Help, please: black oxide

[dlilazteca]

Ok, need help from people with experience.

I cannot do hot bluing, and nickel plating is next but first I would like to tackle black Oxide, caswell plating sells a cold dip solution that is fairly priced, Sandy had made reference to using it and being happy with the results, Sandy told me that the engraving shows just as it would if it was blued.

Here is my question what is the shelf life after it is mixed. (ill ask the company but its saturday night) but if someone can help its much appreciated.

2. can the firearm be highly polished and then dipped? (or must if have a rough/sandblasted finish?)

3. Can it be frenched greyed (selective french grey) only in certain areas, would this work as it would with a blue finished firearm.

Thank you all for your help

 

[tundratrekers@mtaonline.n]

Brownells sells a book about finishing metals,blueing,parkerizing etc.

michael

 

[Sandy]

Carlos,
It's shelf life is determined by the amount of steel that is dipped. Caswell had that info on there website. You can polish it to what ever level you want. It will only take a little longer for the black to start showing up. Brownells have several pamphlets on there cold blue process. Dicropan "IM" is also a good product. You need to get the solutions and do a little experimenting to see which will work best for your application. Always remember short cuts are the fastest way to get into trouble. If you are going to use one be sure you have a good idea what it will or will not do. The only way to do that is to work with the process before applying it to your project. There are several things that will affect all of them. Temp, humidity, and oil will cause problems. Thundratreker has a good idea. Get the book read and move on from there. Be well informed and then try it.
Sandy

 

[guzzi]

+++ Correct from Sandy. Correct firearm finishing is an art to itself, just like engraving. Read up and then make a decision as to what process you can handle. jb

 

[bjiantonio]

For hot blueing you need a lot of equipment and caustic chemicals. (EPA issues) The shelf life of the mix is very good depending on the container it is kept in.
My suggestion is to learn to rust blue. The chemicals are cheap (Brownells) and all you need is a way to boil the parts in water. You will also have to buy carding brushes and learn to use them properly. Rust blueing is a little more labor intensive, but the results are as good if not better than hot blueing.
Bob

 

[dlilazteca]

thanks all for the info, ive been researching several options nickel look easy but the carcinogenic element is not good read some research done on nickel platers and it was not a good one.

Black oxide not as shiny finish and not as durable as bluing..will check for the rust blue thanks

 

[SamW]

Carlos, did you check on electroplating or electroless? I found electoless to be ideal for engraving and Brownells has the stuff as well as an info sheet about the process.

 

[dlilazteca]

Carlos, did you check on electroplating or electroless? I found electoless to be ideal for engraving and Brownells has the stuff as well as an info sheet about the process.

Sam

I checked on both playing systems.

Carlos De La O III

 

[Beladran]

I am a fan of nitre bluing. The color is beautiful an I had the equipment on hand