heating any shotgun receiver without controlling the temperature and heat duration is very dangerous and can damage guns and potentially harm shooters. in additional, if the receiver is heated to very high temperature, such as that required for the bone charcoal process to be effective, then the structure of the metal has been changed and should be tempered back to provide some elasticity. otherwise, the receiver is as brittle as glass and may crack or shatter upon firing of the gun. in my opinion, a low, controlled heat process, combined with specific chemicals is the safest way to recolor a shotgun receiver. so long as the heat is kept low and controlled the metallurgy is not changed and no harm is done to the gun nor is there any potential for danger to the shooter, due to incorrect heat treating, which is the inherent flaw in the use of the high heat bone charcoal process when applied to shotgun receivers.
i myself do not do any gun work of any kind. i have neither the skill nor the patience. instead, i utilize the services of ed lander, for most of my repair and enhancement needs. old ed has over 60 years of experience in the gunsmithing trade and does fine work at a fair price. he has recolored literally hundreds if not thousands of shotguns receivers using his low controlled heat, chemical process. most of his work turns out better than what you have seen posted to this thread by what appear to be case color notzs. also, my criticism of those who case color shotgun receivers via the high heat bone charcoal method is well known, particularly by those who practice that black art as a business. as you have read, i have a few enemies, but fortunately have far more friends; many of whom are happy owners of fine guns that have been repaired or enhanced by old ed.
i do not know much more about old ed's case coloring process. he has developed his techniques over many years of trial and error. he even has different chemical formulas that simulate different factory colors for different guns, depending on when they were made. i believe he may use a potters kiln to precisely control heat. what i do know, is that his top priorities in all of his work are shooter safety and customer satisfaction.
