Thread: Bluing an old barrel

My "other" rifle was left in the safe for a little while and took it out to give it a much needed clean. Had left the suppressor on it and found some very deep pitting on the rifle barrel. Should I get it reblued? or get a new barrel? The pitting is deep but the rifling inside looks ok. Your thoughts please...oh the rifle is a Parker Hale.

Originally Posted by Drewski

My "other" rifle was left in the safe for a little while and took it out to give it a much needed clean. Had left the suppressor on it and found some very deep pitting on the rifle barrel. Should I get it reblued? or get a new barrel? The pitting is deep but the rifling inside looks ok. Your thoughts please...oh the rifle is a Parker Hale.

Drewski

Re-blue it and go hunting.

Cheers
Pete

Always clean your rifle when putting it away, (I'm not saying that you don't) and if your not going to use it for some time still clean it periodically.
This way you can keep it well maintained and will last a life time.
Also I leave a Anti damp, moisture absorber container in the bottom of my rifle rack. This will collect any moisture and hopefully prevent rust.
Good luck.
Kyle

Thanks for the advice Pete...ok so re-bluing...any advice on how I should do that? Home job or bro-fessional?

Thanks

Originally Posted by Drewski

Thanks for the advice Pete...ok so re-bluing...any advice on how I should do that? Home job or bro-fessional?

Thanks

Drewski

I've done a few cold blues at home that turned out great.

Preparation is the key to a good finish.

Lots of elbow grease on the polishing and making sure you don't have any oil on the barrel including finger prints when you apply the Blue.

If your good with your hands it's a simple process.

That said you may also want to consider a professional job.

Cheers
Pete

Hmmm trust in my hands completely. Should I remove the barrel or leave it in the receiver?

Cheers

Originally Posted by Drewski

Hmmm trust in my hands completely. Should I remove the barrel or leave it in the receiver?

Cheers

Drewski

You will have to take the barrel and receiver out of the stock so you can polish all the metal surfaces.

You may even need to take the barrel out of the action, however I have never done this on the rifles I have cold blued.

Here's how Larry Potterfield of Midway USA does it.

Gunsmithing - How to Blue a Rifle Barrel Using Cold Blue Presented by Larry Potterfield of MidwayUSA - YouTube

Cheers
Pete

You dont have to take the barrel off to do a blue job and I would say that you will be dissapointed in just how long the cold blue last. It wears off pretty quickly.

I use rust bluing and while it takes a while it is a very nice deep finish. Not as shiny as the hot blue but it also lasts a hell of a lot longer

How bad/deep is the pitting? Microns or millimetres? If it's too deep to sand and polish out, forget it. Oil it up and go hunting.
If it'll clean up alright, follow directions on cold bluing bottle meticulously and it'll be fine.
I did an old embattled PH Safari Deluxe .30-06 a few years back, without any fancy tools. Remove stock, but leave action assembled with barrel. Used solvent and wet&dry sand paper (with water) back to appropriately clean and uniform surfaces. I finished polishing with steel wool from memory. I applied the blue with cotton swabs- about six -8 coats I think, polishing in between the first few coats. I'm sure results and expectations vary, but any Parker Hale is an oldish rifle, so when I say it should come up mint, I mean bloody nice!
Good luck mate

When you say polish in between bluing what did you mean?

Polish all the steel with 0000 steel wool until its shiney

Thanks Pete!