Post by 8ace

Finally I have got the pictures of my attempt to blue the gold coloured marushin P08 Luger.

I used Birchwood Casey super blue liquid, some lint free cloth, cotton buds (Q tips for our American friends), and some scotch-brite type scouring pads.

1: Strip the gun completely (which I found quite easy) and this website has some useful info and drawings http://www.lugerforum.com/

2: With the wet scouring pads rub the gold coloured coating off all visible surfaces (I didn’t use wet & dry paper as I thought it would be to harsh)

3: Clean all of the parts with water/detergent and if possible use a solvent, which doesn’t leave a residue as the final cleaning stage.

4: Taking each component at a time apply the bluing liquid (with a cotton bud for small areas and a cloth for large areas) and rub it in to the metal until you get an even colour. Some surfaces will darken instantly but some will only darken after continual rubbing.

5: When you have the colour you like over the entire surface of the component leave it to soak in water for 1 minuet and wipe dry.

7: Wipe the blued surfaces with light oil (3 in 1)

8: Reassemble the gun.

9: Sit back with a beer and marvel at you handy work

As you can see from my photos the colour is not perfect and some of the gold colour is showing through which gives it a nice antique look but not a new blue steel look.

If I was to do it again I would take more time over the initial rubbing down which would help the bluing liquid take better.

Post by Spencerman

I am impressed. Blueing is always a very difficult process to get right. I have always used a cheap 95p kiddies paint brush set to apply blueing and have always got adequate results. I normally give the item at least four coats myself. If I am correct, the longer that you leave the gunk on for the darker and colder the blue. The more coats you give it at shorter times (30 seconds or so) will give a warmer blue. The best way to do it I believe is to 'dip' the gun in the solution, therefor no brush marks etc. but that would be far too costly for just one gun. I know that many of my local gunsmiths wouldnt do it in house due to lack of demand (this was several years ago) and used to ship it out to other gun companies to do. I also notice that nobody who has mentioned blueing and blueing tips on here has failed to mention a very important part of the process in order to get a nice result. You first blue the gun/part, then rinse the gun/part, repeat as neccessary and when you are finnished, you must make sure that you oil it well. This is the final stage of blueing to get a nice result; plenty of oil. You can see the matt finish of the blue change completely with a bit of oil rubbed in. You can of course adopt different methods to give different results, and I am referring to the most common type of method as far as I am aware (and has always given me good results). Many people say that 90% of blueing is in the preperation, and that is probably true. I must say that I am very impressed with the results that 8ace has got there. Very nice. If you are not happy with it just give it another coat, a little like paint. You will be surprised the difference it makes. I used to on average use about five coats, but then I never did a whole gun before, only parts. I also hate the smell of blue, a bit like a moldy old fish, so make sure that you do use it in an area with plenty of ventilation, unless you like the smell of moldy old fish.
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Post by 8ace

Thanks guys,

I did try dipping the parts in the solution but all it did was put a thick black coating with rubbed/washed off.

And your right about the smell as the Birchwood stuff smells like rotten eggs. I did check the MSDS sheet for it and it does contain Selenium Dioxide which is very very nasty stuff (not sure how much is in it) but I did it at work in a fume cabinet with gloves.

I did see somebody who got good results by heating the parts prior to applying the liquid (which I did try) BUT I did see some vapour coming off which possibly could be dangerous.

Remember that this liquid is designed for steel, there are aluminium and brass bluing/black liquid available which might work better and I see on Francky’s website he has got bluing liquid for zinc metal.

Post by Claymore

Well done, it has to be a worry when you do something like this that the gun will come out ruined, thats what has stopped me from doing my 712 mauser but yours has come out well. As spencerman says preparation is probaly the biggest thing in this and i for one am an impatient bugger and would want it done in ten mins.

Well done again