birchwood casey complete perma blue liquid gun blue kit

[Guest Jon]

So I picked up some of this stuff today at Academy Sports. Has anyone had any expierence with the stuff? Looks legit and reviews look good online for the most part.

I just need something to fix the rust rash on the slide of my sig. Figured a complete new blueing would be better than a touch up job. Also will this finish protect the gun or do you think ill be doing this every month or so?

Also take in mind this gun is my EDC at the moment but is about to be retired to a G23.

[East_TN_Patriot]

I used it a while back on a steel frame revolver. It worked pretty well, but it's not as durable as a regular blued finish. It also will have a bit of a sulfur odor to it. If you plan to use it on the whole thing, you'll need to get the metal clean and completely degreased. It also helps if you warm the parts up a bit. As far as a cold blue, the Birchwood Casey is the best I know of.

A couple of points though. First, this stuff won't work on stainless steel at all, and doesn't do so well on some steel alloys. I have tried it on some machine screws and it didn't work all that well because it wore off very easily. Most newer Sig pistols are a blackened stainless or similar steel. You'll probably want to test it on a small area before you take it the finish off of your entire slide. Personally, I would opt for the touch-up and leave as much of the factory finish in tact because that will be far more durable. If you are going to do the whole slide, it may be wise to have it bead blasted to get it down to virgin metal before finishing. You may also want to consider some of the bake-on finishes that Brownell's has such as the teflon moly finish. It will be a lot more durable than the cold blue and they have ample instructions on their website.

Good luck!

[Guest Jon]

Thanks for the reply.

My sig is a P228 made around 95. Im honestly not really sure what the slide is made of.

Thats what im trying to fix. Had it in a MTAC holster on a hot day and im guessing sweat got to it and caused it to rust. After I cleaned the rust off this is what I was left with. Not easy on the eyes lol

I saw they also made a touch up pen. Looked kinda like a sharpie. Think that would be my best option?

[Randy L]

I used to use Birchwood cold blue for touch ups now I use Blue wonder from Midways it is far more durable and I have used it for a total reblue on an old Rossi revolver. I sold the Rossi after about a year after the reblue and it still looked very good. FWIW

[East_TN_Patriot]

That looks like a blued slide to me. I'd try a touch-up with the cold blue first and see before stripping it down.

[Caster]

I've never been able to make it work to any degree. I've tried bead blasting and using latex gloves so your hands don't touch it, then actually boiling the parts in water (a raging boil over a propane fryer) to get them really hot, soak in the blue, then rinse to neutralize, then soak for a few hours in sulfurized oil. It looked gorgeous.....then the first time I cleaned it with solvent, it rubbed off like like a magic marker. I was pretty mad.

[Dolomite_supafly]

The absolutely best cold blue is the Brownells Oxpho blue creme. It is thick, stays put and works. I have done complete guns before with it and it wears better than anything else I have tried.

Dolomite

[Caster]

The absolutely best cold blue is the Brownells Oxpho blue creme. It is thick, stays put and works. I have done complete guns before with it and it wears better than anything else I have tried.

Dolomite

Never tried it, But you're not the first I've heard say it.

[Guest Jon]

ok so as far as just using it as a touch up would i strip the affected area then reblue or are you guys meaning just try to reblue the "rash" without stripping the suface around it? sorry if this is a dumb question I really just dont wanna screw it up any worse than it is.

[Guest GunTroll]

I think they are saying they would sample the cold blue you have in an inconspicuous spot, like under the slide area. Surface prep as you feel you need to then do a sample. You'll know if it is gonna work for you based off of that. If it takes, metal prep the whole thing again as you feel it needs and go to town. Probably not going to be the most durable with holster wear and all. Should get a decent finish with some effort. If you jack it up, it can always be done professionally at no more cost than it would if you did nothing to it FWIW.

I'm horribly biased but I use cold blue as well as any other insta-blue for screw heads and very very minor scratches. If it got to be blued, hot salt is the only way. If its got to be blued and be classy as well as authentic, rust blue. Also some firearms have to be rust blued due to soft solder and all. Not the case with your SIG so excuse my babbling.

Edited August 18, 2011 by GunTroll

[East_TN_Patriot]

ok so as far as just using it as a touch up would i strip the affected area then reblue or are you guys meaning just try to reblue the "rash" without stripping the suface around it? sorry if this is a dumb question I really just dont wanna screw it up any worse than it is.

I would just gently clean any rust using 0000 steel wool saturated in gun oil (you don't want to remove the factory finish if possible), clean the area really well using Gun Scrubber or acetone, then apply it to the area you are dealing with. Just a thought, if it's a shooter that you plan on keeping and want to look nice, or if you plan to sell it, it may be worth your while to have the slide Cerakoted or reblued at some point. You may also consider black hard chrome. It's not as durable as silver hard chrome, but looks really nice when done properly and holds up a little better than regular blued finishes.