Hot Salt or Hot Dip Gun Bluing

First of all, to those of you who may not know just exactly what bluing may be, it is a chemical process in which after the original finish and all rust is removed from the metal parts of a gun, a conversion coating is applied. This protects the gun from deterioration from rust and restores it to its original condition.

Gun enthusiasts, owners of family heirlooms, and war re-enactment participants utilize this process for many reasons including:

* to restore a weapon to its original condition
* to customize the weapon
* to optimize a weapon for a specific function such as flat gloss for low reflectivity or high gloss for a presentational show piece
* for polishing specific trigger parts enhancing the weapon's function, such as smooth trigger pull, smoother cocking, burr-free, bolt placement
* to provide the weapon with a long-term corrosion-resistant protective coating

With proper care and handling, this process need not EVER be repeated, making this a valuable investment to a weapons owner.

Precision Bluing offers hot-dip bluing only. The purpose of this process is protective, decorative and restorative.

This consists of a multi-stage process wherein the piece is first derusted in either a solution of hot alkaline or an acid. Determination is made by the severity and depth of the oxidation.

This is followed by the mechanical removal of the etched surface by means of multiple-grit felt and cotton wheels. Extreme care at this stage has to be given to any lettering or proofmarks originally found on the piece. A veteran polisher can work between the letters giving a quality overall effect. Depending on the final grit used, this depicts the final finish, or luster.

Ex. A 400 grit final polish is the approximate grit of a factory finish. To proceed above a 400 grit, for example to a mirror polish would result in a very reflective, high-luster blue. This is known as the custom and is only achievable after MANY hours of hand polishing.

The bluing process consists of a five-stage system: a hot degreaser followed by a rinse, a mechanical scrubbing, then back to the degreaser, back to the rinse, then into molten salts. These are classified as molten because the boiling point is 290 degrees.

After the appropriate amount of time, followed by a hot water rinse, the part is placed in a spray rinse and sprayed with vast amounts of water. It is then immediately quenched in a water-displacing oil. At this point, the oxide film is very soft and has to be left untouched for approximately 24 hours. Then the oxide surface is mildly polished.

It is then possible to offer another service of a wax seal which gives an even higher luster. The piece is then packaged and returned to the customer.

This finish also meets military specifications C13924BAM1 Class 1, Grade A.

The amount of prep work put into each piece is what makes Precision Bluing's services stand incredibly above the competition. The attention to precision and quality is Precision Bluing's differential advantage. Bluing is a VERY labor-intensive process. Many bluers will simply remove the previous coating and then dip the gun in the hot salts. THIS IS NOT HOW TO GET A GOOD FINISH! The best, most quality finish comes from the work done to the surface of the metal PRIOR to bluing.

Other services offered are general polishing for "white" guns such as antique muskets, and bead blasting, which offers a flat matte finish.

All services can be offered complimentary to one another.

We would love to help you with your project! We give discounts for guns sent in lots, as few as three, as it costs the same to light the tanks for one as it does for multiple, so send us a few and save some money!

Mark Smith is your veteran, expert bluer and we guarantee you WILL NOT be disappointed with his work! Mark has been in metal finishing for over thirty years. He takes an incredible amount of old-school pride in his craft. Nothing leaves the shop until it is something he would be proud to own himself. Your project will be returned to you a jewel.

We have had SO many people inquire about services. When we tell them that they won't find anyone who will do a better job, we tend to get that "Yeah - everyone says that!", but 100% of the time, that is NOT an exaggeration, 100% of the time, when a customer receives their gun back, we inevitably get a telephone call something akin to "Holy Cow! You weren't kidding!" or, "I just showed this gun to my buddies and they thought I BOUGHT A NEW GUN!!"

Check out our testimonials page on our store's website. We are very happy to provide you with telephone numbers and email addresses of many people we have done business with.

We have done literally hundreds of guns and have not EVER had one disappointed customer.

See the picture shown above? When you get done reading this, go to our website to see how they turned out!

So, give us a call, get that gun taken care of and we promise to take extremely good care of you and your project!

Mark & Jennifer Smith
www.PrecisionBluingPlus.com
(607) 656-4356
Bluing@PrecisionBluing.com