Tips on Bluing Zinc

Post by Polski ben

Hi guys, i wonder if any of you can help me.

Ive been trying to refinish my marushin m16 reciever with bluing liquid but the results have been disappointing. The process takes hours to colour the zinc rather than minutes for steel and ive got a finish with lots of unblued spots of bare metal dotted aroung the place allong with some patches of rust.

Can anyone give me some tips or perhaps a step by step guide.

Cheers
Polski Ben

Post by kickback

Hi Polski ben,

I have tried several methods and liquids myself and have never been able to acheive that proper blued look,sorry so I opted for aluminum black instead.
Birchwood casey make a great liquid with easy to follow instructions and leave a very pleasing result that looks very good so If you have no joy with the blueing then this is what i would recommend.
I hope this has helped.
Good luck

Kickback

Post by Polski ben

cheers kickback, i think i'll have a go at the aluminium black then. Can you recommend anywhere in the UK where i can buy it.

Also is the finish durable?

Post by kickback

Hi Polski ben

Firstly,yes i have found the finish to be durable and if done to the instructions you get an even patchless finish.
I purchased my Aluminum black from C+L Finescale in Bristol (01275 852 027) but there are lots of places on the net,look under shotgun dealers as they usually stock it and the price varies between £7-9 depending on were you buy it.

Give it a try i'm sure you will be impressed.

Kickback

Post by metradio

Also get my Aluminum Black from C+L Finescale. The key is cleaning the zinc, dry cleaning fluid works well..

http://www.finescale.org.uk/carrs.html
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Mike

Post by Garyforce

Hey Polski ben

if you actually go look at the birchwood casey website ...........you will find a complete step by step blueing pack that has the cleaner, degreaser, blue ..... and so on
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- Gary

Post by Mark

Refinishing all zinc modelguns as well as the heavy weight guns is fairly easy. However, the steps have to be followed in order to obtain the best results as any skin oils/silicone oils will prevent the chemical reaction that the bluing or blackining requires.
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Wanted to buy: MGC Sten MK3....trades?(still)

MGC MP40 Marushin MP40 Nakata MP40 TRC MP40

Modelgun manufacturers, past and present:CMC,CAW,Hudson,HWS,LS,MGC(R.I.P. 1960's~2007) Marushin,Marui,Kokusai,Shoei,Tanaka and Western Arms

Post by 8ace

I found this on the web and thought it might be useful

Regarding finishing replica guns. I too was told that gun-blueing liquids and creams do not work on non-ferrous metals. Most of these replicas are made from a frangible zinc alloy most notably mazak. I had a poorly finished Thompson smg replica that had a factory finish that looked like liquorice. It just didn't look right. After disassembling it, I removed the toffee like black and polished the metal (it took a long time). I degreased the whole thing and placed all parts in really hot water. I removed the parts one by one and dried them with paper towels and hair dryer to retain the heat. I then applied a cold blue liquid (any will do) with wads of cotton wool (I wore rubber gloves). I obtained a finish that I considered better than the original. Try it, what have you got to lose apart from about $8. I had tried cold blueing on cold replicas but the zinc alloy took better when hot.

Post by Spencerman

I would recommend with anything like this, if you want to try it, start with an area that you are not going to see, unless the gun is in a bad state to begin with. That way, if you are not happy with the result for any reason, you are not stuck with it.
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Post by Gatling

The process I've discovered that works goes as follows:

1. Water-sand with fine sandpaper, I used 600

2. Polish with steel wool, don't use polishing wax

3. Clean thoroughly with Birchwood Blue and Rust Remover - it makes the metal look really bright, almost white

4. Apply Birchwood Aluminium Black

It's a heck of a job, but I've done this on a few parts now with good results.
I haven't worn any rubber gloves, don't hope I get cancer or reproductive harm as stated on the bottle
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Help, I need spare parts for the Toy-tec dummy minigun!