Does anyone know how to "blue" or blacken stainless steel? I know that
from a cold chemical standpoint a mixture of Selenium Dioxides and
Copper Sulfate is the standard "cold blue" formula for carbon
steel....but how does one darken stainless? With chromium in the steel
the copper method seems useless and an acid preferable....has anyone
used chemical methods in stainless with success? What works?


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Kinda makes you wonder why stainless steel firearms are usu. left bright,
doesn't it?

Bob Swinney
"my_2¢" wrote in message
...
Does anyone know how to "blue" or blacken stainless steel? I know that
from a cold chemical standpoint a mixture of Selenium Dioxides and
Copper Sulfate is the standard "cold blue" formula for carbon
steel....but how does one darken stainless? With chromium in the steel
the copper method seems useless and an acid preferable....has anyone
used chemical methods in stainless with success? What works?


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"Bob Swinney" wrote in message
news:AUcQb.130087$I06.1122362@attbi_s01...
Kinda makes you wonder why stainless steel firearms are usu. left bright,
doesn't it?

Remington used to plate its stainless shotgun barrels with iron, and then
blue the iron (early '60s). There is black chrome plating used on stainless,
and blackened nickel. Maybe there is more. The last time I looked was 20
years ago.

There is some other treatment for stainless that can produce colors, but I
don't recall what it is. In any case, that was for some obscure industrial,
or aerospace application.

Ed Huntress

Stainless steel blackening is a standard service offered by some gunsmiths.
It works by converting the chrome on the surface of the metal to chrome
sulphide in a hot bath similar to the hot black oxide system used for
carbon steel but with different chemicals. www.brownells.com sells the all
the stuff you need to do.

In case you don't want to go into the business, you could use one of the
finishing houses such as www.techplate.com if a gunsmith near you doesn't
offer the service.

Randy


"my_2¢" wrote in message
...
Does anyone know how to "blue" or blacken stainless steel? I know that
from a cold chemical standpoint a mixture of Selenium Dioxides and
Copper Sulfate is the standard "cold blue" formula for carbon
steel....but how does one darken stainless? With chromium in the steel
the copper method seems useless and an acid preferable....has anyone
used chemical methods in stainless with success? What works?


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"Randal O'Brian" wrote in message
...
Stainless steel blackening is a standard service offered by some
gunsmiths.
It works by converting the chrome on the surface of the metal to chrome
sulphide in a hot bath similar to the hot black oxide system used for
carbon steel but with different chemicals. www.brownells.com sells the
all
the stuff you need to do.

How does it hold up to abrasion, Randy?

Ed Huntress

my_2¢ wrote in message . ..
Does anyone know how to "blue" or blacken stainless steel? I know that
from a cold chemical standpoint a mixture of Selenium Dioxides and
Copper Sulfate is the standard "cold blue" formula for carbon
steel....but how does one darken stainless? With chromium in the steel
the copper method seems useless and an acid preferable....has anyone
used chemical methods in stainless with success? What works?


This has been posted before but Brownells has stainless steel
bluing/blackening chemicals. If you've got a one-off, try to find a
gunsmith that's already got the setup, it takes some messing with to
get it working right and you really don't want to invest in a bluing
setup just for a one-off, not to mention the cost of neutralizing the
stuff once you're done with it. There used to be black chrome plating
as well, haven't seen anyone advertising that in awhile. An
alternative would be a powder-coat job in your choice of colors. A
method used in the past on Winchester stainless steel rifle barrels
was to electroplate the barrel with pure iron and then blue that. Or
you could just go get a wally-world can of flat-black spray paint and
have at it. That's about all I'm aware of.

Stan

Keywords:
In article , my_2¢ wrote:
Does anyone know how to "blue" or blacken stainless steel? I know that
from a cold chemical standpoint a mixture of Selenium Dioxides and
Copper Sulfate is the standard "cold blue" formula for carbon
steel....but how does one darken stainless? With chromium in the steel
the copper method seems useless and an acid preferable....has anyone
used chemical methods in stainless with success? What works?

I used to make my own printed circuit boards at home using ferric
chloride as the etchant. I have a pair of polished stainless steel
hemostats that I used to fish parts out. They are still a dark matte
grey after 20 years. I don't know if it was the ferric chloride or the
copper in solution or what, but something definitely stained the
stainless. The resulting finish is also pretty durable.

Doug White

I don't have much personal experience with it, but friends say it is about
the same as regular hot blued carbon steel.

Randy

"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
t...
"Randal O'Brian" wrote in message
...
Stainless steel blackening is a standard service offered by some
gunsmiths.
It works by converting the chrome on the surface of the metal to chrome
sulphide in a hot bath similar to the hot black oxide system used for
carbon steel but with different chemicals. www.brownells.com sells the
all
the stuff you need to do.

How does it hold up to abrasion, Randy?

Ed Huntress

Back in my aerospace processing days, black oxide on SS was done with a
fused salt process. As the name implies, certain chemicals are melted at
around 950 F. to provide the blackening environment, not something you want
to do in a home shop.

Ed Angell

"my_2¢" wrote in message
...
Does anyone know how to "blue" or blacken stainless steel? I know that
from a cold chemical standpoint a mixture of Selenium Dioxides and
Copper Sulfate is the standard "cold blue" formula for carbon
steel....but how does one darken stainless? With chromium in the steel
the copper method seems useless and an acid preferable....has anyone
used chemical methods in stainless with success? What works?


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-----== Over 100,000 Newsgroups - 19 Different Servers! =-----

"my_2¢" wrote:

Does anyone know how to "blue" or blacken stainless steel? I know that
from a cold chemical standpoint a mixture of Selenium Dioxides and
Copper Sulfate is the standard "cold blue" formula for carbon
steel....but how does one darken stainless? With chromium in the steel
the copper method seems useless and an acid preferable....has anyone
used chemical methods in stainless with success? What works?

If you heat 300 series stainless steel to a red, it will turn dark,
almost black, when it cools.
--
Tom Stovall, CJF
Farrier & Blacksmith

http://www.katyforge.com

"I ride a big blue roan, I carry all I own,
In the pouches of my saddlebag, with my bedroll tied behind..."
Mary McCaslin, "Prairie in the Sky"