On Fluid Steel barrels, after the rustings there are areas along the ribs where they were Silver Soldered the color doesn't "Take", showing the solder joint.

What is the appropriate way to color the Silver? I've read various substance are used. Would a logwood soak be appropriate? Any other preferences? Angier mentions the soak sometimes used with Fluid Steel, such as FN used, but no real specifics.

Regards
Ken

Brownsville sells silver solder black and it works very well.

Thanks.

Any idea what it is composed of? The one review of the product is not very encouraging.

Has anyone tried Logwood?

I do not know what is in it. I'll look to see if I still have some....I might.

Brownells. Spell check gotcha?

SRH

either that or a bit sleepy and typing on a tablet.....

felt tip permanent marker.....

Just curious, what type of barrels do you have that use silver solder? Most barrels on older shotguns use lead/tin solder and the blackening agent used is not the same as for silver solder.


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most guns of Belgium manufacture has silver soldered ribs.
Steve

A set from a Savage-Stevens, a 5100 Tenite gun. As well as a few Spanish guns.

The method used for colouring silver solder is brushing on a mixture of “Liver of Sulphur” Jewellers Gun makers and restorers use it for putting an aged look on silver it also works on brass and copper to. It smells like rotten eggs (Hydrogen Sulphide) it can give some people headaches.

Thanks,

It looks like there's an extended-life gel available. Any tips on using it?

Regards
Ken

I had a Ugartechea that had silver soldered barrels.

Ken61 ,when you were prepping the barrels this is an area you should have spent a little more time on,I've seen the factory finish on the Stevens showing solder...just clean it up with sand paper in keeping with what you used on the rest of the barrels , even if you have started the process already you should be able to clean this up and continue it should blend in .

There doesn't appear to be any excess solder. There's just the visible line of silver in the joint.

If it's just a thin line, I've seen factory barrels that had a line of black paint down the rib joint. Tiny artist's brush, and Brownells Aluma hide black paint works. Some chemical blackening removes bluing.

Do you mean brazing? Sometimes the term silver solder and brazing are used the same, but are not the same.

Silver solder uses a temperature of around 1400 deg. F. and bronze or brass soldering (brazing) uses a temperature about half of the above.

Most shotguns with an extension rib were brazed and the top and bottom rib were soft soldered (around 450 deg. F)

I find it hard to believe Stevens would spend the money for silver solder since it is sold by the troy ounce.

A lot of Stevens ribs were brazed. As far as I know. And they used black paint in the cracks of the ribs to cover it.

Ok. Thanks.

That makes sense.

How about Testors Model Paint, (Enamel) applied with a very fine tip brush?

Regards
Ken

I have no wish to start an argument here, but the information given above, re temperatures, is incorrect. Most silver solder alloys have a FLOW temperature between 1000F and 1200F. Brazing flux will generally turn clear and active at about 1100F and the filler metal(bronze alloy) will flow readily between 1150F and 1450F, depending upon alloy. Virtually all barrel assemblies are oven-brazed in a controlled, inert, atmosphere,or in a vacuum, in order to eliminate contaminates.

The old-timers at Purdey's used to hold an empty tin upside down and hold a burning candle beneath it, in order to deposit the lamp-black on the bottom of the tin. They then added some clear lacquer, mixed in the lamp-black with a very small artist's brush, and painted that mixture along the solder joints.

Ok, Thanks.

That sounds good as well. I'll try that. Would the lacquer be a gloss or matte? I would figure more of a matte for fluid steel barrels.

Regards
Ken

If all you are seeing is very faint silver color down in the crack of the rib, my recommendation is to leave it be. Or try something like the brownells soft solder black product.

My comments about Stevens using paint to cover up their brazed joints was not really a suggestion that you do the same thing. Just stating that is what they did at times in their manufscturing.

I have used brownels silver solder black. It works well and its not complicated. Order some follow the directions and have faith.
John Mc