"Wes" wrote in message
...
"Ed Huntress" wrote:

A-606 doesn't pit, Jim -- if A-606 is indeed what Steve has. It's a
high-strength low-alloy (HSLA) steel that's formulated to produce a
protective coating of rust that, after it penetrates to a certain depth,
stops rusting. The rust forms a dense, nearly impenetrable layer.


How does that work?

I forget. I haven't had to know for 30 years, so I just let it run out my
ears. g


As far as browning, I just re-did a barrel we clocked to get the sights
pointing straight
(damn thing shot way left and you know I can't tolerate that), I used some
Birchwood Casey
Plumb Brown.

I love that stuff. I got really great results on an old single-barrel
shotgun. It looked like a real antique when I was done.


As far as the brown goes, I thought it was combination of the rust + oil
that kept it from
rustiong further.

Yeah. Different stuff. Cor-Ten does it with the alloy -- somehow.


Obviously something different goes on with Core ten.

Wes

Here's some good stuff. First, Ted Mooney is a very knowledgeable and
no-b.s. guy on materials and finishing:

http://www.finishing.com/255/32.shtml

You'll notice that using muriatic acid to speed up the process is mentioned
here.

Second, here's US Steel on the subject of using weathering steel for roofs:

http://www.ussconstruction.com/metal/metal/corten.shtml

--
Ed Huntress

Second