Hot Bluing recommendations?

U

UniversalFrost

New member
Please recommend anyone you have used to hotblue a firearm (would like to keep total price under $140).

Gun to be reblued is a winchester model 70 (post 64) including the bottom floor plate, and all metal.
 
Getting a quality blue for under $140. may not be possible.
These days you can have a good blue job or a cheap blue job, but getting both is tough.

The trouble is, about 98% of a good blue job is the polishing job done before the gun is put into the chemical tank.
The people who are capable of doing good quality polishing don't work for minimum wage.
The few local gunsmiths who still offer bluing usually "fire up the tanks" once a month or so.
When you only do polishing that often you can't develop the polishing skills or maintain them.

For this reason, local done jobs LOOK like local done jobs with rounded off sharp edges and corners, dished out holes, buffed off lettering, and ripples in the flats and down the barrel.
The metal may have a nice dark blue and have a nice shine but UNDER that it'll look like a butcher job instantly recognized by anyone who knows good bluing.

This is like painting a car. Everyone "knows some guy" who'll do it cheap and they always say he does a great job.
In virtually every case when you get your car back it looks like crap, but, Hey, it was cheaper than the professional service.

If you want good bluing, here's the people to see.
These people spend 8 hours a day polishing metal. They do top quality work that looks like top quality work.
Each have different options on the level of polish you want, and do a fine job.

http://www.apwcogan.com/

http://www.fordsguns.com/

http://www.elitecustomguns.com/index1.htm

http://www.gunbluing.com/
 
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thanks for the links, but I already use some of them on higher end builds.

For this gun build it is a nothing special winny mod.70 post 64 that i have already stripped the bluing from (soaked in vinegar and scrubbed and soaked and scrubbed, etc...) anyway down to bare metal and already did the polishing up to 800 grit. now just need someone with a hot tank to blue it. not really looking for any high end finish. I already have restored some old 1894's with top end finishers ( i have used Fords and a couple other folks) in the business and spent the cash, but now just looking for a low end, yet quality, bluer.
 
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Most of the listed sources will do what is known as "dip only". You send them the fully disassembled gun and all they do is run it through the cleaning and bluing cycle.
They charge less for that since they do no polishing.

As a final possibility is Ron Mahovski. He does cheaper bluing, but you have to wait a while, delivery likely won't be when promised and communication is poor.
His specialty is plating, but he "fires up the tanks" once a month or so.

http://www.mahovskysmetalife.com/
 
Just a dip? You got it all polished? Got hold compound on it?

$100 plus mail back. If your prep was good :p

WildsenditupillhaveittakencareofAlaska ™
 
Did you change the floor plate? I believe they arnt steel on Post 64s meaning if you throw them in the bluing tank, the salts will eat them.

Take a magnet to the floor plate, if the magnet sticks you can blue it, if not, you got to try something else.
 
thanks guys.

Wildbill you do great work, but I actually found a guy locally that will do the job cheap and he showed me some of his work and looks good, plus he can do the floor plate on the winny (yes the post -64's were not all steel, and some were plated copper, but my floor plate is a steel aftermarket model)
 
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