Cold blue stainless steel?
- Thread starter cdoc42
- Start date
Bill DeShivs
New member
No, you can't. There are "blackeners" for stainless, but they don't work well. You can paint it with one of the gun paints, but it won't hold up on a brake.
You could send the brake off for nitriding, or learn to live with the stainless.
You could send the brake off for nitriding, or learn to live with the stainless.
Last edited:
IMO a stainless barrel and blue receiver look good together.
I have a factory Ruger like this. Looks good to me.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?...=3&qpvt=ruger+lvt+10/22&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0
I have a factory Ruger like this. Looks good to me.
https://www.bing.com/images/search?...=3&qpvt=ruger+lvt+10/22&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0
The cold stainless blackeners, as Bill said, are not impressive. Charcoal gray color at best. That said, it may be you'd be satisfied just to reduce the contrast a bit. But don't expect it to match real bluing.
In addition to those, there is a hot blacking salt solution that may work better. I haven't tried it, personally, but if you do, I'd be curious to learn what you think of it. A lot of trouble to go to, though, if you don't do hot bluing now.
In addition to those, there is a hot blacking salt solution that may work better. I haven't tried it, personally, but if you do, I'd be curious to learn what you think of it. A lot of trouble to go to, though, if you don't do hot bluing now.
Thanks for the advice, but I should have waited a bit longer before starting this thread. If you travel over to the rifle thread labeled BOSS you'll read that my blue question related to having received, at no charge, an accidental (free) shipment of a BOSS that will more likely fit my 7mm RMAg, not the .22-250 I was after. That has immediately been resolved by the Browning staffer who advised he will send the .22-250. Since both are free of charge I now can play with the non-brake on the 7mm as well. Sorry for jumping the gun, so-to-speak, but any information offered in this format is worthwhile to someone!!
This is a bit off the thread intent, but I have recently been impressed by the responsiveness of the reloading equipment manufacturers to inquiries about parts and availability. One quickly resolved an error in a part I purchased and two sent me replacements for parts that had worn out, all at no charge.
Stainless steel does rust. Not exactly the same way carbon steel does, but it does rust. StainLESS, not "stainfree". 
Different alloys do it differently and take different amounts of time, and conditions but it can happen.
Where I used to work used quantities of "nuclear grade" stainless. Shop stock was stored outside on racks. It was all a uniform rusty brown on the outside, but only on the very outside surface, and that rust was a protective layer, once formed, it never went deeper into the alloy.
Theoretically since bluing is a controlled form of rust, stainless steel could be "blued" using the right combination of chemicals and processes, HOWEVER, getting the usual "gunmetal blue" is probably unlikely if even at all possible.
Glad you got your issue resolved, sounds like the maker did right by you.
Different alloys do it differently and take different amounts of time, and conditions but it can happen.
Where I used to work used quantities of "nuclear grade" stainless. Shop stock was stored outside on racks. It was all a uniform rusty brown on the outside, but only on the very outside surface, and that rust was a protective layer, once formed, it never went deeper into the alloy.
Theoretically since bluing is a controlled form of rust, stainless steel could be "blued" using the right combination of chemicals and processes, HOWEVER, getting the usual "gunmetal blue" is probably unlikely if even at all possible.
Glad you got your issue resolved, sounds like the maker did right by you.
Stainless can be rust-free if it is a correct formulation for the environment it is used in, and that environment isn't too extreme, and it has been passivated to remove traces of free iron left by machining or forming by steel tooling that is not stainless. Surgical tools and pins and wires and screws and joint implants won't rust inside the body, for example. The levels of salts and acids and pH values and temperatures in the body are well known and not extreme, so alloys that remain truly corrosion free in that environment can be selected for them. But all stainless steels have some conditions they can't withstand without corroding.
Schlitz 45
New member
I’ve used Steel FX products on a black powder project to give a color case hardened look that cam out great. They make a product for stainless steel too, just have to try it on a spot under the grips to see if it’s something you’d want to use.
https://steelfxpatinas.com/
https://steelfxpatinas.com/
Bill DeShivs
New member
See post #2.