Thread: Metal bluing questions.

Hello, I am looking for some advise on metal bluing. I have a old safe that has been left out to rotte for a few years in the elements. I recently was able to break it open and and give it a good going over to clean it up. I basically wire wheeled the while exterior and wanted to gun blue the whole safe. Note all the paint is gone and some nice old looking metal is left. My question is would it be best to after the whole thing is blued to just oil it monthly to keep it from rusting any more or could I clear coat it. Or could I blue it and then keep using a product like pledge on it monthly?

Thank you

Gun type bluing (hot salt bath bluing) is not the appropriate finish for such an item.

I agree with Precious Mettle.
Blueing something like that, even a relatively small one, would be a lot of work. It would have originally just been painted.

peter

It's my impression that older safes usually are finished in hammer or crackled type paint finish.

You could use one of the cold bluing solutions like the Birchwood Casey Bluing Solution.

Its not the same as the hot blue mentioned above but its easy to apply and may or may not get the effect your after. Its cheap enough to try anyway. Rust protection is not fantastic, you really need to keep it oiled as well.

Keith Rucker did a series of YouTube videos on restoring an old family safe. 14 videos all up. There is an interesting history behind the safe.

Dean

Without knowing the details of your safe (fire proof, solid steel, etc) it's difficult to offer specific advice. If you have an oxy or a larger propane torch, heat or torch bluing might be a good option. With a bit of practice and depending on the steel, you can get some really vibrant colours and while the blued finish is not very deep I've found it to be quite durable. It also provides reasonable rust protection if you oil it while still hot.
Cheers,
Greg.

As you suggested, the original finish was painted, however you now want the plain steel look.

Yes I believe it is possible to blue it as you wanted, and I'd suggest doing some research on "rust bluing". That's the original type of finish on old firearms, and it's still in use by restorers today. There's a ton of information of rust bluing out on the internet as a result. I've never set out to do that with a new piece, but have unwittingly gone through the process with old tools, which will naturally develop a similar finish over a long period of time and normal use/care. The patina developed is generally highly regarded and a sure sign of an "over-restored" tool is that patina being removed.

I think for what's essentially a piece of furniture, having something covered in oil in the house would be a PIA and not something I'd want, but that's just me and I'd say if you really want to go down that path just give it a light wipe of oil whenever you can (and before it rusts) and you should preserve that finish.

Thank you all for the input. I ended up usually a gun blue liquid all over the safe, and then using gun oil to "seal" it. This was my first time at working with something like this. I will give it a once over with some pledge to keep it dust free as much as posible.

To give everyone a little back ground. The safe is roughly 2 foot cubed. It was dumped in a back yard about 5 years ago and sat in the elements. I liked the way the natural rust too over a large part of the exterior. I wanted to more preserve the rust and patina. The safe will reside in my den as a functioning show piece. It's heavy enough that at least 2 grown men would have a hard time moving it.

Originally Posted by Pete F

As you suggested, the original finish was painted, however you now want the plain steel look.

Yes I believe it is possible to blue it as you wanted, and I'd suggest doing some research on "rust bluing". That's the original type of finish on old firearms, and it's still in use by restorers today. There's a ton of information of rust bluing out on the internet as a result. I've never set out to do that with a new piece, but have unwittingly gone through the process with old tools, which will naturally develop a similar finish over a long period of time and normal use/care. The patina developed is generally highly regarded and a sure sign of an "over-restored" tool is that patina being removed.

I think for what's essentially a piece of furniture, having something covered in oil in the house would be a PIA and not something I'd want, but that's just me and I'd say if you really want to go down that path just give it a light wipe of oil whenever you can (and before it rusts) and you should preserve that finish.

You'd have to have a pretty big tank of boiling distilled or rain water to fit a safe in. I don't think I'd be enjoying getting a safe into and out of the boiling water bath. And, yes, I'm not talking hot bluing. The boiling in distilled/rain water is an essential part of the rust bluing process. Its just not practical on large items.

instead of putting the large item into boiling water like you need to when rust bluing, maybe you could pass over it with a jet of steam from one of those cheap steam cleaners..? that might be enough to convert the red iron oxide to black iron oxide

Originally Posted by Hornetb

You'd have to have a pretty big tank of boiling distilled or rain water to fit a safe in. I don't think I'd be enjoying getting a safe into and out of the boiling water bath. And, yes, I'm not talking hot bluing. The boiling in distilled/rain water is an essential part of the rust bluing process. Its just not practical on large items.

Something like this?

Why should you steam rather than boil? | Rust Blue

Originally Posted by NedsHead

instead of putting the large item into boiling water like you need to when rust bluing, maybe you could pass over it with a jet of steam from one of those cheap steam cleaners..? that might be enough to convert the red iron oxide to black iron oxide

The safe is probably going to act as one big massive heat sink. I'd be surprised if you were able to drive enough heat into it to convert the red to black in any meaningful time frame. I could be wrong.
Let us know how you go.

I'll be bluing a few Martini barrels and actions in the next month or so. I might try the steam option out of interest as normally I boil, but I don't expect a vast difference between the two.

It would be good if you could put up the process here. I've tried various ways to blue steel, but haven't really come up with one I'd say I was super happy with. I'd like to keep exploring alternatives and/or for different applications.