{"id":25383,"date":"2014-09-26T17:46:48","date_gmt":"2014-09-26T21:46:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/blog\/?p=25383"},"modified":"2014-09-26T17:46:48","modified_gmt":"2023-08-18T02:24:11","slug":"add-touch-class-niter-blue-di","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/add-touch-class-niter-blue-di\/","title":{"rendered":"Add a Touch of Class: Niter Blue DIY"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Pins<\/a>

Pins installed on a Stainless Vaquero. My camera didn\u2019t fully capture the blue\/purple of the pins.<\/p><\/div>\n

I have always thought of the bluing process as a kind of dark art. Some of the finishes look like they could only be achieved by a mad scientist and his minions mixing chemicals in a secret lab complete with a Jacobs Ladder and some bubbling flasks. The truth is not too far off. But you don\u2019t need a minion to do this, just a 650 degree pot of salt. Niter Bluing is one of the simplest of the bluing processes and it gives some of the most vibrant colors.<\/p>\n

So what is Niter Bluing?<\/h2>\n

Niter Bluing is mostly a heating technique to achieve different color to the steel. We use melted salts to get to the right temperatures. The salts play a factor in the coloration too, but it is mostly a heat reaction. You can get a lot of different colors from niter bluing, not just blue.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/a>

Two of the different colors you can get. The yellow comes first, I simply pulled it out before the other one.<\/p><\/div>\n

At the lower scale on temps you can get a light, straw yellow color. Some of the old Luger\u2019s had yellowish niter blued parts. You can also get deep electric blues, purples, plumbs and light blues. I am personally a fan of the deep blue that is almost purple. If you decide to give this a try, experiment with different temperatures of the salts and see what colors you can get.<\/p>\n

The other thing we are doing with niter bluing is changing the temper of the metal. This can be a good or bad thing. You don\u2019t want to change the temper of a gun part that is exposed to the pressures related to firing. In other words don\u2019t niter blue a barrel, chamber or cylinder! I wouldn\u2019t even mess with a revolver frame or the slide and frame of a pistol. Niter bluing is best used for the little parts, screws, pins and what not. Think of it as a way to add a little color to something, not the whole gun.<\/p>\n

Stainless Steel will not take niter bluing. This is a process for carbon and tool steels.<\/p>\n

Tools and such<\/h2>\n

Well you need some niter bluing salts. I use Brownell\u2019s but there are others out there. They are all pretty much the same but might have a slightly different mix of salts. The Brownell\u2019s salts come with a really good instruction manual. When dealing with something as potentially dangerous as this, it\u2019s a really good idea to read the manual.<\/p>\n