PREPARING THE METAL FOR BLUING 

using Van's Instant Gun Blue

Garry Buchanan  -  Distributor  -  812-738-9994

                     Citri-Gun Cleaner - Degreaser

CitriGun is best applied with a paper towel or cloth unless there is a significant build up of greases and oils.  In that case, I apply the CitriGun with #0000 steel wool. 

Then I wipe it off before applying Van’s Instant Gun Blue.  You may have to use a dampened paper towel to make sure there are no residues before applying the bluing.

                                                                     DEGREASING THE METAL

Correct degreasing is vital to successfully bluing any firearm.  There are a lot of potential degreasers that can be used, but we will explore the best and most effective ways of using them.

There are literally hundreds of polymers, oils, and protective coatings used on guns.  No solvent effectively removes them all.  So, the best technique is to use a cleaner/degreaser that you like.  In the event that a particular project doesn’t seem to be clean enough, change degreasers.  In the kits sold on this site, there is a degreaser we recommend called CitriGun Cleaner/Degreaser.  It is a non-flammable, no-fumes degreaser that will not damage wood finish if it is spilled.  You can leave the gun together during touch up work without fear of damaging the wood from spills.

​Other prime degreasers that I keep on hand are, Acetone, any Keytone (like MEK), and not-chlorinated Brake Parts Cleaner.  Brake parts cleaner is better than Carburator Cleaner because in contains no lubricant (for the flutter valve), but as with all rapidly drying solvents it is far better to wipe them off rather than just allowing them to dry.  I spray the cleaner on the metal, then, spray some on a paper towel.  Then I wipe the metal with the towel to pick up everything I’ve loosened with the solvent.  In cases of severe build up or long term storage in either oil or cosmolene, it helps to warm the metal before degreasing.  This softens the grease, and makes it easier to remove.  The best temperature range is fairly low (90 degrees to about 150).  This is easily done with a hair-dryer.

You may find other solvents that you like better such as 111 Tricholrethane, clear PVC pipe cleaner, electrical contact cleaner, etc.  Alcohol is not a very effective degreaser because it usually only removes oils.  Most firearms these days have multiple layer of synthetics, polymers, and other non dissolvable coatings that require something stronger than alcohol.

If the bluing comes out spotty or is not dark, the metal was probably not cleaned well enough.

Once the metal is thoroughly degreased, the next step is the texture of the metal.  Texture counts!

Because Van’s Instant Gun Blue soaks into the metal rather than coating it, the texture of the metal remains identical after bluing as it did before bluing .  If you have a scratch and you blue it, you will have a blue scratch.

So, to REPAIR a firearm, the texture of the damaged area must be identical to the undamaged areas.   If you have any damage to a factory blue and you want it to be perfect again, you must repair the texture first.  The question is, “How do you match a texture without knowing what grit or level of polish was used to create it?”

Here is an easy trick.  Using an overhead light, tip the firearm back and forth in such a way as to see how the light reflects off of the existing bluing, through the white or damaged area, and again back off of the blued area.  If the streak of reflected light gets wider, fuzzier, or less distinct in the damaged area compared to the bluing you are trying to match, the damaged surface is too rough.  If the damaged spot shows a sharper or clearer reflection, it is too smooth.  WHEN YOU GET THE REFLECTIONS TO MATCH, THE TEXTURE IS RIGHT.

The tools you use to create the correct texture are less important than your results.  Whatever you make the metal look like BEFORE you blue it is exactly what it will look like AFTER you blue it!  Whether you use steel wool, a buffing wheel, sand paper, a file, or drag it behind your car, your results will be perfectly displayed.

I usually use fine wet-or-dry sandpaper.  It is cheaper than Emery Cloth, comes in every conceivable grit from 80 to 2500, and is vastly quicker at getting to where I want to go than steel wool.  Most of my work is done with 320 (as the roughest) up to the 1000 grit.  On really bad rust I may start as rough as 220 and to achieve a high gloss (like a Weatherby finish) I may go as high as 2000 grit!  The sanding method gives you surprising control.  The rougher the paper, the faster you cut rust and pitting, but the duller the resulting finish.  The finer the paper, the shinier the metal gets.  I sometimes even wear out the paper to achieve a “scratch-free” look.

If you use a buffing wheel, remember that the jewelers rouge on the steel is held together with wax.  You are packing the pores of the metal with wax and then sealing them in by closing those pores when you shine the metal.  So after buffing, warm the metal and degrease it again. 

Steel Wool has oil in it.  So after using steel wool, also wipe the metal down with a degreaser. 

To touch up Parkerizing, match the texture by laying a piece of 220 grit sandpaper on the shiny spot and either tapping with a mallet, or better yet, rolling a metal bar over the paper as if it were a “rolling pin”.  This presses the “bite” of the paper into the metal, making it look “glass-beaded” and results in getting a “matte” or dull finish.  The coarser the paper, the duller the finish will be.  If your first attempt isn’t precisely matching, switch to a coarser or finer paper as needed and roll it in again!  You are never stuck.  Just change the grit until the white area looks like the blued area (using the overhead light reflection technique described above).  When it passes the “eye-test” while still white, it will pass it as well, after it is blued.  Entire firearms can be made to look Parkerized by running them through a sand-blaster or glass-beader until the texture is a consistent satin, or matte finish.  Now blue it and it looks like it was Parkerized.

It is often more valuable to RESTORE a firearm than to repair it.  if I have a newer gun and accidentally scratch it on a barbed wire fence while out hurting, I will invariable sand out the scratch, polish the metal to the appropriate shine and then blue it.  I now have my “new” gun back!

But what if Grandpa gives you a firearm that he toted through the woods for 50 years, and it has rust, scrapes, and worn areas from use?  If you make it look new-you have destroyed its collector and/or intrinsic value.  Approach this with an extra step in the bluing process that is dependent on texture.  Degrease the metal, and then instead of fixing the texture-use fine (#0000 steel wool) dipped into the bluing and scrub the metal with it. 

Between the bluing (mild acid) and the steel wool (mild abrasive) the rust will start dissolving, without damaging the existing blue.  This will remove light to medium rust and usually reduces the heavy rust even if it does not completely remove it.  Now, blue the metal “as-is”.  You end up with no rust (or greatly reduced rust) and though the firearm is darker, it has retained the texture.  Where it was dull, it still is dull.  Where it was smooth or shiny, it still is.  It looks like an old gun in great shape for its age.  That is highly preferable to a “repaired” look. 

The advantage to restoring rather than repairing is that if you are not happy with the results, you can always go further.  What you cannot do is make it look perfect, and then change your mind later.

Surprisingly, it is often smarter to restore even more modern firearms.  As an example, you have a handgun that you carry regularly.  It now has some holster wear on it.  If you look closely, it is nearly certain that the texture in the worn areas are slightly different that the good bluing.  If you fix the texture and blue the gun to perfection, a gunsmith looking at is, knowing that you have carried it for years, may think to his self, “Hmmmm?  I wonder how bad it was before he ‘fixed’ it”.  He now thinks of the gun as a “shooter” and its value drops. 

​​If however, you blue it the way it is, when a buyer looks at it, his thought pattern is more likely to be, “Well, you can see that the gun has been carried, but it hasn’t worn through the bluing yet.  He must take really good care of it.”  And, the price goes up.  It is often more valuable to restore rather than repair, and remember, you can always go a little farther if you are not satisfied with your results.