Touching up the blue???

B

Bedeviler

New member
I have a blued Sig p220 pistol and there is a tiny chip on the lower rear area just behind the hammer. The silver color is exposed and I want to cover it or touch it up. It is part of the frame and not the slide. What do you guys recommend I use as far as brand of a touch up pen or somethig? And also since it is on the frame and not the slide, someone has also brought to my attention that the frame is anodized black and not blued, therefore, I should not use a blue touch up but a black sharpie instead just tocover it up. How bout a black touch up paint for a car? Need your feedbacks on this matter. Thanks in advance.
 
Some touch up paint might work, but be sure to get the little sample strips and match up the color first. You would be surprised at how many different shades of black there are. Should you go the paint route, get one classified as enamel.
 
a black magic marker... (permanent) would work better than paint... (paint doesn't like to stick toaluminum...)

just rub in some color froma marker... you'll never see the boo-boo...
 
First degrease with brake cleaner

Then either birchwood casey aluminum blackening marker or bluing pen (if ferrous). The bluing may not match exactly, but will never need redoing, as will anything you paint on and then expose to gun solvents.

Regards.
 
Hey guys.

I know this is the semi-auto forum, but this thread kind of covers my question, so, before starting a whole new thread elsewhere, I'll try here first.

Anyway, I have a Blackhawk revolver with some holster wear. The blueing on parts of the barrel has worn thin, and in some very small spots, has worn completely off. I'd like to touch these spots up a bit. Any suggestions on products that I should seek out for this task?

Thank you.
 
You realize that re-bluing, and touching up a gun, does more to lower its value than leaving the original finish alone, right?

Collector interest in re-blued guns is poor. Personally, I wouldnt even consider it.
 
You realize that re-bluing, and touching up a gun, does more to lower its value than leaving the original finish alone, right?

Collector interest in re-blued guns is poor. Personally, I wouldnt even consider it.
Click to expand...

Only if the gun in question is a "collectible." For a standard, run-of-the-mill shooter, rebluing, if done well, will increase the value. On something like the SIG mentioned above, touch-ups will have NO effect on the price/value.

(I'm a small-scale collector, by the way, with a number of C&R guns. For them, rebluing is a no no. For non-C&R guns, its not a big deal.)

Additionally, Oxy-Pho Blue (I think I've got it spelled right) from Brownells is the best COLD bluing I've ever used. With proper application and a little time you can really restore a finish to near factory "new" appearance. (Many of the other BLUE formulas work for a while, but will often come off the first time you hit the finish with any of the more powerful solvents used to clean guns.)

Birchwood Casey makes a BLACK touchup for aluminum frames that should work well on a SIG, and it comes in a felt-tip applicator. Try that -- its inexpensive.
 
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Second the Birchwood Casey touchup pens. The blue sticks better than the black, but it depends on the color of your guns of course.
 
I agree with the comment on Oxpho Blue from Brownells.

It's very easy to use, seems to get nicer looking with age and is virtually indistinguishable from a hot bluing job. I've reblued an entire rifle using it and with excellent results. It makes short work of touchups to blued steel.

Of course it won't do anything to aluminum.
 
Thanks for the replies everybody.

Now that I know which products to consider, do I need to do anything special as far as surface preparation? And what about application? Any special items or techniques required?

Thanks again.
 
The product you use will have instructions about surface preparation.

For your SIG, with the small area, there's really nothing to do but clean it with acetone or alcohol, and have at it.

For a larger area, or a whole gun, it depends. I've sometimes used Birchwood Casey's Rust and Bluing remover to take the entire weapon back to "unblued," but that's generally not necessary.
 
Your frame is aluminum so you need to use Birchwood Casey Aluminum Black. It comes in a small bottle and is applied with a cotton swab.
The "blackness" of the application depends on the alloy and whether or not there is any anodizing on the chipped area.

It works well. I have used it on AR15 upper and lower receivers with great success.

As previously mentioned, clean first with some alcohol, acetone, or the Birchwood Casey Cleaner/Degreaser.
 
To me, I would rather have a gun with a few honest marks on it than one that has been "touched up".

And that is regardless whether it is a collectible or not.

You may not be getting any other people responding here besides me that feel that way, but I think they are out there.
 
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