I've just finished restoring the barrels of two English guns, a Model 1891 Bonehill with twist barrels that will be a gift to my English Machinist, and a 2-Iron Birmingham damascus gun that belongs to a board member who also happens to be my Gunsmith. Some of you may have seen the damascus gun, as he had it with him at the Great Northern.

The process was fairly involved, in order to achieve the deep plum color yet maintain the desired high contrast. The coloring process (after all prep) included two different etchants used four times, three different rusting solutions at four different strengths and approx 11 rusting cycles, three different wire wheels, and five different abrasives. All to develop contrast early and maintain it throughout the process.

The intent now is not to merely achieve a professional standard, but one of accurate, exhibition quality.

I consider the time and effort well spent.


Twist



2 Iron Damascus



Regards
Ken

very nice work Ken

Wow! You certainly achieved your goal! I think they are beautiful. Do you think it likely American makers opted for B&W because it was much easier to achieve the contrast quicker?

Very nice work Ken.

Your twist and damascus refinished barrels look very nice, good job Ken.

I have a set of Charles Lancaster high end damascus in the shop now for refinishing, they are NOW polished to 1500 and ready for etching and then proper browning. I will post some pictures when they are finished.

These particular Lancaster barrels were refinished by someone on the East Coast "three times" and still came back splotchy and a mess with some kind of browning solution that came off like "ladies makeup". The owner then sent them over here for correction.

As returned to the customer after the East Coast refinish and 3 strikes debacle......!





After three different grit polishing and cleanings here, with a final of 1500 W/D, now ready for the etching bath.......






Best,

Those CL barrels belong to a body action gun. Note the sugar tongs forend lump. Nice barrels. Some of the best made at the time. Can't wait to see the after browning pics. I've got a nice set of Scott barrels you could play with Doug ;-)

Dustin

Thanks everyone.

Joe,

No doubt American Black is a somewhat simpler process. The Bonehill twist barrels actually took many more cycles than the damascus ones in order to bring out the contrast. I suspect the Model 1891 was a less expensive gun than their previous models (due to McKinley Tariff) and used less-expensive barrels. The shading is also much more subtle. I colored them brown due to my machinist's preference, it's possible the gun was originally finished in Black & White for the American market.

Doug,

I suspect the high polish is somewhat overkill due to the etches involved. I've gone to a very aggressive initial etch as per the Parker Process, and with at least three additional mild etches I'm fairly sure the ultra fine sanding is not necessary on pattern welded tubes like it is on fluid steel. I also use the maroon ScotchBrite pad for final burnishing before the initial etch, and it's considerably finer than 400 grit.

In my experience, blotches are caused by the initial rusting solution being too weak. It is important to use a solution with a strong initial "Bite" for even color coverage. The important thing that goes along with this is a very aggressive initial carding, almost to the point of complete removal, but leaving no visible flaws. Even under magnification. This provides the "Base" for all the additional cycles, preventing flaws, especially along the top rib, from developing.

I'm getting ready to do another member's Lang barrels shortly, I'm confident my process will "Do them Justice".

There are still three patterns out there that I admire, yet haven't had a chance to do yet. They are Etoile B.P., Chain (Chainette) and Bernard. I'd like to do them for my portfolio. If anyone has a set they'd like done, I'd do them at a very reasonable price. Of course, all others are welcome as well.

Regards
Ken

I'm still not satisfied with my pictures. Here they are again, after some tweaking. They look more like they should now, the plum color and contrast more pronounced..

Twist



2 Iron Damascus

Ken you "tweaked" everything to plum.

Bro. Ken - I'll take your statement as being officially open for business and added you here
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EGInyr3CsRadXkmTYRak4TWK-pCB3cN5Wgg51u_SnEM/edit

What did you decide about the 1/2 'before' and 1/2 'after' barrels?

That's what they are, English Plum Brown. The silver in actuality is a little bolder than the pictures, the contrast is higher. The lacquer has a slight tint to it as well, which also has an effect.

I consider the Plum Brown to be the original English type color, with color converting to the lighter brown rust color over time. Much like American Black turning to brown rust as well.

Regards
Ken

Like the "Sugar Plumb Fairy"????

Thanks Drew.

All your before/after sections are currently "in process", including the half'n'half one I'll be sending you. It's interesting, the Damascus section developed the blotching Doug illustrated in his post, the center of the swirls having noticeable spots, possibly due to higher steel content. Methodology experiments overcame the issue. I'm also coloring a Parker PH "Basket Case" gun in half'n'half for demonstration purposes.

Regards
Ken

This is a LC Smith 10 ga, that I used the Ordnance 41 browning solution and a 5 minute bath in Logwood powder and Ferrous sulfate

Well done! Nice that the rib is patterned as well. Lots of different methods out there. No right and wrong if the results are good!

Please don't anybody tell Ken, because we trade work, but those barrels he did for me are first rate. Some of the nicest re-done Damascus I've ever seen. I do his re-joints and re-lay ribs and such, so he thinks we are even, not even close, but don't tell him because he thins we are even ! MKII

Lancaster CL Body Action Gun, polish and etch and re-brown.

Dustin:










Best,

Well done.

Dustin