Yes. To the point, indeed. I get so tired of FF'd thru clueless people who have not thought ahead about what to say. It is usually just so tiring to get to the meat.
This is one of the best DIY videos I’ve ever seen on RUclips. Straight to the point, detailed, no annoying background music. Perfect. Thank you so much!
Now THAT was a fantastic instructional video. No BS, no silly music. Just clear, concise and unambiguous detailed information and guidance. Thank you! 👍
Very nice simple demo. I just want to point out some tips that would improve it. 1) Hot bluing and cold bluing are actually two different processes even though they share the name. Hot bluing is heat polymerization. Basically the hot metal turns the oil around it into a thin film of plastic-like material. It is better than cold bluing for rust resistance but easier to mess up. Cold bluing is adhering selenium dioxide compound to the metal to protect it. However the dioxide is porous like a sponge so you need to add another layer of oil to it to make it rust proof. Drying oils are the best and boiled linseed oil is the optimum in both cases for reasons I will explain in point 2. 2) Boiled linseed oil is a so-called "drying" oil. This means that it polymerizes at room temperature slowly in a few days. This is why wood treated with it is not oily or slippery. The drying can be sped up with heat, and this oil has one of the lowest. About 100C to 150C is all you need so you risk less of ruining the metal's heat treatment (temper). As for cold bluing, the oil dries out in the pores making a polymer-dioxide composite that significantly improves corrosion protection. As mentioned above, all drying oils are good but this oil is the cheapest per quantity and available in practically any hardware store.
@@juoj8 TLDR: Hot bluing: Protection +++, Difficulty (to do right) ++, Time consuming +, Cost - Cold bluing: Protection +, Difficulty +, Time consuming -, Cost +++ Cold bluing is just slightly better than cosmetic. Durability wise hot bluing is much better because it basically burns a layer of "plastic" on the metal (heat induced polymerization of oil) that is non-porous. Cold bluing is porous and the layer of selenium compound is more reactive than polymerized oil which is why it needs wiping with oil over it to complete the protection. Hot bluing is also much cheaper than cold bluing. That little bottle of bluing compound costs much more than a bottle of oil (preferably linseed oil as that has a low poly temp and is easily available) and a cheap torch. However, hot bluing is tricky to do right. You need to heat the metal slightly above the polymerization temperature of the oil but lower than the tempering temperature of the metal. Also, hot bluing is a bit more time consuming than cold bluing.
@@victorunbea8451 The issue with boiled linseed oil is that it's three to five times the price of cheap cooking oil (at least round here), and you can't buy it just anywhere.
@@Ea-Nasir_Copper_Co where I'm from it's about 2 times and you can get it at a local general hardware store. Also, it's not 2 times because it's cheaper, but because cooking oil has gotten hell'a expensive these days
The most perfect change I have ever seen in my life, repair or rather renovation. truly beyond perfect I am a very good technician at the age of 60, but this is an out-of-this-worldly beautiful job, congratulations friends, you are great, greetings from Turkey.
You can use rust bluing for large parts, very time consuming though. You allow the part to develop a surface rust in a humidity environment or apply an acid for a quick rusting. Then dip the item into boiling distilled water for 20 minutes, the Iron Oxide will be converted in Black Oxide, bluing. Then you brush the loose black oxide off, and repeat the rust, boil, brushing step until the desired finish is reached or the part no longer rusts. This is the most durable and corrosion resistant bluing method. The easiest method is hot corrosive salt bluing in hydrous salts. You need approximately 5lbs of Sodium Hydroxide(lye), and 2.5lbs of Potassium Nitrate(preferred), Sodium Nitrate, or Ammonium Nitrate(evolves a lot of ammonia fumes initially), for every one gallon of distilled water. You need to put the water into a large cast iron, steel, or enamel coated pot, then slowly add the lye and Nitrate salt. You will need to heat the pot on a stove outdoors, and stir to dissolve the salts, the solution will be supersaturated and need to be hot to fully dissolve. Bring the pot up to a boil at 275-285°F, add more water if it gets hotter, or more lye if it boils lower. Suspend the parts by 416 stainless steel or black iron wire, immerse then in the bath for 15-45 minutes at a rolling boil, until the desired finish is obtained. Remove the parts, quench, then wash in hot running water or boil in hot water to remove any salt residue. Soak overnight in oil. This method is how firearm manufacturers blue their guns. The bath is hot and the salts will dissolve flesh, so you need to wear and apron, gloves, and a face shield to be safe, just make sure you have a gallon of Vinegar on hand, it will quickly neutralize any small spatters of chemical. You Don't want to do this indoors, the fumes will rust exposed metal in your shop if you do. And you definitely do not want to let aluminum or copper into the bath, they will destroy the chemicals and you'll have to throw the solution out.
@@davidrichter9164 If we find the subject matter interesting enough to watch the video? Then yes. Yes we did, if not need, then _want_ his excellently laid out instructions.
@@stevepeterson1377 "Worth the trouble" is very relative in this sort of case. If you're doing any sort of machining or shop work past a certain level, these sorts of hazards are just expected and you should already have most of the safety equipment and the work spaces that you need. In contrast, if you're just doing a couple of smaller pieces in your kitchen or the corner of your garage, then the smaller-scale methods from the video are more appropriate for you.
Bluing is a passivation process in which steel is partially protected against rust, and is named after the blue-black appearance of the resulting protective finish. True gun bluing is an electrochemical conversion coating resulting from an oxidizing chemical reaction with iron on the surface selectively forming magnetite (Fe3O4), the black oxide of iron. Black oxide provides minimal protection against corrosion, unless also treated with a water-displacing oil to reduce wetting and galvanic action. A distinction can be made between traditional bluing and some other more modern black oxide coatings, although bluing is a subset of black oxide coatings. "Cold" bluing is generally a selenium dioxide based compound that colours steel black, or more often a very dark grey. It is a difficult product to apply evenly, offers minimal protection and is generally best used for small fast repair jobs and touch-ups. Most common people refers to this type of colour as Gun-Metal-Black.
TRUE Gun blueing has nothing to do with anything electro anything. It is simply chemicals mixed in a hot bath to the perfect temperature to chemically rust the parts black. That is all bluing is, is a chemical rust. If you leave a barrel in a hot tank too long it will start to really rust, so the proper temp. and the right amount of time is the key to good REAL hot bluing for guns. Bluing also does not protect guns from rust, the simply make it harder to see a speck if there is one. My uncle had a custom varmint rifle built with a chrome moly barrel left in the white, and he just wiped it down with an oil rag like the rest of his guns, and my cousin now has that very rifle, and its about 45 years old and has never rusted. Did you read your info from a book or google? You surely have no real experience in actual gun bluing as I do working for a gunsmith for years.
4 года назад+9
Johan Rynjah “True” gun bluing would have to be rust blue considering it preceded hot bluing by about 150 years!
4 года назад+8
pickin4you you are wrong my friend. Saying “true” gun bluing is only chemically rusting is hilarious. Rusting is an electrochemical process.....Look it up
Well modern gun blueing is. Originally, as in true blueing, there was no electricity involved. Guns have been blued since long before Ben Franklin and his kite.
Outstanding video. I’ve been doing rust bluing and cold blowing for years. Did not even know about the heat bluing with regular oil. Quick, informative, to the point with good examples. Thank you
My first quess was Swiss , then he held up the bottle of cooking oil , and l saw the swiss logo on the lower right corner . The Swiss have been doing it the right way ever since they kicked out the Austrians several hundred years ago . Watches , rifles ,or cheese , they're all the best .
Wow" A well made video for sure! I have a patience deficiency when it comes to fluff and b.s . This covered all the bases, left nothing out, no music, no bias, didn't try to sell me anything, BRAVO.
Zemyla Cenh “as always, links are in the description below! Check out our sponsor for this video, Birchwood Casey, for all your bluing needs”. I know I stole your tag line, but it was brilliant.
I bought a bottle of bluing liquid (this exact brand at sporting goods in wal mart [its for for gun bluing])... and did exactly that... no regrets though...lol.
@@mymechanicsinsights this would be great, there are no such high quality videos like this on youtube and its very interesting because I am going to learn this in my apprentice ship
nice to know someone in this world is on " my-wavelength." Keep- safe and witty . my friend. I from Canterbury U.K.. where are you my virtual-new-friend?
I didn't know the oil quench was considered bluing. That's what I've been doing for ages. Definitely picked up some tips from this video! I had no idea cold bluing was so easy! Thanks!
Birchwood Casey also make a brass blackening fluid (comprising Selenium Dioxide aka Selenous Acid and Fluro-Boric Acid). We darken brass (or give it an "aged" or "bronze" patina) using this substance. As with steel, the part to be darkened needs to be very clean and grease-free. We usually dilute the blacking fluid at a ratio of 1:20 with distilled or de-ionised water, and suspend the item in a "plating tank". The reaction starts slowly, but acellerates. The advantage of suspending the item in a diluted solution slows the reaction and gives you degrees of darkening, so you can stop the reaction when a desired shade is reached. Also, the slower the reaction, the better the resilience of the finish. We remove the item from the plating tank and then wash in a separate tank of de-ionised water. Then, we clean off the "blackish dust" residue with a lint-free cloth. We "seal" the item with a micro-crystalline wax (Renaissance Wax is best). Birchwood Casey supply a cleaning (de-greasing) fluid as well. Also very good for proper preparation. Birchwood Casey's products are arguably the best for these metallic darkening projects. NOTE: Wear gloves and (if available) a face mask with a proper filter. Failing a proper mask, work in a well-ventillated area. While very little gas or odour is given off, the chemical constituents of the blackening fluid are known irritants and have a degree of toxicity.
The sandblasted pieces looked sweet as hell to be fair, and that's the process I'd use if I planned on utilising this technique. Great video man very informative.
After I do the first treatment of cold blue I use steel wool on the whole part and give it another treatment of bluing solution for a darker and more uniform finish
I love the thoroughness of your explanations and examples! It was interesting to see what blueing looks like on polished vs sanded and sandblasted parts. The reasons for choosing either the hit or cold process was also very interesting. I really enjoyed this video!
Absolutely one of the best videos I have seen. I want to sand and re blue and old rifle that was parkerized long ago. Looks like I will be cold bluing to prevent the heat from damaging the parts. Thank you!
@Ninety Four Moto Hot blueing doesn't do much either! The only rust resistance offered is by whatever oil gets trapped in any surface roughness. Keep it oiled, it'll have some resistance to rust (but then so would non-blued steel)
Bluing DOES protect from rust since it forms a layer of oxyde on most of the surface, idk where you guys got the idea that it doesn't but it's a fact that it does.
You are right and wrong! The actual industrial method is alkaline degreaser bath(prep),rinse, HCl bath to activate the metal( that's optional), rinse, salt bath at 143°C, rinse, then dump it in water displacing oil aaaand there you have it
@@theshop90 You are describing hot salts bluing. Rust bluing, also known as slow rust bluing is done at room temperature except for the boiling of the rusted steel in distilled water. It's a very different and much more complicated process than hot bluing.
Thank you for a very informative video. You took exactly the right amount of time in the video to explain bluing, you gave all the information needed, you used a human voice and you showed the difference between hot and cold bluing. Excellent video
Thank you! I've seen some guides on bluing before, but this is by far the best one, and also in depth on different results and preparations. Thank you!
I now live in Central Florida, and am quite familiar with this autumn color, hence my best friend is a wire wheel on the bench grinder. Then all I have to do is wash the crap out of my t-shirt, because I once again have forgotten to don my shop apron. LOL.
Brush it off with a steel brush, apply some oil. Keep doing that a couple of decades and the iron will be blued. Blueing is nothing more than a nice even coat of Iron II Oxide, instead of the red/orange Iron III Oxide we all know and hate.
@@JCGver and your wirebrush is also gonna proceed to blue everything else a little that it comes in contact with. ours does that. but to be fair that things also been in use since propably worldwar 2. i know the son ofthe guy that last maintained the aparatus and that son himself is 82 years old
Thank you very much. Very informative, clear, and concise. I wish I could apprentice with this guy for at least a year, to try to learn at least half of what you know. So much knowledge you have sir, thank you for sharing it.
Tool and Die maker here: I use the hot oven temp blueing on my parts because of the lack of chemicals involved. I just don't like handling chemicals. Also, this is not limited to black with the oven temp, you can get different colors based on the type of material and temperature and cooling process. Sometimes I'll go blue, gold, black, etc.
So the golding technique, along with the other colors, is a reaction of the steel to the high temperature of the oven. For example, I use the tempering oven to color my parts at 1,000 degrees for 5-10 minutes. This amount of time will not effect your hardness. High heat your part and temper normally, then polish it like you normally would, just get the scale off. Throw it back in the oven for 10 minutes and quench it in oil and let it sit until cool. If you want more color, try again. It is harder with larger parts because the part has to come up to temperature equally for an even finish. These larget objects may take a few cycles. The gold was from a piece of very thin stainless sheet metal at 1,000 degrees. Thank you guys for your interest, I want to start a youtube channel soon. This technique takes a lot of feel and varies with almost every piece. So be prepared to have some fun experimenting with it. Your surface finish, hardness, type of steel, size, and heat will effect every outcome; which IS NOT bad, because it gives you uniqueness and creativity. Try 500° for a blue and purple look. If your shop has a poster on the wall of annealing temp colors- that is your guide. Thanks all!
That's almost the same as seasoning a steel pan for cooking, just as a much smaller scale (i.e. the layer is usually a lot thicker for cooking) and the oil is important for cookware (no cold bluing). It does give a significant rust protection but it's mostly used for non-stick properties.
It's also on the spectrum of heating a stainless steel pan and adding oil only when the pan gets very hot: the oil will create a temporary polymerized surface. As the great Martin Yan once put it: cold oil, hot pan, food won't stick. (The surface should be hot enough that when you sprinkle in a drop of water, the water immediately forms little beads that skitter across the surface rather than fizzling out.)
I been watching your videos , the work you do is amazing, always fixing the minimum detail. I am dentist, and I really love what you do, very precise and so beautiful results, every work is a realization of dream!! Because only in dreams we can think achieve that kind of piece of art when we think in restoration.... Thank you very much for your master classes in every step. Greetings from Mexico !
@@mymechanicsinsights Question: Wonder if this application could be applied to an Intake on an Automobile ... Most engines run at 200° degrees or slightly higher in some cases
My sandblaster has been one of the most cherished tools in my metal finishing arsenal since buying it... If you do anything applying finishes to metal, or even just leaving it in its "raw state", a sand blaster is definitely a "must have" tool in my book.
I’ve setup several of the harbor freight cheap sand blasters and also some more expensive industrial ones. All have clogged and caused problems. We had one at work I think it had a vibration motor in it to keep from caking up. That one worked amazing never had one problem with it. Used glass beads in all of them.
This is a great video, no nonsense and straight to the point!! Would love to see you do more of these behind the scenes videos 👍 how durable is the bluing for both types?
I use cold bluing on most holes I drill on finished steel to prevent rust. And to retouch my firearms. I didn't know anything about hot bluing, thank you!
@@vendomnu I did finish! unfortunately part of the bluing is almost impossible to keep from rusting, not sure what went wrong there but its just on the barrel. worst case scenario i will buy a new barrel.
Large parts can be heated in a kitchen oven to the achieve the required temperature. The size of quenching bucket becomes the limit to size. Parts should have a consistent thickness to avoid warpage. Some phosphate-based "rust converters" can be used also, but actually need an even layer of red oxide to form first.
Awesome video! I was thinking about trying this on some stuff just the other day. Got a few woodworking tools I'd like to blue for visual effect. I wish I could just send you money so would could do this full time. Your videos are the best anywhere on RUclips. A collaboration video between you and Hand Tool Rescue would be epic. Your English was excellent and your accent only makes the video cooler.
In the firearms sense, "hot blue" is normally associated with a molten salt process. What you're doing with the oil is normally called oil "blackening" vs "blueing" to distinguish the two processes (and the oil finish tends to look brown-black vs blue-black which is pretty clear in your video).. Another less common method that involves mild heating is "rust blue" where parts are placed in a heated, moisture-rich atmosphere to deliberately cause a coating of very fine rust to form. This is time consuming and normally only done these days for antique firearms restoration..
yes, this is calle "black oxide to be more exact" -- and many RUclips videos give WAY BETTER advice on it, including not DAMAGING the grain-structure of the metal, as his instructions will, and getting a darker finish with less 'coats'/repeated blackenings needed -- and processes that DO work on stainless.
I regularly do hot salts bluing and occasionally do slow rust bluing particularly in the rare tin soldered double that might come across the bench. The ways presented here are nothing but expedient alternatives to the true long lasting methods used by gunsmiths, etc. B&C cold bluing is good for touch ups and for the screw or small part that doesn't warrant lighting up the hot blue vats or going though the tedious and lengthy process of slow rust bluing.
I use cold blueing on tempered steel, like you said about hardened steel. Knife blades and firearm components are pretty much the only ones I do. I enjoyed this video. Thanks for posting.
In case nobody has mentioned it. It's called bluing because when you hot cut steel it turns blue (blue chips). which led to people finding a way to do that to full pieces instead of just the off-cuts. great video.
No. Bluing is a chemical process done to the surface of steel, not a state of change to the base metal displaying a color - which merely indicates the temperature it was raised to.
For hot blue I use extremely old & dirty motor oil. I really like the effect and coloration I get and as stated, it’s extremely cheap. Really informative video.
Part of this "hot blueing" advantage is to open surface "pores", grooves and other tiny voids (finished steel shouldn't have "pores"). I wonder if a used motor oil containing moly would somehow take a little better? I think a major factor in blueing's mechanical and corrosion protection is it's ability to retain oil (providing a barrier and adding lubricity.
@@RobertLBarnard as far as my experience goes, blued steel without oil goes rusty very quickly. The blue holds the tiniest amount of oil in place on the metal (in the "pores"?) and stops the rust by keeping the water away.
I think by "pores" you're thinking of the "grains". They are all different sizes and evenness depending on the type and manufactur of the steel. (like hot rolled or cold rolled steel have very obviously different grain structures, same for cast or formed parts. )
Built a muzzle loader and had to 'brown' it. Had a spare shower so applied the cold-browning liquid, hung the parts in the shower, put a heater and a humidifier in the room, closed the door, and left - checking the water in the humidifier regularity. Did this for the prescribed number of days and got fantastic results.
When I do hot blueing I use a dedicated oven in my garage. It allows me to control the temperature better. Also allows me to do parts that I could not do with a torch as they would be to large and not have an even temp over the entire part. 😬
Hot caustic salt is beyond most but the largest gunsmithing shops, due to investment in materials and setup(But it's the best for large batches) a somewhat easier method of durable blueing is called express rust, you will need a bottle of express rust bluing liquid(in US:Brownells has it) and a tank of boiling water 1. degrease part 2. put part in boiling water (be sure you wire it up so you can pull it back out) 3.prep liquid, i like to just put some in a small glass jar and get a cheap foam brush 4.wait 5-10 minutes depending on how much metal needs heating 5.pull part out of water, pause for a few seconds for water to run off, brush compund onto hot steel (you have 30-60 seconds for this) 6.put back into tank for (depending on size of part) 2-5 minutes 7. repeat 5-6 until happy with coverage. 8. completely submerge part in boiling water for min 10 minutes OR slow rust, 1.degrease you parts 2. hang in a humidifier cabinet 3. wait x days for surface rust(time will need to be experimented on) 4. boil part in water for 20+minutes Gunsmiths who use Cold blue go to Gunsmith Hell Source: am Gunsmith
True! Perfectly clear and understandable. One note on pronunciation tho: the word "hardened" isn't pronounced like "hard - eh - ned", it's pronounced like "hard - end", two syllables instead of three.
That or a Teflon coating. But I prefer the bluing as the Teflon usually peels off over time and is a type of plastic and thus also a carcinogen. And I prefer not eating plastic
Is that right? So we could repair our old pans with flaky non-stick by bluing them? I don't think so. Nowadays they're all aluminum under the coat and bluing doesn't work on aluminum I think. Is there something we can do, then?
@@abrogard142 he is correct but didn't explain it right. some cooking vessels, such as a cast iron skillet, will be "seasoned" by burning oil on the surface, which yields a non stick and rust preventative coat. so yes, it is a quite similar process to what is shown in the video
@@Arterexius Plastics in general are not carcinogenic and you can eat ptfe in raw amounts. Its so inert nothing will happen, other than being released on the other side of your body. Heating up ptfe above 200°C or more howecer will release gases that are toxic, but also not carcinogenic. Don't spread wrong informations.
The question of durability has already been asked, but you have not tested the parts. It would be most interesting to find out, and a very simple test would be to take a very low grit sandpaper, perhaps 24 grit, and just do a quick "scuff" on the surface of each type bluing. This should reveal if either surface would scratch easily. Might take several scuffs to get scratches? Please give some idea of the durability of each type... Great video... 👍
@@David-hm9ic interesting, so how do they accomplish the scratch resistance with the bluing of a firearm? I mean, I know they will still scratch, but they seem pretty durable considering the wear and tear they receive...
Yay :D we don't only make new ones we also make new colors :D. I really enjoyed the iron restoration I try not to miss a video been here since day 1 :P. We've come along way since that car jack :D
As always awesome information and video, thank you!!! Also I echo other comments, amazing to see someone make a video without needing to make an hour long video out of a 6 min subject! 🙂
Thank you for making this video. I've been watching your work for a long time and I finally needed to do some hot blueing of my own. So glad you gave a thorough description of the preparation, process and temperatures!
This was very interesting and detailed. However I wonder if there is a difference between the two kinds of bluing in regard of robustness of the surface? Any information about that?
I've used the cold bluing a good bit, it looks great, but it doesn't last long on parts that get handled a lot, I did a friends shotgun that does a lot of trap shooting, he said it wore off pretty quick, and I did several coats.
Great video but at 0:55 he should have mentioned that while you can reuse the old cooking oil you probably should not use it for your chicken wings or chips, lol.
Great video’s, compliments about that! I learn a lot every time and love the fact that there’s no annoying music! 👍🏻. My questions: * which blueing is more resistant against wear and rust? Did you try that out or can you test that? * I would like to see the machines and favorite materials/chemicals/programs you use, I would certainly appreciate a workshop tour video! 😉 keep up the good work !
This answers every question except the easily found: What the heck is in bluing liquid!? Edit, per WP: "Cold" bluing is generally a selenium dioxide based compound that colours steel black, or more often a very dark grey. It is a difficult product to apply evenly, offers minimal protection and is generally best used for small fast repair jobs and touch-ups.
@@FelonyVideos - if being holed up in a basement, increased shopping online & anti-social is your lifestyle, I can see how nothing changed 😂😂 Seriously though, it effected EVERYBODY’S lifestyle, it was/is 100% impossible to escape its effects.
@@kcb5336 - it’s a lie .... tell the 7 people & 1 additional person who died from it that I personally know it’s a hoax. I’ve seen it first hand. It is so well proven by 100’s of thousands of medical professionals worldwide it’s common knowledge. You are an idiot & probably believe the world is flat as well.
If it has a lot of paint on the part i always use paintstripper before sandblasting. Because old paint would turn the expensive blasting media bad much faster. Thanks Ryan
The reason it works is because bluing is a form of iron oxide called Magnetite. The layer is very thin, but because the layer of magnetite is already an oxide, it won't oxidize into the usual red iron oxide, or rust.
@@desertfox2020 Yeah, usually if the blued surface is particularly thin, or if it was partially damaged or improperly cured, it can still rust with normal use. A properly blued surface would only rust under constant contact with moisture or if the part is constantly in contact with other moving parts where the bluing could be removed, in which case you should use a different anti-rust coating.
Just think of guns. All guns are either hot or cold blued. Both processes are used. If taken care of the surface will look good and resist rust for a good long time. If left to the elements, a gun will begin to rust very quickly.
Great video but I think there’s one important thing missing: which method gives more durable surface? It would be great to know which one in comparison is more resistant for example for corrosion, chemicals, mechanical wear.
Rust bluing, hot bluing, then cold bluing. Rust bluing is when you allow a fine rust to form then convert it by boiling. Done over and over again it will convert the majority of the surface to black oxide which is more resistant then the other types.
As I replied earlier, I do hitch pins. Those get a lacquer clear coat spray. Hitch pins on riding mowers will rust if you don't clear coat them. Hope this helps...
Thank you. Very easy to follow. I never saw the advantages to cold bluing, having only done small pieces by hot bluing but now see the need in other circumstances.
When heating and quenching you can control the harness . Cold bluing is a soft non durable surface treatment . Real hot bluing is done in a salt bath and is durable and a deeper black . Bluing is called so from its origins when it was a heat induced deep blue , later blacking professes were still called bluing out of habit .Traditional gun shotgun barrels were rust blued an oxidizing method which was black and was applied by a "browner" .
The oil method is basically the same as the seasoning on a cast iron pan. It'll probably be more non-stick and won't need oil for rust resistance, but it's not as durable as true "hot bluing", which converts a layer of iron into magnetite.
Thank goodness. Finally someone who doesn't take 30 minutes to give you 5 minutes of information! 😊
It wasn't American. Therefore, much better.
@@derekhaydon4656 racist
@@derekhaydon4656 up yours🇺🇸
So true...
Yes. To the point, indeed.
I get so tired of FF'd thru clueless people who have not thought ahead about what to say. It is usually just so tiring to get to the meat.
Everything explained clearly without any annoying background music.
I kept trying to google ahead but he answered all of my questions, plainly and clearly.
Can this be use on blueing aluminum?
Bingo! I hate music in the background.
imf calif4nia No, it can’t.
@@imfcalif4nia543 16 Seconds into the video he says bluing only works for steel.
This is one of the best DIY videos I’ve ever seen on RUclips. Straight to the point, detailed, no annoying background music. Perfect. Thank you so much!
Have you seen the channel Project Farm?
If not, then strap in for some pretty thorough testing of oils, tools, and wherever you always wondered. ☺️
Yep good effort here.
1 disagreement.
Hot steel dropped in oil is called blacking not bluing.
@@vendomnu yess
How cold do I need my revolver bride I blue it?
Now THAT was a fantastic instructional video. No BS, no silly music. Just clear, concise and unambiguous detailed information and guidance. Thank you! 👍
These other people who do all that babbling with the lame music are going to have to make adjustments lol.
I could not agree more !
Your English is excellent, no need to apologize because you communicate effectively. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge.
Very nice simple demo. I just want to point out some tips that would improve it.
1) Hot bluing and cold bluing are actually two different processes even though they share the name. Hot bluing is heat polymerization. Basically the hot metal turns the oil around it into a thin film of plastic-like material. It is better than cold bluing for rust resistance but easier to mess up. Cold bluing is adhering selenium dioxide compound to the metal to protect it. However the dioxide is porous like a sponge so you need to add another layer of oil to it to make it rust proof. Drying oils are the best and boiled linseed oil is the optimum in both cases for reasons I will explain in point 2.
2) Boiled linseed oil is a so-called "drying" oil. This means that it polymerizes at room temperature slowly in a few days. This is why wood treated with it is not oily or slippery. The drying can be sped up with heat, and this oil has one of the lowest. About 100C to 150C is all you need so you risk less of ruining the metal's heat treatment (temper). As for cold bluing, the oil dries out in the pores making a polymer-dioxide composite that significantly improves corrosion protection. As mentioned above, all drying oils are good but this oil is the cheapest per quantity and available in practically any hardware store.
Thanks, great explanation. Is there a difference in durability between cold and hot bluing? Which one is better for parts than get a lot of use?
@@juoj8 TLDR:
Hot bluing: Protection +++, Difficulty (to do right) ++, Time consuming +, Cost -
Cold bluing: Protection +, Difficulty +, Time consuming -, Cost +++
Cold bluing is just slightly better than cosmetic. Durability wise hot bluing is much better because it basically burns a layer of "plastic" on the metal (heat induced polymerization of oil) that is non-porous. Cold bluing is porous and the layer of selenium compound is more reactive than polymerized oil which is why it needs wiping with oil over it to complete the protection. Hot bluing is also much cheaper than cold bluing. That little bottle of bluing compound costs much more than a bottle of oil (preferably linseed oil as that has a low poly temp and is easily available) and a cheap torch.
However, hot bluing is tricky to do right. You need to heat the metal slightly above the polymerization temperature of the oil but lower than the tempering temperature of the metal. Also, hot bluing is a bit more time consuming than cold bluing.
So hot blueing is just the same process as seasoning a cast iron/carbon steel pan then.
@@victorunbea8451 The issue with boiled linseed oil is that it's three to five times the price of cheap cooking oil (at least round here), and you can't buy it just anywhere.
@@Ea-Nasir_Copper_Co where I'm from it's about 2 times and you can get it at a local general hardware store. Also, it's not 2 times because it's cheaper, but because cooking oil has gotten hell'a expensive these days
The most perfect change I have ever seen in my life, repair or rather renovation.
truly beyond perfect
I am a very good technician at the age of 60, but this is an out-of-this-worldly beautiful job, congratulations friends, you are great, greetings from Turkey.
You can use rust bluing for large parts, very time consuming though. You allow the part to develop a surface rust in a humidity environment or apply an acid for a quick rusting. Then dip the item into boiling distilled water for 20 minutes, the Iron Oxide will be converted in Black Oxide, bluing. Then you brush the loose black oxide off, and repeat the rust, boil, brushing step until the desired finish is reached or the part no longer rusts.
This is the most durable and corrosion resistant bluing method.
The easiest method is hot corrosive salt bluing in hydrous salts. You need approximately 5lbs of Sodium Hydroxide(lye), and 2.5lbs of Potassium Nitrate(preferred), Sodium Nitrate, or Ammonium Nitrate(evolves a lot of ammonia fumes initially), for every one gallon of distilled water. You need to put the water into a large cast iron, steel, or enamel coated pot, then slowly add the lye and Nitrate salt. You will need to heat the pot on a stove outdoors, and stir to dissolve the salts, the solution will be supersaturated and need to be hot to fully dissolve. Bring the pot up to a boil at 275-285°F, add more water if it gets hotter, or more lye if it boils lower. Suspend the parts by 416 stainless steel or black iron wire, immerse then in the bath for 15-45 minutes at a rolling boil, until the desired finish is obtained. Remove the parts, quench, then wash in hot running water or boil in hot water to remove any salt residue. Soak overnight in oil. This method is how firearm manufacturers blue their guns. The bath is hot and the salts will dissolve flesh, so you need to wear and apron, gloves, and a face shield to be safe, just make sure you have a gallon of Vinegar on hand, it will quickly neutralize any small spatters of chemical. You Don't want to do this indoors, the fumes will rust exposed metal in your shop if you do. And you definitely do not want to let aluminum or copper into the bath, they will destroy the chemicals and you'll have to throw the solution out.
@specialEDy+ you think we need your know it all speech?
@@davidrichter9164 If we find the subject matter interesting enough to watch the video? Then yes. Yes we did, if not need, then _want_ his excellently laid out instructions.
I found it useful because I knew of that method but not all the hazards. Not worth the trouble.
@@stevepeterson1377 "Worth the trouble" is very relative in this sort of case. If you're doing any sort of machining or shop work past a certain level, these sorts of hazards are just expected and you should already have most of the safety equipment and the work spaces that you need. In contrast, if you're just doing a couple of smaller pieces in your kitchen or the corner of your garage, then the smaller-scale methods from the video are more appropriate for you.
Thank you, very useful info
You can also re-blue parts if you want. Multiple hot bluing sessions or a hot blue followed by a cold blue gives you a VERY dark blue/black color
Can you cold blue twice?
@@PolskaMos You can cold blue as many times as you wish. Hot bluing, not so much.
Bluing is a passivation process in which steel is partially protected against rust, and is named after the blue-black appearance of the resulting protective finish. True gun bluing is an electrochemical conversion coating resulting from an oxidizing chemical reaction with iron on the surface selectively forming magnetite (Fe3O4), the black oxide of iron. Black oxide provides minimal protection against corrosion, unless also treated with a water-displacing oil to reduce wetting and galvanic action. A distinction can be made between traditional bluing and some other more modern black oxide coatings, although bluing is a subset of black oxide coatings.
"Cold" bluing is generally a selenium dioxide based compound that colours steel black, or more often a very dark grey. It is a difficult product to apply evenly, offers minimal protection and is generally best used for small fast repair jobs and touch-ups. Most common people refers to this type of colour as Gun-Metal-Black.
TRUE Gun blueing has nothing to do with anything electro anything. It is simply chemicals mixed in a hot bath to the perfect temperature to chemically rust the parts black. That is all bluing is, is a chemical rust. If you leave a barrel in a hot tank too long it will start to really rust, so the proper temp. and the right amount of time is the key to good REAL hot bluing for guns. Bluing also does not protect guns from rust, the simply make it harder to see a speck if there is one. My uncle had a custom varmint rifle built with a chrome moly barrel left in the white, and he just wiped it down with an oil rag like the rest of his guns, and my cousin now has that very rifle, and its about 45 years old and has never rusted. Did you read your info from a book or google? You surely have no real experience in actual gun bluing as I do working for a gunsmith for years.
Johan Rynjah “True” gun bluing would have to be rust blue considering it preceded hot bluing by about 150 years!
pickin4you you are wrong my friend. Saying “true” gun bluing is only chemically rusting is hilarious. Rusting is an electrochemical process.....Look it up
Thanks, that's what I was expecting to hear.
Well modern gun blueing is. Originally, as in true blueing, there was no electricity involved. Guns have been blued since long before Ben Franklin and his kite.
One of my favourite RUclips channels. No nonsense, no terrible music sound-carpet and fascinating skills applied.
Outstanding video. I’ve been doing rust bluing and cold blowing for years. Did not even know about the heat bluing with regular oil. Quick, informative, to the point with good examples. Thank you
The voice reveal we never asked but the voice reveal we needed
And it's exactly how I imagined it, hahaha
My first quess was Swiss , then he held up the bottle of cooking oil , and l saw the swiss logo on the lower right corner . The Swiss have been doing it the right way ever since they kicked out the Austrians several hundred years ago . Watches , rifles ,or cheese , they're all the best .
he has narrated a few times before...
Of course he's Swiss 🇨🇭. You can see it in the Swiss perfection and attention to detail!
@@richardpalmer6196 Man, the best cheese ever made are French :D
Wow" A well made video for sure! I have a patience deficiency when it comes to fluff and b.s . This covered all the bases, left nothing out, no music, no bias, didn't try to sell me anything, BRAVO.
Exactly! No bullshit in this video, just information.
How could you watch that video and not have the urge to buy Birchwood Casey Super Blue for all your bluing needs?
nutcase
exactly! not some hillbilly talking about the weather or what bird just flew over!
Zemyla Cenh “as always, links are in the description below! Check out our sponsor for this video, Birchwood Casey, for all your bluing needs”. I know I stole your tag line, but it was brilliant.
If I buy a bottle of the blueing liquid I just know I'll go around blueing everything
I bought a bottle of bluing liquid (this exact brand at sporting goods in wal mart [its for for gun bluing])... and did exactly that... no regrets though...lol.
Lol. This made me chuckle because I saw myself doing the exact same thing
And THAT is the reason I don't have a BLUING SOLUTION.
The urge to blue everything is too much once you have it. 😄
"I blue myself."
@@sdcreates6176 exact same here lol
Almost as if it were scripted. Clear, concise, logical progression, very detailed without boring me to tears. Thank you.
This was really educational ! Hope to see more like this in the future.
Sure, thank you very much.
@@mymechanicsinsights this would be great, there are no such high quality videos like this on youtube and its very interesting because I am going to learn this in my apprentice ship
Absolutely stellar!
I have been watching your main channel since the day #1 :)
Agreed. Excellent presentation!
Great video. ThankYou.
1. How can you tell when the part is between 300 to 400 degrees celsius?
2. Is it really poisonous forever?
I reused the cooking oil.
My fries tasted funny tho.
wow.
a blue joke. stay safe
Were the fries black?
@@goatface6602 don't encourage him !
You need to wash it down with a cold glass of Clorox or Lysol, added bonus it helps prevent Covid-19. 🤣🤣🤣🤣
nice to know someone in this world is on " my-wavelength." Keep- safe and witty . my friend. I from Canterbury U.K.. where are you my virtual-new-friend?
I didn't know the oil quench was considered bluing. That's what I've been doing for ages. Definitely picked up some tips from this video! I had no idea cold bluing was so easy! Thanks!
It's not "hot bluing" per se.... it's polymerizing oil. It still works, but he's not using the normal "hot bath" of caustic chemical method.
Reasons to love this video:
Scientific method, straight to the point, brings up pros/cons and use application. Golden.
I've never heard his voice until this video 😳😳
I was expecting (hoping?) for something Vader-esque
Me either!
Me either
He speaks!?! He also spoke English much better than I expected for someone that frequently says he does not speak it well.
Birchwood Casey also make a brass blackening fluid (comprising Selenium Dioxide aka Selenous Acid and Fluro-Boric Acid). We darken brass (or give it an "aged" or "bronze" patina) using this substance. As with steel, the part to be darkened needs to be very clean and grease-free. We usually dilute the blacking fluid at a ratio of 1:20 with distilled or de-ionised water, and suspend the item in a "plating tank". The reaction starts slowly, but acellerates. The advantage of suspending the item in a diluted solution slows the reaction and gives you degrees of darkening, so you can stop the reaction when a desired shade is reached. Also, the slower the reaction, the better the resilience of the finish. We remove the item from the plating tank and then wash in a separate tank of de-ionised water. Then, we clean off the "blackish dust" residue with a lint-free cloth.
We "seal" the item with a micro-crystalline wax (Renaissance Wax is best).
Birchwood Casey supply a cleaning (de-greasing) fluid as well. Also very good for proper preparation.
Birchwood Casey's products are arguably the best for these metallic darkening projects.
NOTE: Wear gloves and (if available) a face mask with a proper filter. Failing a proper mask, work in a well-ventillated area. While very little gas or odour is given off, the chemical constituents of the blackening fluid are known irritants and have a degree of toxicity.
Another know it all essay.
Micro-crystalline wax (Renaissance) - Got it❣️
I won't ever blue anything in my life, but I still can't stop watching these videos
The sandblasted pieces looked sweet as hell to be fair, and that's the process I'd use if I planned on utilising this technique. Great video man very informative.
This firmly goes into the category of things I did not even know I needed to know.
After I do the first treatment of cold blue I use steel wool on the whole part and give it another treatment of bluing solution for a darker and more uniform finish
I love the thoroughness of your explanations and examples! It was interesting to see what blueing looks like on polished vs sanded and sandblasted parts. The reasons for choosing either the hit or cold process was also very interesting. I really enjoyed this video!
Absolutely one of the best videos I have seen. I want to sand and re blue and old rifle that was parkerized long ago. Looks like I will be cold bluing to prevent the heat from damaging the parts. Thank you!
I would love to see the difference in rust resistance between a blue'd piece and a normal bit of stock
@Ninety Four Moto so is cold more for the appearance it gives? As well as the minimal protection?
@Ninety Four Moto Hot blueing doesn't do much either! The only rust resistance offered is by whatever oil gets trapped in any surface roughness. Keep it oiled, it'll have some resistance to rust (but then so would non-blued steel)
Great question Lux. If oil is imbedded, it should help, but how much
Bluing DOES protect from rust since it forms a layer of oxyde on most of the surface, idk where you guys got the idea that it doesn't but it's a fact that it does.
People don't do it just to have black parts.
There's also rust bluing. Lower temperatures (
You are right and wrong! The actual industrial method is alkaline degreaser bath(prep),rinse, HCl bath to activate the metal( that's optional), rinse, salt bath at 143°C, rinse, then dump it in water displacing oil aaaand there you have it
MidwayUSA had a good video on it, so much work compared to cold blue for a lazy person like me
@@theshop90 You are describing hot salts bluing. Rust bluing, also known as slow rust bluing is done at room temperature except for the boiling of the rusted steel in distilled water. It's a very different and much more complicated process than hot bluing.
A very thorough and interesting lesson. I appreciate the quality of the in depth look that you took in making this video. Keep On Keepin On
Thank you for a very informative video. You took exactly the right amount of time in the video to explain bluing, you gave all the information needed, you used a human voice and you showed the difference between hot and cold bluing. Excellent video
Thank you! I've seen some guides on bluing before, but this is by far the best one, and also in depth on different results and preparations. Thank you!
Here in the Rust Belt, steel only comes in one color and it reminds me of autumn.
I now live in Central Florida, and am quite familiar with this autumn color, hence my best friend is a wire wheel on the bench grinder. Then all I have to do is wash the crap out of my t-shirt, because I once again have forgotten to don my shop apron. LOL.
doah
Brush it off with a steel brush, apply some oil. Keep doing that a couple of decades and the iron will be blued. Blueing is nothing more than a nice even coat of Iron II Oxide, instead of the red/orange Iron III Oxide we all know and hate.
@@JCGver couple of decades enough you reckon?
@@JCGver and your wirebrush is also gonna proceed to blue everything else a little that it comes in contact with. ours does that. but to be fair that things also been in use since propably worldwar 2. i know the son ofthe guy that last maintained the aparatus and that son himself is 82 years old
Thank you for the concise info and lack of click-bait, this is what I miss about RUclips. Great work!
Thank you very much. Very informative, clear, and concise.
I wish I could apprentice with this guy for at least a year, to try to learn at least half of what you know.
So much knowledge you have sir, thank you for sharing it.
Tool and Die maker here: I use the hot oven temp blueing on my parts because of the lack of chemicals involved. I just don't like handling chemicals. Also, this is not limited to black with the oven temp, you can get different colors based on the type of material and temperature and cooling process. Sometimes I'll go blue, gold, black, etc.
You should do a utube video on your techniques also.
Agreed ^
Tell me more.
Would also like to know how to get gold 👌
So the golding technique, along with the other colors, is a reaction of the steel to the high temperature of the oven. For example, I use the tempering oven to color my parts at 1,000 degrees for 5-10 minutes. This amount of time will not effect your hardness. High heat your part and temper normally, then polish it like you normally would, just get the scale off. Throw it back in the oven for 10 minutes and quench it in oil and let it sit until cool. If you want more color, try again. It is harder with larger parts because the part has to come up to temperature equally for an even finish. These larget objects may take a few cycles. The gold was from a piece of very thin stainless sheet metal at 1,000 degrees. Thank you guys for your interest, I want to start a youtube channel soon.
This technique takes a lot of feel and varies with almost every piece. So be prepared to have some fun experimenting with it. Your surface finish, hardness, type of steel, size, and heat will effect every outcome; which IS NOT bad, because it gives you uniqueness and creativity. Try 500° for a blue and purple look. If your shop has a poster on the wall of annealing temp colors- that is your guide.
Thanks all!
That's almost the same as seasoning a steel pan for cooking, just as a much smaller scale (i.e. the layer is usually a lot thicker for cooking) and the oil is important for cookware (no cold bluing). It does give a significant rust protection but it's mostly used for non-stick properties.
After watching & reading this that is exactly what I came to think of when coming across preparing dinner tonight ❣️😌
It's also on the spectrum of heating a stainless steel pan and adding oil only when the pan gets very hot: the oil will create a temporary polymerized surface. As the great Martin Yan once put it: cold oil, hot pan, food won't stick. (The surface should be hot enough that when you sprinkle in a drop of water, the water immediately forms little beads that skitter across the surface rather than fizzling out.)
Thank you. You've answered most of my questions about hot and cold bluing. Time well-spent.
Wow, I gotta admit this is the first diy vid that was to the point, and didn't take forever to get to it. Excellent!
Marvelous. All the bluing questions I've had since I started watching this channel you just answered.
I wish every “how to” video was made by you. Amazing Video.
Informative! I love how systematic you were with testing the two methods. Very well filmed and well explained too. Thanks!
My eyes see the sand blasted cold bluing as just spectacular !! Great video !!
I been watching your videos , the work you do is amazing, always fixing the minimum detail. I am dentist, and I really love what you do, very precise and so beautiful results, every work is a realization of dream!! Because only in dreams we can think achieve that kind of piece of art when we think in restoration.... Thank you very much for your master classes in every step. Greetings from Mexico !
sand blasted looked the best, i need to buy myself a sandblaster
is my favourite too
@@mymechanicsinsights
Question:
Wonder if this application could be applied to an Intake on an Automobile ... Most engines run at 200° degrees or slightly higher in some cases
I need this paint please deliver me
My sandblaster has been one of the most cherished tools in my metal finishing arsenal since buying it... If you do anything applying finishes to metal, or even just leaving it in its "raw state", a sand blaster is definitely a "must have" tool in my book.
I’ve setup several of the harbor freight cheap sand blasters and also some more expensive industrial ones. All have clogged and caused problems. We had one at work I think it had a vibration motor in it to keep from caking up. That one worked amazing never had one problem with it. Used glass beads in all of them.
This is a great video, no nonsense and straight to the point!! Would love to see you do more of these behind the scenes videos 👍 how durable is the bluing for both types?
Only the cold example was bluing. The ‘hot’ method is a blackened burnt oil coating.
I use cold bluing on most holes I drill on finished steel to prevent rust. And to retouch my firearms.
I didn't know anything about hot bluing, thank you!
"Harden ned"
Thanks for the info man. I think I'll be hot blueing every bit of metal in my house today.. quarantine got me going crazy.
Let's see your French or German pronunciation then
This is the best video, thank you my man, I’m restoring my dads old shotgun and this helped loads.
Well, did you finish?
@@vendomnu I did finish! unfortunately part of the bluing is almost impossible to keep from rusting, not sure what went wrong there but its just on the barrel. worst case scenario i will buy a new barrel.
Large parts can be heated in a kitchen oven to the achieve the required temperature. The size of quenching bucket becomes the limit to size. Parts should have a consistent thickness to avoid warpage. Some phosphate-based "rust converters" can be used also, but actually need an even layer of red oxide to form first.
Really helped me realize where I went wrong in my very first attempts at cold blueing parts. Thank you!
Thanks when I was very young I watched my uncle do both but because of time, I have forgotten about this. So thank you for bringing my memory back 😊
Awesome video! I was thinking about trying this on some stuff just the other day. Got a few woodworking tools I'd like to blue for visual effect. I wish I could just send you money so would could do this full time. Your videos are the best anywhere on RUclips. A collaboration video between you and Hand Tool Rescue would be epic. Your English was excellent and your accent only makes the video cooler.
Oh my god he's got a voice. :-x
I was not prepared for this. I think I need a minute ^^
virtualxip same here lol
Awesome explained....i just gone back in past at my science class and remembered my teacher, great men.👍
In the firearms sense, "hot blue" is normally associated with a molten salt process. What you're doing with the oil is normally called oil "blackening" vs "blueing" to distinguish the two processes (and the oil finish tends to look brown-black vs blue-black which is pretty clear in your video).. Another less common method that involves mild heating is "rust blue" where parts are placed in a heated, moisture-rich atmosphere to deliberately cause a coating of very fine rust to form. This is time consuming and normally only done these days for antique firearms restoration..
ty
I have done the rust blueing and its not easy, but it does work pretty good.
yes, this is calle "black oxide to be more exact" -- and many RUclips videos give WAY BETTER advice on it, including not DAMAGING the grain-structure of the metal, as his instructions will, and getting a darker finish with less 'coats'/repeated blackenings needed -- and processes that DO work on stainless.
Bluing in general is just heat, no oil. The most famous example people are used to would be exhaust tips.
I regularly do hot salts bluing and occasionally do slow rust bluing particularly in the rare tin soldered double that might come across the bench. The ways presented here are nothing but expedient alternatives to the true long lasting methods used by gunsmiths, etc. B&C cold bluing is good for touch ups and for the screw or small part that doesn't warrant lighting up the hot blue vats or going though the tedious and lengthy process of slow rust bluing.
I like how the sandblasted piece looked more than the others!
I was like “yeah, I’m always gonna go hot” literally right before you said why not to go hot for somethings. Glad I kept watching
I use cold blueing on tempered steel, like you said about hardened steel. Knife blades and firearm components are pretty much the only ones I do.
I enjoyed this video. Thanks for posting.
In case nobody has mentioned it. It's called bluing because when you hot cut steel it turns blue (blue chips). which led to people finding a way to do that to full pieces instead of just the off-cuts. great video.
No. Bluing is a chemical process done to the surface of steel, not a state of change to the base metal displaying a color - which merely indicates the temperature it was raised to.
This was an awesome video!! Thank you for taking the time to make it. The narrative was clear, the videography was outstanding. I am a fan for life.
For hot blue I use extremely old & dirty motor oil. I really like the effect and coloration I get and as stated, it’s extremely cheap. Really informative video.
Have you ever done a gun? If so, How do you heat it evenly?
@@buckethead1928 I use a propane tank with torch adaptor. I personally use the 100K BTU Flame King torch adapter.
@@alexdaman. thanks man.. I have a sawed off double barrel I would like to re blue
Brilliant video. The best bluing video on RUclips.
When cold bluing , I heat the part with boiling water , then dry it , before applying the Birchwood Casey liquid . It works for me .
So you apply it while the part is still warm?
Perfect video. No nonsense, covered everything I would have wanted to know, great illustrations.
I subscribed! 😎
Used engine oil, frequently black in colour, provides a much darker colour than clean cooking oil.
That's true! Due to the carbon content,used engine oil gives a better protection to rusting and lasts longer too.
Part of this "hot blueing" advantage is to open surface "pores", grooves and other tiny voids (finished steel shouldn't have "pores").
I wonder if a used motor oil containing moly would somehow take a little better? I think a major factor in blueing's mechanical and corrosion protection is it's ability to retain oil (providing a barrier and adding lubricity.
@@RobertLBarnard as far as my experience goes, blued steel without oil goes rusty very quickly. The blue holds the tiniest amount of oil in place on the metal (in the "pores"?) and stops the rust by keeping the water away.
I think by "pores" you're thinking of the "grains". They are all different sizes and evenness depending on the type and manufactur of the steel. (like hot rolled or cold rolled steel have very obviously different grain structures, same for cast or formed parts. )
Built a muzzle loader and had to 'brown' it. Had a spare shower so applied the cold-browning liquid, hung the parts in the shower, put a heater and a humidifier in the room, closed the door, and left - checking the water in the humidifier regularity. Did this for the prescribed number of days and got fantastic results.
When I do hot blueing I use a dedicated oven in my garage. It allows me to control the temperature better. Also allows me to do parts that I could not do with a torch as they would be to large and not have an even temp over the entire part. 😬
Hot caustic salt is beyond most but the largest gunsmithing shops, due to investment in materials and setup(But it's the best for large batches)
a somewhat easier method of durable blueing is called express rust, you will need a bottle of express rust bluing liquid(in US:Brownells has it) and a tank of boiling water
1. degrease part
2. put part in boiling water (be sure you wire it up so you can pull it back out)
3.prep liquid, i like to just put some in a small glass jar and get a cheap foam brush
4.wait 5-10 minutes depending on how much metal needs heating
5.pull part out of water, pause for a few seconds for water to run off, brush compund onto hot steel (you have 30-60 seconds for this)
6.put back into tank for (depending on size of part) 2-5 minutes
7. repeat 5-6 until happy with coverage.
8. completely submerge part in boiling water for min 10 minutes
OR slow rust,
1.degrease you parts
2. hang in a humidifier cabinet
3. wait x days for surface rust(time will need to be experimented on)
4. boil part in water for 20+minutes
Gunsmiths who use Cold blue go to Gunsmith Hell
Source: am Gunsmith
This nice English with Swiss accent :3
True! Perfectly clear and understandable.
One note on pronunciation tho: the word "hardened" isn't pronounced like "hard - eh - ned", it's pronounced like "hard - end", two syllables instead of three.
Schweizerdeutsch ;)
When it comes to precision and all things metal, it's safe to listen for this kind of accent :)
Sounds like some of my favorite relatives.
@@RobertLBarnard Yah, Herr Barnard !
@@fehlrock richtig! u wenn das nid längt halt swinglish, wie hiä im video demonstriert.
That’s basically how cooking pans such as woks are seasoned to develop non-stick properties.
That or a Teflon coating. But I prefer the bluing as the Teflon usually peels off over time and is a type of plastic and thus also a carcinogen. And I prefer not eating plastic
Is that right? So we could repair our old pans with flaky non-stick by bluing them? I don't think so. Nowadays they're all aluminum under the coat and bluing doesn't work on aluminum I think.
Is there something we can do, then?
@@abrogard142 he is correct but didn't explain it right. some cooking vessels, such as a cast iron skillet, will be "seasoned" by burning oil on the surface, which yields a non stick and rust preventative coat. so yes, it is a quite similar process to what is shown in the video
@@Arterexius Plastics in general are not carcinogenic and you can eat ptfe in raw amounts. Its so inert nothing will happen, other than being released on the other side of your body.
Heating up ptfe above 200°C or more howecer will release gases that are toxic, but also not carcinogenic.
Don't spread wrong informations.
Ptfe has been proven to be very toxic to fetuses. Unfortunately it was the pregnant 3M factory workers who discovered this 😢
Nice to hear your voice. I somehow missed this video, but it's not too late.
Oh, and you are the first hit on youtube when searching for bluing.
The question of durability has already been asked, but you have not tested the parts. It would be most interesting to find out, and a very simple test would be to take a very low grit sandpaper, perhaps 24 grit, and just do a quick "scuff" on the surface of each type bluing. This should reveal if either surface would scratch easily. Might take several scuffs to get scratches? Please give some idea of the durability of each type... Great video... 👍
I'd say both are not very resistant for long time abd if you touch it all the time.
So we need to test and upload ourselves?
@@janeblogs324 No. Scratching your smartphone can damage it! 😁
None of these processes including hot salts bluing adds any abrasion resistance to the base steel.
@@David-hm9ic interesting, so how do they accomplish the scratch resistance with the bluing of a firearm? I mean, I know they will still scratch, but they seem pretty durable considering the wear and tear they receive...
Yay :D we don't only make new ones we also make new colors :D. I really enjoyed the iron restoration I try not to miss a video been here since day 1 :P. We've come along way since that car jack :D
I know man and I appreaciate every single comment if yours on all my videos, thank you so much.
@@mymechanicsinsights Anytime :D the best restos in all of RUclips. You raised the bar on restorations and I don't think it will ever be passed :3
As always awesome information and video, thank you!!! Also I echo other comments, amazing to see someone make a video without needing to make an hour long video out of a 6 min subject! 🙂
Thank you for making this video. I've been watching your work for a long time and I finally needed to do some hot blueing of my own. So glad you gave a thorough description of the preparation, process and temperatures!
I like this. It sounds like seasoning cast iron skillets.👍
I found that using old car sump oil when hot bluing gives great result . Cheers from Down Under in Australia .
I often do it on my guns and it works fine . If you want to make some yellow , use the kitchen's oven set on 215 / 220°C .
Plus you SLIGHTLY increase the surface hardness due to carbon the absorbed.
This was very interesting and detailed. However I wonder if there is a difference between the two kinds of bluing in regard of robustness of the surface? Any information about that?
I'd like to know as well
i would like to know as well.
Hot bluing is waay more durable than cold bluing. Consider cold bluing more cosmetic than for any real protection.
I've used the cold bluing a good bit, it looks great, but it doesn't last long on parts that get handled a lot, I did a friends shotgun that does a lot of trap shooting, he said it wore off pretty quick, and I did several coats.
none what so e ever
Missing Rust Bluing, the royalty of how to blue metal.
I have never ever made anything out of metal, I watch the full video anyway. Amazing video!
Great video but at 0:55 he should have mentioned that while you can reuse the old cooking oil you probably should not use it for your chicken wings or chips, lol.
Kudos, very well explained with a lovely Swiss accent.
Great video’s, compliments about that! I learn a lot every time and love the fact that there’s no annoying music! 👍🏻.
My questions:
* which blueing is more resistant against wear and rust? Did you try that out or can you test that?
* I would like to see the machines and favorite materials/chemicals/programs you use, I would certainly appreciate a workshop tour video! 😉
keep up the good work !
Very useful information about bluing steel. No youtuber can't discuss this before.❤
This answers every question except the easily found: What the heck is in bluing liquid!?
Edit, per WP: "Cold" bluing is generally a selenium dioxide based compound that colours steel black, or more often a very dark grey. It is a difficult product to apply evenly, offers minimal protection and is generally best used for small fast repair jobs and touch-ups.
Hot blue doesn't offer much protection either
@@TheSuburban15 So what does offer a proper rust protection?
The Coronavirus lock down brought me here & I learned something new 👍
good
Jason
Please don’t tell me you actually stayed home last few months. Covid is a lie. No need to change our lives. I haven’t.
The lockdown did not change my lifestyle at all. I dont know if that is good or bad. 😂
@@FelonyVideos - if being holed up in a basement, increased shopping online & anti-social is your lifestyle, I can see how nothing changed 😂😂
Seriously though, it effected EVERYBODY’S lifestyle, it was/is 100% impossible to escape its effects.
@@kcb5336 - it’s a lie .... tell the 7 people & 1 additional person who died from it that I personally know it’s a hoax. I’ve seen it first hand.
It is so well proven by 100’s of thousands of medical professionals worldwide it’s common knowledge.
You are an idiot & probably believe the world is flat as well.
Great video, although I did miss him saying, "I make new one." :)
Try using old engine sump oil for hot blueing as it has carbon it which helps the colouring.
Very interesting!
I often wonder why you sometimes sandblast and other times use chemical paint remover. And sometimes both.
If it has a lot of paint on the part i always use paintstripper before sandblasting. Because old paint would turn the expensive blasting media bad much faster. Thanks Ryan
@@mymechanicsinsights Ah makes sense
Does blueing protects from rust or have any sort of protective behaviour or is it solely cosmetic? Great video btw, keep up the good work!
It is a rust protection, not the best but it is.
The reason it works is because bluing is a form of iron oxide called Magnetite. The layer is very thin, but because the layer of magnetite is already an oxide, it won't oxidize into the usual red iron oxide, or rust.
@@Raisopod It does provide some protection, but blued steel can still easily rust if it is in contact with moisture for too long.
@@desertfox2020 Yeah, usually if the blued surface is particularly thin, or if it was partially damaged or improperly cured, it can still rust with normal use. A properly blued surface would only rust under constant contact with moisture or if the part is constantly in contact with other moving parts where the bluing could be removed, in which case you should use a different anti-rust coating.
Just think of guns. All guns are either hot or cold blued. Both processes are used. If taken care of the surface will look good and resist rust for a good long time. If left to the elements, a gun will begin to rust very quickly.
Great video but I think there’s one important thing missing: which method gives more durable surface? It would be great to know which one in comparison is more resistant for example for corrosion, chemicals, mechanical wear.
Rust bluing, hot bluing, then cold bluing. Rust bluing is when you allow a fine rust to form then convert it by boiling. Done over and over again it will convert the majority of the surface to black oxide which is more resistant then the other types.
Excellent. Concise, precise and without a host of crap!
would love to see a corrosion resistance comparison between cold and hot blue
Very easy to do one yourself in the garden.
1:22 That's why it's called bluing. If you can control the temperature exactly you could stop there without the oil.
Oil is necessary to serve it with fish. 😆
I'd like to know the wear resistance of the finish.
600 grit sandpaper can easily remove it. It's not anymore durable than paint.
As I replied earlier, I do hitch pins. Those get a lacquer clear coat spray. Hitch pins on riding mowers will rust if you don't clear coat them. Hope this helps...
Thank you. Very easy to follow. I never saw the advantages to cold bluing, having only done small pieces by hot bluing but now see the need in other circumstances.
I'm bluing da ba Dee da ba daa,
Da ba Dee da ba daa da ba dee da ba daa...
Must be the reason I'm king of my castle.
When heating and quenching you can control the harness . Cold bluing is a soft non durable surface treatment . Real hot bluing is done in a salt bath and is durable and a deeper black .
Bluing is called so from its origins when it was a heat induced deep blue , later blacking professes were still called bluing out of habit .Traditional gun shotgun barrels were rust blued an oxidizing method which was black and was applied by a "browner" .
I thought bluing was done with saltpetre (potassium nitrate).
Your "hot blue" process is actually called oil blackening....for actual hot blueing you will need a hot salt bath.
Yup, came here to say the same. The described "hot bluing" here yields a coat of oxidized oil, not one of magnetite as in real bluing.
Nerds
Is there a major difference between the results? And do you know the salt bath mixture
Which is more durable or better overall as nd why? Thanks
The oil method is basically the same as the seasoning on a cast iron pan. It'll probably be more non-stick and won't need oil for rust resistance, but it's not as durable as true "hot bluing", which converts a layer of iron into magnetite.
I am hooked on the sandblasted look! Thanks for the video, well done!!