Blueing your own reciever?

falfred · January 25, 2007, 18:28

I have a beautiful STG58 kit that is blued. Whats the best way to blue a receiver to try to match the kit? Your suggestions will be appreciated.
Thanks, Fred

falfred · January 25, 2007, 18:38

I should add that I parkerize, but I have never blued, and this will be a one shot deal.
Thanks again, Fred

hockeysew · January 25, 2007, 22:25

Blueing is a PITA

Considering the fact that the finish will only be as good as the surface it goes on.
You damn near have to polish it to a near mirror finish to get a real rich (Colt Python) blue.
The best way is with hot solutions-I have found that the cold methods tend to be real spotty.
If you want a true,quality blue you may want to consider coughing up the cash to get it profesionally blued.

chromestarhustler · January 26, 2007, 04:14

i got all the tanks and such, really depends what you want it to look like. a rough blasting with 80 media. and the gel blue gives a pretty almost black finish.or what i really wanna try is a mirror polish and hot nitro blue to get the peacock blues like the old peacemakers. but really a huge p i t a

Voided37 · January 26, 2007, 05:47

Did someone say; A pain in the ass?
That's why when your done if it was enough painstaking work YOU GOT SUCH A BEAUTIFUL FIREARM TO LOVE! You get out of it what you put into it.
I want to put a beautiful deep blue on one i got coming also.
Park ain't no problem, if everything else turns out shitty. JUST PARKERIZE IT!
And then for the, "I'm too busy to care about it" attitude, PAINT IT AND HEAT IT TO ABOUT A 1000 DEGREES....That oughta fix it...No worrys about it rusting now, HUNH?
OK, sarcastic mode off....
I love a rich blue, but it is more trouble. So what.
steve

Voided37 · January 26, 2007, 05:51

Purely to answer your question;
Take the whole rifle to a quality 'smith and let him hot blue the receiver with the matching parts available to eyeball and get the receiver as close as he can to the other finish.

Voided37 · January 26, 2007, 05:54

Quote:

Originally posted by hockeysew
Blueing is a PITA
Considering the fact that the finish will only be as good as the surface it goes on.
You damn near have to polish it to a near mirror finish to get a real rich (Colt Python) blue.
The best way is with hot solutions-I have found that the cold methods tend to be real spotty.
If you want a true,quality blue you may want to consider coughing up the cash to get it profesionally blued.

+1

adam762 · January 26, 2007, 06:08

If you find someone, let me know. I have an early FN StG kit that is blued, as well, and will need an upper done to match. Blueing is not something I want to mess with.

falfred · January 26, 2007, 18:25

Thanks gents, I will let you know the outcome. I am looking at Brownells bluing stuff---$$$$$$!
Regards, Fred

Voided37 · January 27, 2007, 20:31

Quote:

Originally posted by falfred
Thanks gents, I will let you know the outcome. I am looking at Brownells bluing stuff---$$$$$$!
Regards, Fred

Please do. I'd like to hear your results, if any.
steve

gunsmith_tony · January 27, 2007, 22:24

Bluing is quite a bit more involved than Parkerizing. It's also more hazardous.
Should you (or anyone else) decide to do so, the best advise is simply this; follow the instructions. I don't mean follow the instructions like most people follow instructions...I mean FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS.
Bluing salts is an oxidizer. It's corrosive. And thats just in the can. In a black iron tank, mixed with water, and boiling vigorously at 292-degrees...one little hiccup can send you to the Emergency room.
Most accidents happen while adding water to the heated solution. Or just mucking around with the solution in general. At that temperature, water evaporates from it constantly. So at some point during a bluing session, you'll have to add some in order to maintain a "rolling biol" at 292-deg. ALWAYS wear a full face shield when adding water to the heated solution. Long rubber gloves and a long sleeve shirt are a good idea too. Adding hot water (a common sense solution) does not lessen the danger significantly. Add water using a small, long handled ladle with only a trickle while sweeping it quickly across the full length of the tank. NEVER try to add water with any container that holds more than about a cup or so. If you bump it on the edge or side of the tank and it all goes in at once the solution will erupt violently and burn the shit out of you.
Don't put any alloy parts in the solution. They will dissolve. Fumes from the solution are also corrosive to aluminum.
Don't try to do it on your stove...or anywhere in your house. Don't even think about it. A well ventilated area of a shop, shed, or out-building would be best...as long as it's isn't made of aluminum.

Not trying to turn you away from it. Quite the contrary.
When properly done, the results can be impressive...and occasionally, astonishing. You can even hot blue over fresh Parkerizing!
Just be very very careful.

GySgt D · February 02, 2007, 18:50

I reblued my STG lower receiver using good ol' Birchwood Casey cold blue.

Prepped the metal using a floppy scotch-brite wheel chucked into a power drill.

It looks like hammered ass

AndyC · February 02, 2007, 18:54

Quote:

Originally posted by GySgt D
It looks like hammered ass

Ok, for us foreigners... is that a good or bad thing?

Voided37 · February 02, 2007, 20:21

Ditto on that hammered ass thing...JUST NOT SURE ABOUT THAT!!!

But i AM sure about this;

Th' FAL is wifout a doubt th' finess rifle available fo' defendin' yer mobile home or huntin' camp fum them uppity Federales. Yo' kin use it equally fine while jack-lightin' deer or keepin' th' possum sheriff at a comfy distance.

That's RIGHT up my alley there....LOL

Seriously, I can't find the link but there was a gunsmith discussing boil over when adding water to a hot bluing tank.
HE SAID TO ADD ICE CUBES INSTEAD OF WATER....ON THE FAR END OF THE TANK FROM THE THERMOMETER. I believe it was from SGN site or Numrich...One of them...

GySgt D · February 03, 2007, 13:37

Pardon me... The proper usage of the term is like this: "it looked like a bag of hammered ass". In other words, the results were somewhat of an aesthetic disappointment.

It is a term used fairly often in Marine Corps aviation maintenance. Perhaps it hasn't caught on with the rest of the world yet. Give it time...

Colt · February 05, 2007, 10:29

the USAF response is "Ugly as a sack of assholes"

(sounds pretty much like what my last bluing attempt looked like too)

January 25, 2007, 18:28	#1
falfred Registered FALaholic #: 8090 Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 295	Blueing your own reciever? I have a beautiful STG58 kit that is blued. Whats the best way to blue a receiver to try to match the kit? Your suggestions will be appreciated. Thanks, Fred

January 26, 2007, 04:14	#4
chromestarhustler Registered FALaholic #: 19815 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: kansas Posts: 3,427	i got all the tanks and such, really depends what you want it to look like. a rough blasting with 80 media. and the gel blue gives a pretty almost black finish.or what i really wanna try is a mirror polish and hot nitro blue to get the peacock blues like the old peacemakers. but really a huge p i t a __________________ My God in heaven, watch over me and please let me be victorous over mine ememies, but if i must fall in battle let me be brave i am a member of the ammo hoarders of america, ask me about selling your ammo for my fun and your profit

January 26, 2007, 05:47	#5
Voided37 Registered FALaholic #: 18625 Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: TN Posts: 533	Did someone say; A pain in the ass? That's why when your done if it was enough painstaking work YOU GOT SUCH A BEAUTIFUL FIREARM TO LOVE! You get out of it what you put into it. I want to put a beautiful deep blue on one i got coming also. Park ain't no problem, if everything else turns out shitty. JUST PARKERIZE IT! And then for the, "I'm too busy to care about it" attitude, PAINT IT AND HEAT IT TO ABOUT A 1000 DEGREES....That oughta fix it...No worrys about it rusting now, HUNH? OK, sarcastic mode off.... I love a rich blue, but it is more trouble. So what. steve __________________ Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives. John Stuart Mill Conservatives define themselves in terms of what they oppose. George Will A conservative is one who admires radicals centuries after they're dead. Leo Rosten A free America... means just this: individual freedom for all, rich or poor, or else this system of government we call democracy is only an expedient to enslave man to the machine and make him like it. Frank Lloyd Wright If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal. Emma Goldman AND!!!; If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all. Noam Chomsky

January 26, 2007, 05:51	#6
Voided37 Registered FALaholic #: 18625 Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: TN Posts: 533	Purely to answer your question; Take the whole rifle to a quality 'smith and let him hot blue the receiver with the matching parts available to eyeball and get the receiver as close as he can to the other finish. __________________ Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives. John Stuart Mill Conservatives define themselves in terms of what they oppose. George Will A conservative is one who admires radicals centuries after they're dead. Leo Rosten A free America... means just this: individual freedom for all, rich or poor, or else this system of government we call democracy is only an expedient to enslave man to the machine and make him like it. Frank Lloyd Wright If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal. Emma Goldman AND!!!; If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all. Noam Chomsky

January 26, 2007, 06:08	#8
adam762 Registered FALaholic #: 11334 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Zanesville, OH Posts: 3,418	blueing If you find someone, let me know. I have an early FN StG kit that is blued, as well, and will need an upper done to match. Blueing is not something I want to mess with. __________________ When is the bleeding going to stop? Charter Member, Knob Creek Book Club

January 25, 2007, 18:38	#2
falfred Registered FALaholic #: 8090 Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 295	I should add that I parkerize, but I have never blued, and this will be a one shot deal. Thanks again, Fred

January 25, 2007, 22:25	#3
hockeysew Registered FALaholic #: 24163 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: colorado Posts: 817	Blueing is a PITA Considering the fact that the finish will only be as good as the surface it goes on. You damn near have to polish it to a near mirror finish to get a real rich (Colt Python) blue. The best way is with hot solutions-I have found that the cold methods tend to be real spotty. If you want a true,quality blue you may want to consider coughing up the cash to get it profesionally blued.

January 26, 2007, 18:25	#9
falfred Registered FALaholic #: 8090 Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 295	Thanks gents, I will let you know the outcome. I am looking at Brownells bluing stuff---$$$$$$! Regards, Fred

January 27, 2007, 22:24	#11
gunsmith_tony Registered FALaholic #: 6564 Join Date: May 2002 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 2,521	Bluing is quite a bit more involved than Parkerizing. It's also more hazardous. Should you (or anyone else) decide to do so, the best advise is simply this; follow the instructions. I don't mean follow the instructions like most people follow instructions...I mean FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS. Bluing salts is an oxidizer. It's corrosive. And thats just in the can. In a black iron tank, mixed with water, and boiling vigorously at 292-degrees...one little hiccup can send you to the Emergency room. Most accidents happen while adding water to the heated solution. Or just mucking around with the solution in general. At that temperature, water evaporates from it constantly. So at some point during a bluing session, you'll have to add some in order to maintain a "rolling biol" at 292-deg. ALWAYS wear a full face shield when adding water to the heated solution. Long rubber gloves and a long sleeve shirt are a good idea too. Adding hot water (a common sense solution) does not lessen the danger significantly. Add water using a small, long handled ladle with only a trickle while sweeping it quickly across the full length of the tank. NEVER try to add water with any container that holds more than about a cup or so. If you bump it on the edge or side of the tank and it all goes in at once the solution will erupt violently and burn the shit out of you. Don't put any alloy parts in the solution. They will dissolve. Fumes from the solution are also corrosive to aluminum. Don't try to do it on your stove...or anywhere in your house. Don't even think about it. A well ventilated area of a shop, shed, or out-building would be best...as long as it's isn't made of aluminum. Not trying to turn you away from it. Quite the contrary. When properly done, the results can be impressive...and occasionally, astonishing. You can even hot blue over fresh Parkerizing! Just be very very careful.

February 02, 2007, 18:50	#12
GySgt D Registered FALaholic #: 232 Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: The Redneck Riviera Posts: 1,092	I reblued my STG lower receiver using good ol' Birchwood Casey cold blue. Prepped the metal using a floppy scotch-brite wheel chucked into a power drill. It looks like hammered ass __________________ Th' FAL is wifout a doubt th' finess rifle available fo' defendin' yer mobile home or huntin' camp fum them uppity Federales. Yo' kin use it equally fine while jack-lightin' deer or keepin' th' possum sheriff at a comfy distance.

February 02, 2007, 20:21	#14
Voided37 Registered FALaholic #: 18625 Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: TN Posts: 533	Ditto on that hammered ass thing...JUST NOT SURE ABOUT THAT!!! But i AM sure about this; Th' FAL is wifout a doubt th' finess rifle available fo' defendin' yer mobile home or huntin' camp fum them uppity Federales. Yo' kin use it equally fine while jack-lightin' deer or keepin' th' possum sheriff at a comfy distance. That's RIGHT up my alley there....LOL Seriously, I can't find the link but there was a gunsmith discussing boil over when adding water to a hot bluing tank. HE SAID TO ADD ICE CUBES INSTEAD OF WATER....ON THE FAR END OF THE TANK FROM THE THERMOMETER. I believe it was from SGN site or Numrich...One of them... __________________ Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservatives. John Stuart Mill Conservatives define themselves in terms of what they oppose. George Will A conservative is one who admires radicals centuries after they're dead. Leo Rosten A free America... means just this: individual freedom for all, rich or poor, or else this system of government we call democracy is only an expedient to enslave man to the machine and make him like it. Frank Lloyd Wright If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal. Emma Goldman AND!!!; If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all. Noam Chomsky

February 03, 2007, 13:37	#15
GySgt D Registered FALaholic #: 232 Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: The Redneck Riviera Posts: 1,092	Pardon me... The proper usage of the term is like this: "it looked like a bag of hammered ass". In other words, the results were somewhat of an aesthetic disappointment. It is a term used fairly often in Marine Corps aviation maintenance. Perhaps it hasn't caught on with the rest of the world yet. Give it time... __________________ Th' FAL is wifout a doubt th' finess rifle available fo' defendin' yer mobile home or huntin' camp fum them uppity Federales. Yo' kin use it equally fine while jack-lightin' deer or keepin' th' possum sheriff at a comfy distance. Last edited by GySgt D; February 03, 2007 at 13:42.

February 05, 2007, 10:29	#16
Colt Registered FALaholic #: 13352 Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Camden, SC Posts: 141	the USAF response is "Ugly as a sack of assholes" (sounds pretty much like what my last bluing attempt looked like too)

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