[tmontana0219]

I have an older .22 bolt rifle that my grandfather gave me and told me to restore. The barrel is in horrible shape and I want to get it re-blued but was wondering how much that would be. Any ideas? Thanks and have a nice day.

 

[Txhillbilly]

A lot more than the rifle would ever be worth,but then it all depends on the personal value of the rifle to yourself.

 

[tmontana0219]

I understand that I just want to get it done to show my grandfather that I remembered him asking (he asked two years ago). I plan on also putting a scope on it and maybe a bipod. Just wondering how much for the re-blue part of it.

 

[CA357]

Figure around a hundred to a hundred fifty bucks should do it. With $150. probably being closer to the mark.

 

[tmontana0219]

Ouch. If I were to do it myself (I have no experience) how much would it be? Would it even be worth it or a waste because I would mess up?

 

[CA357]

You have to get rid of the rust and then polish the steel first. That barrel needs a good cleaning and some smoothing.

When I've cold blued stuff, I prep the surface and then wipe everything down with Acetone. I wear thin latex gloves when I do that. Then I put on fresh gloves and use a hair dryer to heat the metal. Then I apply the bluing with steel wool, doing a small area at a time. (I like Oxpho-Blue cream) Then I go over it all with oil and 0000 steel wool and give it more coats as necessary.

It's not rocket science, preparation is key. Just take your time. If you screw it up, you can always remove the blue and start over.

 

[tworley]

Bluing can be done yourself pretty cheaply IF you have the patience to do it AND take the time to do your homework before. I just finished my first bluing job (also an old .22LR). I used the bluing kit that Birchwood Casey makes and I got pretty decent results with it. A few things to remember if you consider doing this yourself:

1) Do your homework. Google "gun bluing", "barrel bluing", etc and take a look at the various videos and tutorials out there to get familiar with the basic process.

2) Disassemble your barrel as much as it can be. Take everything off the barrel that can be taken off.

3) Metal prep is key to the process. Use a good cleaner/degreaser to clean any oils off the barrel, wear a good pair of latex or chem gloves (one to keep the oil from your skin off the barrel and two, because the bluing chemicals are VERY corrosive). Use a good blue/rust remover and a wide range of grits of sandpaper to strip down and polish the barrel. I used everything from 80 grit all the way to 400 grit. TAKE YOUR TIME doing this and polish that barrel until it shines. Midway has a good video tutorial on the web for this process.

4) When you finally start the bluing process, remember to work in small sections and work quickly. Don't let the bluing solution stay on the metal any longer than about 60 seconds. Rinse it off completely, towel dry the area, then take a piece of 0000 steel wool and give it a light polishing to blend the color together. Repeat the process in the next area.

Now understand that this is the process I followed using the Birchwood Casey bluing kit (which is a cold bluing kit) so the process might be altered a bit if you use a hot bluing solution. So if you decide to blue the barrel yourself, really familiarize yourself with what you will be using beforehand.

Last thing...I'm the type of person who is comfortable taking things apart, rebuilding them, etc. Although this was my time bluing a barrel I wasn't really concern about my ability to handle it once I took the time to familiarize myself with the process and what was involved in it. If that doesn't really describe you, then I would most likely recommend against trying to blue the rifle yourself. You can ruin the rifle if you're not careful.

All told, I have about $35-40 invested in the whole thing. You can take a look at the pics I posted if you want to see how it came out.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do..

http://www.firearmstalk.com/forums/f35/first-bluing-project-81061/#post1104502

 

[vincent]

Before you try to re-blue, why not see if you can try to polish it up by hand...

Here's a before and after I did recently on an old and neglected JC Higgins 12 ga...

0000 steel wool after a good long soak in Hoppe's is all I used, I think it came out pretty well for a first try...Key is to try to keep a clean side of the wool on the metal...

This method will undoubtedly save you a few bucks too!

 

[GeneralPatton]

I have an old Remington 22 my grandfather gave my dad who gave it to me. I took a dremel with a plastic metal cleaning attachment and got all the rust off as best as possible. Then cleaned it with the cleaner from the cold blue kit. When I finished, it looked great. The only things you could see were where the rust had pitted a bit and I had to really buff on it to get it cleaned. So there were 2-3 little dips. Otherwise, after redoing the stock, it looked like a new rifle.

This is just prior to the last coat of blue

I left the bolt lever as it was before. You can kinda see that it's an almost rusty patina

 

[Spud9]

The others are pretty much right on. I charge $150 minimum(depends on the condition and how much extra work will be needed in prep) to blue a barrel, but I also start by putting on a lathe and spinning all the old blue and rust off, using a steel bit to smooth out pitting. You could go the steel wool way, depending on how bad the barrel is you will be rubbing for a while so be patient. You can try rebluing your self, a bottle of Oxpho will run you around $18, cotton balls and steel wool.... Here is the links to a tech piece I did on bluing

http://www.marlinforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1054
http://www.marlinforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1055

You may have to sign up to be able to read them though.

Good luck and if you have any other question just post or PM.

 

[c3shooter]

You have been given some good advice up there ^^^.

I would emphasize that bluing is NOT paint. It will NOT cover imperfections in the metal. Take your time in prepping the metal- I have used 600 grit wet-r-dry paper (wet) like you use a shoeshine rag.

There are several DECENT cold blues- have never seen one that was the equal of a good hot caustic blue- but unless you are equipped to handle gallons of boiling, HIGHLY caustic liquid that can blind you in seconds.... cold blue starts to look pretty good!

Take your time in polishing. Skip the power tools- MUCH easier to remove metal than replace it. Degrease- acetone or high strength isopropyl alcohol- or spray brake cleaner (OUTDOORS). Warm metal with a hairdryer before bluing. I use a brand new toothbrush to apply.

 

[GeneralPatton]

I used a Cold Blue kit from Birchwood Casey. It comes with a Degreaser/Cleaner that works well, the blue agent, and a couple little accessories and was less than $20 and the amount included can do several barrels. Not really hard persay, but it is kinda time consuming.

 

[tmontana0219]

Thank you very much for all of the info on blueing my rifle.

 

[pagj17]

Orrrr you could learn to slow rust blue

 

[Spud9]

No matter which way you go, slow rust, oxpho, etc... take your time, be patient, be ready to do it again (never comes out right the first time) prep well. Or have someone do it for you and be done with it. Good luck and God's speed.....
and for crying out loud, shoot straight.