doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Question about Treadwell's bbl Browning Technique

Hi all. I tried Tony's barrel browning technique as described in his book and my results were not so good. I was hoping someone here could help me out and maybe tell me where I went wrong.

I used some old barrels that I have from a parts/project gun. They are laminated steel. I struck them up and degreased/cleaned them. That all went fine and I've done that before as I've done some rust bluing in the past. I used Tony's technique of soaking the barrels in copper sulfate. That also worked pretty well. When done with that step I could clearly see the laminate pattern. So far so good. I then went to the actual browning. I used Mark Lee's Express Brown #2. It is here where things didn't go so well. After applying my first coat of this solution, any contrast I had from the copper sulfate bath pretty much disappeared ??

What am I missing or what did I do wrong ? I have a couple ideas that I have been thinking about. Should I have diluted the solution down with water ? Maybe the solution is too strong out of the bottle. My other idea involved the way I applied the solution. I just used some pieces of old tee shirt (something I do when I rust blue). Did I maybe rub the contrast right off the barrels ?

Any advice you guys could give would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Vince

Did you card the barrels down after your coating dried...with 0000 steel wool...?

Did you boil the barrels in a hot water tank after the application of the Express Brown dried...?

Did you read the instructions that come with the Express Brown fluid....and follow exactly..?

Best,

Yes No and Yes. Well kind of. I used one of those brownells fine wire wheels in a drill press to card the bbls.

I didn't think Mark Lee's Browning required boiling...I'd have to re-read. I don't want to turn the brown to black.

Perhaps my question should of been, does the contrast in the barrel you can see remain visible during the browning process or does it come back later ? Like I said, everything looked good after the copper sulfate soak.......

I expected to see the contrast throughout the process of applying several coats of the solution, but as I said, its now gone.

I read several articles on how to restore damascus/laminate barrels. I just wanted to know who's used Tony's technique and how the results turned out and what did you do differetly then me ??

Vince

I think your whole problem as you explained it is right in this statement above Vince....

The drill press and the wire wheel....you will probably need to re-dip them in the copper sulfate for a New York minute or two, then clean properly with acetone and paper towels, dry with a hair dryer .........then re-brown the barrels BUT CARD THEM ONLY WITH 0000 STEEL WOOL after the solution dries.........NOT A WIRE WHEEL.....repeat the browning until you get the contrast you want, carding with 0000 steel wool in between each coat...should take about 5 coats for damascus.....card over a large towel on a solid surface, wear rubber gloves.....use a new piece of steel wool for each carding.......Card by hand only....

Go slow and be attentive...good luck...!

Best,

Well I can certaily try again using the steel wool. Like I mentioned these are just junk barrels that I am using for practice. Just to be clear, the wire wheel I'm using is the one I use when I do rust bluing. The kind Brownells sells specifically for carding after rust bluing. I'm not using some type of wire wheel used to remove paint or something like that. I don't want people thinking I'm a complete idiot

Would you recommend diluting the Mark Lee solution. I've heard that some solutions are way to strong/aggressive ?

I'm the guy that turned Tony on to Mark Lee's products and I've done quite a few damascus barrels....they always come out really nice with a good pattern when carding by hand with steel wool....

No, do not dilute the mixture...works fine out of the bottle....

I use an open glass jar with the brown in it and dip pure cotton shotgun cleaning patches as wipes, new ones each coating of course, wiping the brown onto the barrels while the barrels are held vertical over a plastic plate while still warm....again, wear rubber gloves....

Heat the barrels with a hair dryer or commercial dryer between each coat before applying the browning....

OK Doug. I will give it another try with the steel wool. I didn't expect the carding wheel to have such a negative effect on the process. Thanks for all the info.

Vince

I have done quite a few bbls with the Mark Lee soln also. You do not need to "dip" the barrels in Copper Sulfate soln. just swab some on and leave about 10 min.I then lightly steel wool the bbls. Do not dilute the Lee sol'n as it is fine as it is. If you are trying to get Browns, heat the barrels slightly with a propane torch before the steel wool scratching to help turning the ferric oxide into a browner ferric oxide.
I would also suggest a scrubbing with 10% Ferric Chloride soln after the last pass or two to bring out more contrast.Use gloves with the FeCl as it is nasty . e mail me if any more comments are needed.
Below are two barrels that I have done with the Lee soln.

[img:left][/img]
[img:left][/img]

Just a bit of an enquirey?

How do the firms that rust blue comercially polish their barrels initially??
I mean before they blue them
The only way I know is by hand, IE 600 wet and dry 1200 wet and dry and down as fine as crocus cloth
Surely?? these shops don`t do it by hand, too labour intensive??
Do they use some sort of soft wire wheel??
I am aware of the wheels that Brownells have

Cheers

I use 320 Wet and as it wears down it becomes softer, then I usually use fine Scotch brite pads to finish. I don't have a clue how the manufacturer does it.