
I have used the Birchwood Casey with some good results, but I have never tried it on anything large.

Good luck, keep us informed of progress!

Regards,

Russ

Anders Backlund · Posted: Sat 23 Aug, 2008 3:39 am Post subject:

I've trying bluing with liquid chemicals in the past, and in my experience the quickest way is to apply the bluing liquid and then heat it with a heat gun. This causes it to dry almost instantly and can be washed off. A few rounds of this results in a very dark, almost black bluing in a matter of minutes.

(Don't use this method for browning, though. I found that it will eat into the metal and might potentially ruin it.)