finishing damascus barrels

Alex Johnson

New member
Hi everybody. I'm reworking an old damascus barrel Ithaca and I'm going to attempt to rebrown the tubes. I'm familiar with the processes of rust blueing and browning; however, I'm unsure if the barrels need to be etched first with acid as is done with damascus blades. I've heard many times that the common browning and rust blueing solutions won't bring out the twist pattern properly, one fellow even suggested using Chlorox Bleach as a hot brown bring out the damascus pattern. A few of my gunsmith books illude to the acid etching process, but there were no clear details on the subject. Have any of you ever done this before?

Alex
 
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