rebluing a model 11

[my82cam]

i have an old remington model 11 that has some wear and tear on it and i've decided to try and learn how to blue something. what is the best way to go about this? i saw a kit at the store for $35 that had 3 bottles with it to redo it. does this stuff work, i think it's called cold blue. any advice on how i should do this? do i strip it down with sandpaper or......any help would be nice!

[Luckyforward]

Best bluing I have used: http://www.brownells.com/aspx/ns/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=1108&title=OXPHO-BLUE~%20CREME

[KahrMan]

I used that set you are talking about. I reblued an old rusty mossberg .22 rifle for a friend. A little messy but worked ok.

Started out by cleaning off all the rust. Then you use the blue remover which strips the clean. After the barrel is clean you start the blueing. The blueing agent causes a chemical reaction with the metal to get the color blue. You rub it on a small section and let it sit for a minute or so then pour cold water over it. You have to pour water over it to stop the chemical reaction. I used a very fine steel wool, i believe it was 0000, to spread the blueing on. It helps blend the blue between sections to make it look continuous.

Overall the blueing looked pretty consistent. There was a spot on the receiver that had a lot of wear. I never could get the blue to look right on that spot. I took a couple of days for the blue to "set". After that she was good to go.

[my82cam]

ok, so i just a little spot at a time and try to blend it, i don't try and do it all at once? i guess you would want the chemical to have the same amount of reaction time so it would have the same look to it.

[KahrMan]

ok, so i just a little spot at a time and try to blend it, i don't try and do it all at once? i guess you would want the chemical to have the same amount of reaction time so it would have the same look to it.

Thats the reason the instructions gave for doing it a section at a time. You are able to control the length of the chemical reaction better for more even results because the length of the reaction determines the color.

I did the .22 in 3 or 4 sections.

[my82cam]

i think i will do the trigger assy first, that way i have something smaller and less noticable to learn on.

[Luckyforward]

I just reblued a Stevens .20 ga. single barrel my father in law found in a closet; must have been there 25 years.

First, I took the gun apart, and spent about a hour with the wire brush on my grinder brushing out all the rust spots. After getting all the rust off, I took 0000 steel wool and polished the barrel until it was smooth and bright. Then took isopropyl alcohol and degreased the barrel. Then I put on two coats of blue, rinsed it off and then a light steel wool. Two more coats of blue, one more light steel wool, and then oiled the barrel.

It is BEAUTIFUL!

[my82cam]

well, i did the trigger and trigger housing and so far so good!! i will keep you guys posted on how it is going and try to get some pictures up...

[gtssilver]

I am currently re-bluing a sears and robuck bolt action 16 GA (made by H and R) going well just make sure you clean the part well! the cleaner the better blue.

At least in my application it seems that softer metals (screws, internals) get a darker blue quickly vs the barrel and receiver that are harder metals and seem to take a lighter blue the first time.

[my82cam]

i thought about redoing the 12 ga bolt from sears i had...but instead i gave it to my dad for his birthday so i wouldn't think about spending my time on it, and than i found this model 11 to do instead. good luck with yours.

[I_Like_Pie]

I am currently re-bluing a sears and robuck bolt action 16 GA (made by H and R) going well just make sure you clean the part well! the cleaner the better blue.

At least in my application it seems that softer metals (screws, internals) get a darker blue quickly vs the barrel and receiver that are harder metals and seem to take a lighter blue the first time.

Hope you got some "before" pictures...from what I have seen the difference will be quite dramatic. That stock is unbelievable. The grain pattern tricks your eyes into thinking it is 2 feet deep.

[gtssilver]

i dont have any before pics of the metal work but i do have the stock work.

Before, during, and after.

I_Like_pie helped with the final buffing stage and applying wax.

Thanks Pie!

oh yea and all i used for wood treatment was Minwax Antique oil. When finished it is rock hard!

Ace hardware is the only place in chatanooga that sells the stuff. Not even the paint store that is owned by the minwax parent company sells the product.

Edited November 14, 2008 by gtssilver

[I_Like_Pie]

I was at Highland Hardware in Atlanta during their annual expo earlier this year. There was a guy there who did custom stocks...High dollar stuff. None of his fancy pieces of wood had flames like that. It is really quite stunning.