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Originally Posted by JensenC
I'm about to make some welded square tube picture frames and have been
looking into various blueing products. 44/40 runs about $8.50 for 2 oz.
Oxpho-blue runs about $9.50 for 4 oz. Van's Instant is about $10 for 4 oz.
Hoppes runs about 9$ for 4 oz.
I'm wondering what folks here have found to work best on mild steel. Any
hints or tricks?
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A friend of mine that gunsmiths uses a recipe of 50/50 (IIRC) sodium hydroxide (Lye) and ammonium nitrate in a boiling solution. Yields a really durable black oxide finish. I think the solution boils at 250F minimum. Steel parts are dunked for 5 - 10 minutes.
Depending on where you're located, obviously it may be edgey trying to get the ammonium nitrate. But, you ought to be able to get a small quantity without a lot of headache, even these days.
joe