Blackining Steel????

Johnwright said:
The temp that I used was well below boiling. It was probably 180 deg. F or so. It was producing a lot of steam that probably was not very healthy for these old lungs.
Click to expand...

Thank you. Definitely a job for outside.

Darrell
 
Caswell Plating sells black oxide liquid for dipping steels directly into that does a great job. I have been using their $60 2 gallon kit for several years now. It takes about 12 minutes to reach a deep black then the part is rinsed off before getting dipped in the provided sealer and left to drip dry over night. Once the parts are done I just snap the lid back onto the bucket and slide it out of the way 'till the next time.

It also works well when used over parkerized metal, turning the flat gray finish a deep matte black.
 
Anodizing is for aluminum, not steel. I've used cold bluing (which is selenious acid), myself; you can buy small quantities at gun shops. I was going to mention the cold black oxide stuff in the above post. Some years ago we had a problem with mechanics overtorquing and breaking small machine screws... we took an allen wrench, heated it, twisted it into a nice spiral, then let it cool and reblackened it before showing it to the supervisors to make a point. Got some raised eyebrows, and we got our point across. :grin big:
 
You can buy gun blackening as well as gun bluing in small bottles. Brass black is also available. No need to get real complicated.

I make missing parts for antique mechanical devices. They might be made of iron,steel,ivory and brass. Over the years I have gotten very expert at making realistic finishes on my parts. The customer has to ask which part is the old one? Ivory is the hardest thing to age.DSC_0070.jpg

I used used motor oil once. It may have been TOO used,but I got a real thick coating of black on the part I was making. It was too thick. The coating was hard as blazes to get off,too.
 
The old time books tell me that heating the part to a dull red and quenching in steam cylinder oil is a good and easy method, or, heating the part in a molten mixture of sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate (50/50 mixture) at 600 - 605 deg. F, quench in warm water, then in light oil: this is the U.S. armory method of bluing and blackening; the difference between blue and black is the immersion time, which may be only a few minutes for small parts
 
Visit a gunsmith, they have several products which you can use with colors from brown to black
 
george wilson said:
...I used used motor oil once. It may have been TOO used,but I got a real thick coating of black on the part I was making. It was too thick. The coating was hard as blazes to get off,too.
Click to expand...

George, your part was too hot, I've had the same experience. Now I do small parts on the kitchen gas range - works great and easier than lighting off the O/A torch.

P.S. A friend swears by diesel motor oil for blackening ???????
 
I WAS in college at the time,and knew little about using used motor oil. Highly possible my part was too hot. Back then I was mostly interested in making guitars,though I did take machinist's courses.

My chemistry professor had a Smith and Wesson gun missing the rear sight. He asked me to make a replacement sight for it. I was walking around campus with that pistol(though I didn't take it out,except in the Art lab where I made the sight.)
'
Try that these days!!
 
Last edited:
george wilson said:
You can buy gun blackening as well as gun bluing in small bottles. Brass black is also available. No need to get real complicated.

I make missing parts for antique mechanical devices. They might be made of iron,steel,ivory and brass. Over the years I have gotten very expert at making realistic finishes on my parts. The customer has to ask which part is the old one? Ivory is the hardest thing to age.View attachment 98223

I used used motor oil once. It may have been TOO used,but I got a real thick coating of black on the part I was making. It was too thick. The coating was hard as blazes to get off,too.
Click to expand...
the one in the back is the new one??
what are they?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top