doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com How far do you polish before blue

I water rust blue, with mostly good results. I like art�s Belgium blue. Here is my question....
I have read your shouldn�t polish to to fine a grit for best results, say 180 grit, yet the nicest jobs I have ever done were much higher grit....
What do others do? I would appreciate the input.

Ps my last set did not come out very well,so I am going to redo

Jerry

Jerry,
I like to finish with worn 320 grit. Polished much finer, some hardened parts might not let the solution I use "bite".
Mike

I usually go to 400 as that makes a true 320

so how does 400 = 320 ?

By taking al the scratches from the 320 out with the 400 you have a cleaned up 320. Just going by what I was told by a Guild member who makes custom rifles.

The higher the polish the better the finish .
BUT .
Old barrels with many rust spots and surface unevenness's may look better cleaned up to a bright coin finish so a slightly subdued black will cover a multitude of faults .
Backs vary form a deep heavy black to a light translucent for which do need a higher polish .So which are you going to use ?

All depends on your personal choice as to whether you want the finish to look like black chrome or a deeper lustrous finish .
Personally I like barrels to have a sheen rather than a shine but that my choice . .

So how many of you use water blue methods. I remember Tony Threadwell liked Mark�s waterblue for his restorations

A fellow I know polishes up to a bright 320 and then takes a mild Scotchbrite pad to it to matte the finish back down. I'll have to ask if a subdued black is his objective, like you describe.

Slow rust blue is rust, it leaves microscopic pits. This is what gives it it's wear resistance , and why I finish with worn 320( by hand-no wheels). High polish on hard parts( bolt shroud, 45 Slide, etc) may cause the solution to fail to "bite". I don't know about other solutions or methods.
Mike

Treadwell, no "h"

All my best, SRH