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When I first picked up the Vz24 in this article, it had very
little blueing left on the receiver and barrel (as shown in
figures 1 and 2). I had received an email from a reader
that offered an interesting approach to cold reblueing a rifle.
The article below is Stephan's contribution, with a few minor
additions by me. The rifle and photos are of me trying out Stephan's
recommendations.
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Note: All of the chemicals used in
this article are caustic and will cause skin and eye damage. Please
where gloves and eye protection. |
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I've been gunsmithing for twenty years and have picked up
a trick or two that might be useful to my fellow gun enthusiast
- Stephan D. Horak
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You can remove blueing with
Naval Jelly® Rust Dissolver (Naval
Jelly technically being a brand of jelly containing
phosphoric acid)
or equivalent, it's a considerably cheaper than the Birchwood Casey
brands.
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| As you can see in figures
4 and 5, the
Naval Jelly removes the old blueing completely, leaving
only bare metal. |
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If you want to put on a molted or antique style finish using
cold blueing: Remove all the old blueing, clean and warm water rinse.
Make a strong chlorine solution (oxidizer) using either bleach or
pool chlorine and soak the parts for an hour or so, then clear water
rinse.
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Note: I found it necessary to steel
wool the parts lightly as a result of the chlorine causing the metal
to rust. I did this prior to reblueing. |
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The parts should look slightly hazed if not soak it a little
longer, clear warm water rinse again.
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Once the parts are cleaned and rinsed apply your
blueing solution and clear water rinse again.
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Make a soapy solution using "Dawn" dish wash (high phosphate
content), wash the parts in this solution.
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Clear water rinse again and repeat blueing until you get the
desired shade. then wash, rinse and dry.
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Surface areas have been forced oxidized with the chlorine and
blueing solutions and the dish water rinses. This has set up a surface
electrolysis allowing for better oxidation.
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Polish off the parts with Butcher's or Johnson's Paste Wax. The
paste wax stops the process and seals in the finish.
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Because of different absorption rates in the base steel the oxidation
will occur at different rates giving a dark molted appearance.
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