Finished shotgun project

[Guest Caveman]

I have a Cruso double barrel shotgun I just finished. I refinished the stock and blued the barrel myself. Here she is:

This was my first time bluing and I think it came out pretty well.

[Guest jackdm3]

How would that massive barrel not lift right up off that tiny foregrip? I know, I know. It's a normal scale. I just never see them that way. You, like me, need a better cam to get closer pics.

Judgement: Cool!

[Il Duce]

looks good man

[Guest GunTroll]

Did you you rust blue it? Looks nice man!

[Guest Caveman]

Did you you rust blue it? Looks nice man!

"Rust blue it," I don't understand what you mean? I stripped the barrel down to the steel, there wasn't a spot of rust on it. Thanks none the less.

[mikegideon]

Did you you rust blue it? Looks nice man!

Looks like plain old blue to me. Hard to tell for sure from the pics.

[mikegideon]

"Rust blue it," I don't understand what you mean? I stripped the barrel down to the steel, there wasn't a spot of rust on it. Thanks none the less.

He meant brown oxide (aka rust bluing)? Harder to do than black oxide bluing, but some older guns were done that way.

[Warbird]

"Rust blue it," I don't understand what you mean? I stripped the barrel down to the steel, there wasn't a spot of rust on it. Thanks none the less.

Traditional bluing was done in hot tanks of bluing salts. Bluing is actually a controlled rust or oxidation if you will. I think his question of whether you blued the gun with this method or the more traditional rust blue method not requiring salts, but using hydrocloric and nitric acid. You actually allow the gun to rust somewhat and then boil it. This is a method essential to old double barreled gun that utilized soldering. Since you did not know what he was talking about I guess you didn't use this method. I guess you cold blued the gun.

While salt bluing was very popular n some places, others, like Germany used rust blue for many years.

Edited October 18, 2010 by Warbird

[mikegideon]

Traditional bluing was done in hot tanks of bluing salts. Bluing is actually a controlled rust or oxidation if you will. I think his question of whether you blued the gun with this method. Since you did not know what he was talking about I guess you didn't use this method.

AFIK, you can do it without tanks, but it's not easy.

[Warbird]

AFIK, you can do it without tanks, but it's not easy.

Salt bluing does require tanks and is somewhat dangerous. Rust bluing does not require tanks but does require pans large enough to hold a gun in boiling,water. t is actually pretty easy, but it is time consuming. It is much more labor intensive than salt bluing or the more modern paint coatings. Rust bluing is still used on the finest of hand made guns. It is extremely durable as it is actually in the metal, not on top. Rust blued guns develop a wonderful patina with age. Sme don't like this patina,but I think it just gives them more character.

[Guest SUNTZU]

Looks great, Caveman.

[Mike]

slow rust blueing

[Guest Caveman]

Sorry guys, I didn't know of the different bluing methods. I just bought a bluing kit for the he11 of it, a fun weekend project on an old shotgun I didn't have much in. It was fun and came out much better than I though it would.

On a side note, I went to the gun show yesterday and found a vendor who does custom shotgun work. He is going to cut the barrels down on my shotgun and cut the stock into a pistol grip. I have wanted a stage coach shotgun for a long time and I'm stoked he was willing to modify it. Predator wouldn't even fool with it because back when this one was made they spot welded the barrels together and shortening them would compromise the integrity of the welds. This guy is going to shorten the barrels and weld them together the full length of the remaining barrels. There was one for sale on his table that he had already modified and it was bada$$. He is with Long Range Precision in Andersonville. I will post pictures when I get it back this week.

[Guest GunTroll]

I like rust bluing. It does take more time but man it looks good on the right firearm. I do more hot salt bluing these days. Its cheaper for the customer to do hot salt over rust bluing. If a double comes in or even old single barrel shotguns with vent ribs (like old A-5's, etc) I prefer and insist to go the rust blue route just to be safe. I haven't lost a rib or converted a double into two singles yet . I try to be overly cautious just for this case.

I even rust browned a howa 1500 once. Did the rings and bases too. It looked real nice. And very different. I have never seen rust browning on a modern bolt rifle. Wish I still had that finish on that gun. I changed my mind sometime later and did a satin hot salt bluing finish

Again your shotgun looks nice. I bet you feel good about it since you did it yourself.

[Guest GunTroll]

slow rust blueing

And Larry does it a very different way than I do it. Your welcome for my business BTW Larry.

[Guest Caveman]

I like rust bluing. It does take more time but man it looks good on the right firearm. I do more hot salt bluing these days. Its cheaper for the customer to do hot salt over rust bluing. If a double comes in or even old single barrel shotguns with vent ribs (like old A-5's, etc) I prefer and insist to go the rust blue route just to be safe. I haven't lost a rib or converted a double into two singles yet . I try to be overly cautious just for this case.

I even rust browned a howa 1500 once. Did the rings and bases too. It looked real nice. And very different. I have never seen rust browning on a modern bolt rifle. Wish I still had that finish on that gun. I changed my mind sometime later and did a satin hot salt bluing finish

Again your shotgun looks nice. I bet you feel good about it since you did it yourself.

I really do feel good about it, especially since I was certain I would screw it up. Although I was surprised that I was able to do a good job, I was more surprised at the bluing itself. I have heard a lot of bad things about these "do it yourself" bluing kits and was amazed it came out as well as it did. Even Brad (the Long Range Precision guy) was surprised I did this with a cheap bluing kit.

[Guest Caveman]

By the way, just so all of you guys realize what kind of shape this thing was in when I got it, the stock had been primed and painted this weird purplish color with about a million coats of high gloss clear coat on it. It was horrible and a pain in the @$$ to strip.

[mikegideon]

I really do feel good about it, especially since I was certain I would screw it up. Although I was surprised that I was able to do a good job, I was more surprised at the bluing itself. I have heard a lot of bad things about these "do it yourself" bluing kits and was amazed it came out as well as it did. Even Brad (the Long Range Precision guy) was surprised I did this with a cheap bluing kit.

DIY bluing has come a long way over the years

[Garufa]

...the stock had been primed and painted this weird purplish color with about a million coats of high gloss clear coat on it. It was horrible and a pain in the @$$ to strip.

Sound like it would have been smashing with your purple dashboard.

If you chopped that thing down would it then require a tax stamp?

[Mike]

And Larry does it a very different way than I do it. Your welcome for my business BTW Larry.

I'm sure there are a lot of different ways to do it. Blueing is a cool procedure. It's neat how the process takes what normally is a destructive compound and turns it into a protective finish.

Mike

[Guest Caveman]

Sound like it would have been smashing with your purple dashboard.

If you chopped that thing down would it then require a tax stamp?

No, as long as the barrel is 18 inches and the overall length is whatever it is supposed to be (I forgot the exact measurement) then I'm good.

[Ghooge2008]

I ruined a pistol trying to blue it. good work, it looks great...I turned a 200 dollar gun into a 75 dollar rusting machine. I even read the directions!