While experimenting with aging steel and seeing what can be done with various chemicals I accidentally learned that a Cold Blue solution can be used to simulate patterns produced by Color Case Hardening. See for yourselves.
Glad you liked it. I was kind of surprised when I saw it happen and the video shows my 2nd attempt. I am sure with practice it can be made to look better.
Not too shabby, sir! I've seen other methods using blowtorches and oil, things like that to my recollection. But this really seems to be a true aesthetic copy of color case hardening. I definitely have to give this a shot on the old rifle I'm looking to restore.
Do they actually harden the steel with the torch? and/or do they heat it up a lot? I'm just asking, because I would like to create actual color case hardening in some cases... but I saw a method with torches once, but I had no doubt at all that the method would have greatly weakened the steel. There was enough heat to completely ruin the temper and people were doing in on firearms. I know that doesn't always matter, because not all parts of a firearm need to be perfectly hardened... but it could cause premature wearing and make the steel susceptible to scratching.
Just used this method on an opinel and a straight razor. The openel came out looking exactly like color case hardening with lots of colors and the straight razor is absolutely gorgeous even though I could only get black and grey to come out. I've never been more happy with work I did with my hands.
I'm going to use this to clean up a wall-hanger crescent side by side I have. It's not worth any real investment but I think this will be perfect for making it look a little fancier hanging on the wall. Thanks for sharing this!
@@MosinVirus I realize you may have answered this in the video already, but I want to make sure I get the mixture right. Can I ask what the exact mixture you used is? Thanks very much!
@@franksmith7792I thought he just dipped the q-tip in pure cold blueing solution... then dipped it in to regular water after that. Then used oil at the end to stop the chemical reaction.
This is exactly what I was looking for. I'm wanting to make a "mad max" shift knob for my car. Couldn't find anyone I could buy from. So I decided to make it myself
Id try everything in the fridge … under the sink too. but certain non ferrous metals need special effects materials to successfully stain/alter/etch those metals.... ie.. .stainless. youtube has it all.
Excellent, thank you! I had to do some grinding work on my Pietta 1851 Navy revolver with a similar finish; I used this technique and restored the finish where I had worked. You can't even tell, the gun looks new!
That's nice. I was hoping to find out if it could be used on hardened steel and/or color case hardened steel. That would really suck to have a color case hardened frame, but then have an area where the coloring was removed. At the same time though, having a way to fix it with long term results is really good to have. Has it held up on you over the years? and/or you ever have to redo it? Even if it had to be done every couple years though, I still think it might be worth it if it holds up well. I think that this will give it some rust protection as well.
If that looks as good in real life as it does on my screen, then it's absolutely awesome! Really impressed! I love the colours of case hardening, but it's an absolute nightmare going through the process of doing it properly! Can be quite risky too as parts can get distorted at the high temperatures involved!
@@MosinVirus true. I'm a knife maker, and there may be some potential to use this technique on parts that don't need hardening, such as crossguards and pommels. Depending on how it looks when I try it.
Bro, I've been looking for a video, I did the same thing in an accident with oil and bluing, but I could never replicate anymore. This explains why. It was a wet towel I had, not the oil. Thanks a LOT for the video.
I'm getting ready to go e this a try. Just to clarify, you're washing the gun clean with detergent or leaving detergent on the metal before adding the solvent? By great colors, bold traditional colors or extra non traditional color? Thanks
@@donavonrobbins1908 Just mix washing up liquid with water, put it on clean steel and dab on some blueing solution. The detergent lowers the surface tension and you get a cool effect. Different blueing solutions give different colours, and if you add little dots of copper sulphate solution you'll get reds and golds. Just do some practice runs. You can always polish it off and try again. It's all done wet on wet. Once your happy with the result, rinse with hot water and let it dry. Dab on some linseed oil or spray with thin lacquer to preserve it.
This finish doesn't offer a whole lot of protection against rust, even when it is not a faux finish. They were usually lacquered to actually protect the metal and the color. I would suggest going with functional protection on a gun you plan to use.
Thanks man! I have an old Savage M24 22-.410 over under that I inherited from my grandpa, who died in 1968 when I was just three. I don't remember him but that gun is a treasure to me, I used to shoot it a lot. Then a pipe broke and flooded the storage room I had it in and destroyed the finish. Blueing the barrel as part of the renovation is no big deal but the case hardened receiver is another matter. I think this will work just fine. Can't wait to try it. I have Brownell's blueing though, but it should work the same. Thanks again!
Looks like Italian "case hardening". Doesn't quite pop like real case hardening nor does it actually harden the steel but if you don't need to harden steel and you want to replicate the Italian look, say restoring a neglected Italian gun, this is certainly the way to do it. I keep this style in mind for my Italian guns. As they wear, I know I can polish and apply this solution and get the results I expect. The butt plate on my Super Match rusted a bit on the toe due to heavy sweat during shooting and I missed wiping that edge with water to remove the salt. The heel of the plate has a brushed finish from sitting vertical upright and a bit of grit got to the plate. Not the end of the world, a once over with various grades of sandpaper then a polish and then this will bring it back to factory new. No big deal.
Thank you. Yes, this is purely for looks, offers no surface protection and clearly no heat treating takes place. I was just surprised to see it so decided to share.
Any plans to do more revolvers in the future? I know you've restored at least a couple revolvers in the past.. it would be a cool project to apply this cool technique to.
I remember reading this in school in Brownell's Gunsmith Kinks. I believe the use of alcohol in the solution also had an effect, as well as a torch. Some of the guys I went to school with tried the application of cold blue on parts that were actually color case hardened, and got some crazy psychedelic colors such as green, pink, purple etc. Kind of cool but hard to find a practical use for.
@Jay Muller I don't think so. Cold Bluing and Hot Bluing works on Ferris metals, that is metal with iron content, and forms a sort of rust. Aluminum has no iron and therefore does not rust; it corrodes.
That is amazing, looks fantastic, I have been reading a lot about CCH lately, you make this version look easy, but your obviously a pro, I could only imagine how deep the colors would look, if you had clear coated it..
Приветствую. Настоящая цветная калка - это очень красиво, спору нет. Да и механическая прочность у такого покрытия весьма неплоха - достаточно вспомнить штучные ружья советских времен... А вот имитации... Я, например, их вообще не люблю. Тем паче, учитывая, что техпроцесс цветной калки, с одной стороны, вроде бы, не так уж и сложен (ёмкость с углём, выдержка при определённой температуре, резкое охлаждение), но с другой - качественный результат получается у единичных мастеров. У нас сейчас её не делает, по-моему, уже никто. Старики, кто умел, ушли, а передать своё умение было некому. Поскольку мОлодеж и пОдростки, как 20 - 25 лет назад, так и сейчас, не хотят руками работать... У вас, насколько я знаю, не наберётся и сотни, кто пытается, а тех, у кого что-то приличное получается, так вообще меньше десятка... Хотя оно и понятно - на пластиковой раме её не сделаешь, да и на затворе, на эту раму одетом, она нафиг не нужна... Дюракоат, керамика... Я пару лет назад на выставке в Гостинном дворе просто не мог отойти от стенда каких-то, по-моему, итальянцев, на котором лежал карабин из "артиллерийского" парабеллума (новодел, причём) в гравировке и цветной калке... Это был просто шедевр, глаз не оторвать! А мне его ещё и в руках подержать дали! :D
Согласен абсолютно. Кстати есть достаточно много видео по этой закалке. Там помоему еще кожные шмотки пользуются с углем и что то еще для вариации температуры. Я просто случайно получил этот эффект и решил показать.
Have you seen those Steel F/X Patinas? It's supposed to replicate color cased hardening. I've been wanting to give it a try, but the there's not enough good videos out on the process except for the one's by the guy who makes the product, and those videos are kinda of shitty to be honest and the quality isn't good enough to really gauge his results. That being said, it would be worth looking into. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-m2FqroT9ddk.html
I have actually seen those, but never really looked into them. Even the effect I showed in my video was found accudentally. I wasn't actually looking to produce it. :)
I've NEVER had good results with Birchwood Casey cold blue. Your results are better than mine by far. These days I use some stuff sold by Brownells. Oxpho Blue I think it's called. Easy to use.
Birchwood casey is pretty good. I see good results with Oxpho as well. I still want to try Mark Lee Express blue. I hear it is similar to Slow Rust bluing but much faster.
I'll have to try the other product you mentioned. The Mark Lee stuff. I have had the best results with the Oxpho Blue, but even that isn't as good as a factory blue job. I do smithing part time, but mostly the blue is for touch up of things I've done machine work on. Good video, thanks for posting!
Thomas Liemohn you can actually see how well the finish comes out on the Charger Guides I recently made for a Winchester 1895 Russian Musket if you search for my account on Instagram probably. I have a couple of short videos on them there. They were blued with Birchwood.
I have had good results as well as bad with Birchwood Casey over the years. I mostly use it for touch ups, but once in a while I run out of Oxpho and have to resort. I have found if you use a good detergent and scrub the peace between coats rinse and heat dry the Birchwood Casey works much better.
Ocoho Blue works pretty good. I used it to reblue a set of barrels on my old Stevens 311 H. Had a bit of a swirly pattern if the light hits it a certain way. Also the more coats applied the richer the color. I took a hair dryer to heat the barrels to absorb the bluing then would hang the barrels in front of the fire place each night after application. It really darkened the color. This was about a week long process.
No. Neither does Color case hardening, not from rust anyway. This is more of an aesthetic thing. The color case hardened guns used to be lacquered to keep the finish looking good and also to protect the surface from the elements and wear.
Hoping you still reply! I for some reason can't get it to work. I'm trying it on a steel ring I made and it pretty much only colours grey. Sometimes I get it to become somewhat blue, but it gets some cloudy stuff over it. When I then wipe that away, the colour also fades. But even when I get a colour, it is not nearly as vivid as yours.
Not sure what could be going differently. Try oiling the surface first. Bluing solutions are also degreasers so they should cut through the fine oil film. And perhaps dilute the solution a little more.
@@MosinVirus Hey Mosin! Thanks for the tip! I had a couple retries at the blueing, and I finally got a very nice blue undertone. Adding the oil really slowed down the chemical process, so I could accurately control the colouring stage. The ring I made is definitely still very dark though. Not at all the vivid colours you have sadly. Maybe it's because we have different steel types? But I'm happy with it. The birthday girl is getting it today! I have another question! What do you recommend for how often it should be oiled (keeping in mind that it's going to be worn)? Or would you recommend a clear coat? I also want to say: thank you very very much for this video!
Very nice Mosin! You are showing it on a small rectangle flat piece and in my opinion it looks damn good. On a 1911 frame, I think your process will look even better. The 1911 frames lines are broken up with contours, curves and the flats are longer thinner sections. Since you can be selective where to add the effect, you could end up with better results than some of the expensive custom 1911 I've seen. Nice work as always!
I could do another update though I am not spraying it with lacquer. Even better, email me to remind me to take a look and I can send you pictures. Mosin.Virus@gmail.com
By the way, so far no change. Colors are strong. I don't think they will fade.I am very tempted to try and coat the block with something to see if the refraction will change and if the colors will become visible at all angles.
Walt Lars looks exactly the same so far. The only thing I don't like is that it is difficult to see the colors from some angles. That is why I was thinking of coating it with something transparent to see if it will make it easier to see the colors. However, that would interfere with the fading test so I am holding off, though I don't see a way for it to change over time unless it is exposed to the harsh elements.
Is there sufficient bluing to protect the surface/prevent rust. Bought an ESEE 5 with the intent to put a convex edge on it, strip, and then ... I'm not sure. Until I saw this video, I was going back and forth between bluing or a high polish. Or perhaps a high polish and then bluing. Have you tried this technique on a 1095 knife?
The method shown in the video offers virtually no protection. Even cold blue when done properly offers little protection. Parkerizing is my favorite finish due to ease, and slow rust blue is awesome but time consuming.
Thank you for sharing ! I have a car I am taking to bare metal -Not a "cool" car though. Just an art car for advertising my art. I just might use this technique ! I'm not sure it could be of use, but I feel like I should return the favor and tell you about something I accidently came across. I'm not sure what you would use it for, but here goes : Take some rusty metal ( but smooth - not too rusty ) and apply some paint to it in several thick layers. Let it set ouside for a month or two in the elements. Let it rust. Peel the paint off, and you have strips of actual rust stuck to the back of the strips like rusted tape. You can then apply it to areas you want to have a rusty texture, but without actually damaging the item with rust. Do I have any examples or videos ? Sorry - no. As of now, I have not created any rust strips. It's just something I happened to come across on some old lawn chairs and thought might be useful.
You did a great job! I've been experimenting with a similar process, but unfortunately my color patters are drowned out by a strong brown overtone. No idea how to get the brown overtone to go away, or lessen so I can see my color pattern. Any tips? If you need to see it, I made a video, I'll just need to upload it. Thanks.
I didnt spend the time to really figure out how to control color. This was just a "look what happens" video. Hope you figure it out on yours. When the video is up, please reply with a link so we can all check it out.
@@travisj.1938 I did actually. Got a really nice pattern on my glock but since then I went thru divorce and lost everything including my laptop. I forgot about this post honestly.
@@Mr_Smith88 omg I am so sorry to hear that man. Will be sure to include you in my prayers, do not worry though you can get it all back man. I have had to rebuild after breakups a few times myself. You can do it, it'll just take you a minute. Bright side is at least you got out of it sooner than later ya know.
I want to achieve this surface with heat treatment and tempering, Can anyone guide me at what temperature and by which process i can get this (Goldish colour plus uneven black spots) surface.
I'm sorry but your description never mentioned blue until you say it's further up the tip. you said first super glue then water so when is the actual bluing solution actually come into play?
So once you get the color case hardened look, if you blue it would the pattern remain? Besides oiling or lacquering it, what would you do to keep it from rusting?
This video was about creating a similar effect without actual case hardening. This was not a video showing how case hardening is done. If the video was about case hardening then it would have been a video about that. To tell you the truth I am a little confused by the question.
Great question. True color case hardening requires a furnace/kiln and materials to achieve this effect. This is a relatively cheap and simple way to simulate case hardening on a budget and takes A LOT less time.
@@James-fs4rn in color case hardening the different colors are achieved by having different amount of heat in different spots on the workpiece. The parts are packed with charcoal and other materials into a sealed container which then goes into the kiln at a certain temp for a certain time. Then the parts are dumped into water. You can find videos on the process.
Thanks man this lead me to this I picked up, If any one wants to get that on high polished gun steel and wants a high colour finish, when using the bud dip in super blue then take some very fine steel wool and brake the strands to make it less compacated and put the steel wool on the bit you want to colour and rub the bud on the steel wool on the gun steel and rub in for 4 to 5 seconds then use a fresh bit of wool and new bud to start the chemical reaction over again till your happy with the end finish, then rub light with fine steel wool and finish with some protective gun oil 👍 I had no look with this but figured this little trick what might be what some are looking for. 😁
It actually gives you quite a bit of time. Most of the video was real speed, some was 2x. Of course practice would make it better. I discovered the effect yesterday and produced it for the first time while actually trying today. It would be a good exercise for someone to first learn how these colors behave, and then using a picture of real color case hardening as a template to try and reproduce the pattern.
Yes. That was interesting. And, I might try it on an old breakover shotgun... which has lost the color case hardening colouration due to time, typical wear from use, minor surface rust...and aggressive cleaning.
Unfortunate that the actual color case hardening lost the color. This method could be used to fake it, but I think you may want to lacquer over it to keep the colors longer. Try on some spare parts or hidden areas first.
I don't know if you tried this or not, but if you're not happy with the way your shotgun turned out, check out a channel called "Steel FX". I used his product to restore an old H&R pistol that was originally had a color cade hardened finish. It turned out great.
