doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Preferred methods for removing bluing?

I'm preparing to send some rifle parts out for engraving, and one part, the trigger guard, still has bluing. I believe it is hot salt bluing. In the past I've used vinegar and fine sandpaper to remove bluing. It's a little slow, but it works. I was curious what methods others prefer? Any input is appreciated.

Larry

Navel Jelly

Ditto Mike's comment. May take a couple of applications for best results. As an engraver I usually expect to do that myself.

Why not just polish the part? If the engraving being recut is very shallow, take a rubbing or detailed pictures of it to send along with the part.
Naval Jelly has a pretty good amount of phosphoric acid & even some sulphuric acid. It’ll etch and put a dull finish on the metal that’ll need to be polished before finishing.
I personally never use chemicals to remove old bluing…I just polish it off.

Lime-away is less agressive and works ok.

I prefer 50 years of deer drives, still hunts, and pointing dogs... but if you're in a hurry, the birchwood casey bluing remover has always been cheap and easy for me? I have never seen ill effects?

There is also a product called evaporust that works well. It is environmentally inert, no hazmat etc. I get mine at the local farm store but Amazon has it also. It works great in an ultrasonic cleaner as well. Soak for an hour and the blue comes right off.

I was just wondering......what kind of rifle are you going to have engraved and who is doing the engraving for you? And are they going to reblue the gun after it is engraved? Or are you going to reblue the gun after it is engraved. Just curious........Thanks.

The responses are super helpful. Thank you to everyone who has responded. This forum is so helpful that way. The rifle is a Ruger M77 MkII in 6mm Remington. It is my favorite deer gun. Over the past 15 years or so I've worked with many skilled men (mostly gunsmiths) to refine it, and it has come together nicely. I've been communicating with Geoffroy Gournet about doing some light engraving on the floorplate and trigger guard. Geoffroy can do the work, but he needs a bit of lead time. I especially like the looks of hand cut (hammer, chisel, bulino) engraving, which Geoffroy does. Probably the biggest element of the engraving will be running vine borders around the floorplate and trigger guard. There might be some wedges/diamonds of scroll in the middles. We will confer on the final layout. I'm leaning towards a French gray finish with engravers ink to enhance the contrast. However, I'm also considering a color case hardened finish or charcoal bluing. When it's done, I'll share pictures here on the forum.

Larry

Lysol toilet bowl cleaner works great does not hurt metal and it has other household uses.