Need to make my barrels blue again

[Daveo26]

Iv got an old beat up baikal that seems to be rusty everytime I get it out of the cabinet.

It's been cold blued at some point and even though I oil it rust still comes through.

Iv had the barrels on a wire wheel and removed the rust once and for all.

I'm left with slightly pitted greyish looking barrels.

The gun is very rough but I can shoot it, I want some kind of lasting protection on the barrels

I could paint them black but iv never had much luck with the durability of paint.

I could pay to have them blued professionally, but the gun only cost £100 a few years back and it's still pitted seems pointless.

Is it possible to get any kind of lasting finish from a home bluing kit?

Iv seen YouTube videos showing various methods using heat but they all use American products that aren't available here.

Any suggestions very welcome.

Thank you

[sportsbob]

Barbecue paint from B&Q works well on motorcycle exhausts.

[B25Modelman]

I tried the cold stuff once and its rather short term.

 

My father-in-law swore by creosote on his garden tools.

[welshwarrior]

You could paint them with a gun paint like duracoat but to be honest hot blacking is your best bet.

[bruno22rf]

If you rub the barrels down yourself-and it takes a fair bit of work to do properly, then the bulk of the work has been done-find a smith that will black/blue them for cash while he is doing others and the job should not be too expensive-I would say around £100. It may sound a lot but if you shoot well with the gun (and they are built like the proverbial) then how much is she going to cost to replace? Also consider that the humble Baikal may be looked down on by many but they are very well made by gunmakers that concentrated on reliability and longevity rather than finesse and that the price of these guns was low only because the cost of labour was low.

[Stonepark]

Multiple coats of cold bluing solution will last a while, most common problem is either not degreasing properly or only using 1 coat and expecting it to last.

 

I recently did an air rifle but it took 6 coats. 1 per day to get the finish i wanted and now have my dads rusty one to for him as well.

 

I used birchwood casey super blue, with propanol as the degreaser.

[Underdog]

There are other ways but I don't know all the details.

Some use a water method and some rust brown with water mist and carding. Research it.

Have heard of vinigars working too, may not be blue but it won't be white either.

[rjimmer]

Abbey Metal Protector.

[Daveo26]

Cheers for the replies fellas, here's what I did.

I polished the barrels best I could taking into account the pitting.

Had a word with a local gunsmith, he has a batch of bluing to do Thursday and agreed to stick them in with the rest of the stuff.

Said he would blue them for £40.

Then we talked abit more and he suggested a bit more prep would give a better finish.

He said he would do some prep and blue them for £50 so I left them with him.

[subsonicnat]

Cheers for the replies fellas, here's what I did.

I polished the barrels best I could taking into account the pitting.

Had a word with a local gunsmith, he has a batch of bluing to do Thursday and agreed to stick them in with the rest of the stuff.

Said he would blue them for £40.

Then we talked abit more and he suggested a bit more prep would give a better finish.

He said he would do some prep and blue them for £50 so I left them with him.

Good Call Mate: