blueing in a bottle

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Fungus63

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could anybody advise blueing in a bottle ive heard it comes of on your hands fades after time i want to use it on a 1931 bsa standard but if its not good i wont bother thanks folks in advance
 
I've used Birchwood Casey Perma Blue several times, follow the instructions and it's good. Lasts well, doesn't come off on your hands if done properly
 
Very easy to use, the better you polish before bluing, the better the finish. Mirror finish polishing is best. Generally I do three coats for a deeper looking finish
 
I have re blued a mate's rifle with Birchwood Casey, and spent a long time getting the metal work to a good finish and then degreasing before applying several coats of cold blue.

The results were satisfactory, i.e. you needed to look with a close eye to see the rifle had not been hot blued.

The rifle was a break barrel, however, and after a few lengthy shooting sessions, with a close eye you could see the cold blue had indeed weared a tiny bit on the barrel where it had been gripped by hands.

I think this is part of the nature of cold blue and don't believe it can ever bd as wear resistant as hot blue.
 
The results can be ok but nowhere near as good as a proper bluing job. Secondly you can wear gloves, the vinyl ones from Amazon etc are cheap and protect your skin from the chemicals. The best results come from meticulous preparation, polishing and cleaning are the key and then follow the instructions.
 
I've gotten some acceptable results with cold blue on BSA prewars. Don't go farther than 400 grit and put the sanding strokes in the right direction. Prewars were not high polish.
I had to get a replacement cocking link for this one. Matches pretty good, if a little thin as cold blue will be. But you don't notice right away. The flash from the camers lights it up and reveals more than you would normally see.
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