Blueing the barrel question/help

went to bass pro yesterday looking for CLP and this guy was getting this blueing solution bottle to re-do his barrel after years of ware on it and i asked him what that was for, and he went rambling on for like 20min, and i was just agreeing with what he was saying, but i really had no clue
guess i expected a short answer......not a story book (note to self-dont talk to strangers at bass pro )

i think this is it, but im not 100% sure...there were different ones there....
http://www.basspro.com/Birchwood-Casey- ... uct/34232/

soooooo, yesterday i was trying to put on my new heat shield on the 590 that i got from RyanMac (thanks bro, it is awesome) :mrgreen: and managed to scratch the barrel a bit when installing it :cry: (tight fit) but its not bad though and i noticed a bit of barrel ware on the pump forend area too :| so now i want to see if this will cover up the area.

anyone use this stuff :?: i dont even know what its called (guessed at the link above) but i just know its for blueing the barrel or parts of the metal on the gun.

how do you use this stuff :?:
just so happens from that converation with that guy at bass pro, got me thinking of using this to re-hit the scratches on the barrel with it.
i just dont know how it works or if it will be a match for the same color shade on it :?
any info will help greatly......

I'll answer you in two parts

I've used the stuff with great success. A lot of online reviews you'll find aren't all that positive and a lot of photos you'll see of finished projects are pretty "blotchy" in appearance. But, I found a way that helps smooth out the finish. You absolutely have to insure that there is no grease, oil, dirt or other contaminants in the area you're working on. The same company makes a good solvent/stripper that works well. Once cleaned thoroughly and once you're ready, heat the item up with a blow dryer. You don't want it smoking hot of course, but pretty warm to the touch. Then, run your bathtub water until its hot. Then, sitting on the edge of the tub, apply the bluing to the area and rub it into the area with a fine Scotch Brite pad. Once you've rubbed the product a few strokes, place the item under the hot running water for a moment, then rub it again with the same pad (slightly less pressure). Then rinse the item and let it dry/cool. You can repeat the process to deepen the color if you wish. After you are satisfied with the results, make sure to oil the item and let it sit for a few days.

Here is a before and after of the business end of a Mossberg 44US(b) I did about a year ago:





Now, in your case, I wouldn't do all that for just a scratch. You'd likely fix the scratch, but blemish the area around it. You could do the whole barrel to insure an even finish...but yeah, don't do that.

I've never personally used them, but I've seen scratch repair products before and one may work well for you. Here's one from Birchwood Casey that's around $7:



But...and this is up to you if you want to try it, I've actually had really good luck finishing minor blemishes with a black Sharpie Clean the area, touch it up and wipe off. You may want to do this a couple of times. Let it dry for a couple of hours and oil it up. I'd never do this on a show piece or collector item, but for everyday firearms that need a little touch up, it works well.

Good luck!

thanks for the info guys, i only have small scratches on the tube, so i guess i can do the small areas easier.....

one more question;
just installed a metal heat shield and its not the same color as the barrel, could i blue that part to match the barrel?

I doubt it. Most heat shields that I've seen are made from stamped metal and painted. Barrels are of course (mostly) made from hardened steel. It would be quite a chore to strip all the paint from the shield and its likely that the "blue" wouldn't take to the metal in the same tint or shade as the barrel (or it may not take at all). I may be wrong, but that's my guess.

My shottie is parkerized and the heat shield was gloss black. A can of Krylon flat black fixed it right up for me

Thanks bro....flat black it is. Should I get the high temp kind for barrel heat even if its not in contact with it.

right on......
But just in case, you never know. I keep hearing about zombies everywhere.

In the zombie apocalypse, it will make a nice "temp gauge" for you. If your heat shield starts smoking, it's time to run for cover and let it cool down a bit

sounds like a plan.....run, cool down, shoot again...


by the way, i bought that bluing pen today. tried it out and seems to work pretty good for small nicks and scratches.
i did however have a pretty long smear from the pumping of the forend on the under side of the barrel, tried it on that too, now it did cover it up, but i found it to work better if you touch up and wipe off, let dry then repeat, but that was just too big of an area to use as touch up, but it did however make it less noticeable, but then again it is the under side of the barrel.