Well "Blow me down!"

[Runs With Scissors]

I was perusing the inter-web the other day, when I stumbled upon a video of some guy doing this "Black Oxide" thing to some tool he made.

That piqued my interest.

Coating/painting/top coats/finish's have never been my "strong suit". For whatever reason, this has alway been my "Achilles heel" when it comes to just about any project.

Well before I know it, my CC jumps out of my pocket and I order this kit to try it out.

Well as luck would have it, I just made a T-nut for my Craftsman lathe (because I am replacing my Dorian AXA tool post with a bigger/better one....an Aloris BXA)

ASIDE: Thanks @Lil Foot for selling me that power drive...It has made a world of difference on my mini-mill.


Well here it is

It fits "like a glove" and I am happy with it. (Although it took me a "stupid long time" to make it....i.e like 6 hours )

I am quite sure it would be "just fine" as is, but I reason that it would make sense to try out this new kit, just to try it on something that it will not make any difference on if I F it up.

So I spray it down with brake cleaner, then take it to the sink and wash it down with dish soap, rinse and dry it.

For the life of me, I can't figure out how to get rid of those milling marks.

I have tried all kinds of different combinations of speeds/feeds, but in the end this was/is about the best I can do.

The camera makes the milling marks look worse than they are, but whatever.........

So I mix up the concentrate as per the instructions ( 9 parts distilled water to 1 part concentrate).

As soon as I spooned in the concentrate, it immediatly reacted.

I had no idea it would happen that fast.

Here it is as fast as I could get the phone out to take the pic.....20 seconds'ish???

As per the instructions, I let it soak the maximum time of 5 minutes, then pulled it out, and rinsed it.


When you buy the kit you have the "option" of either a "oily finish" or a "dry finish".

I opted for the "oily look" , so I soaked it for another 5 minutes in the "finishing agent"

Per the instructions, after 5 minutes, I just hung it to dry. (no rinsing it this time)

Well I am happy to report that it turned out fantastic!!!

It looks very professional, and the best part is that it was "odorless"......

I know it is not an "end all, to beat all" solution for everything, but man it sure beats the hell out of painting.

Here it is before the "oily finish"

and here are some of it after the "oily finish" application.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

I hit the 10 pic limit......so here are a few more

All in all, I super pleased with the results.......

 

[edritchey]

Looks awesome I might have to pick up some and try a few small gun parts in it to see what it looks like. how do you post those pictures on here?

 

[Yooper]

Now you are going to have to buy a vibratory tumbler to get rid of the milling marks. See, this stuff never ends! Seriously, nice job on the tee nut and that black makes it look professional!

 

[lynnmor]

You need a surface grinder if you don't want the mill marks. Just mill everything a few thousandths oversize and grind to size. Just keep spending!

 

[GeoHorn]

Linen wheel and rouge on a bench grinder will polish that right up. (I’ve also used a linen wheel to restore damaged CD and DVD discs. Works great.)

 

[ken erickson]

I would not lose a seconds worth of sleep over the "milling marks" on tee nuts!
Job well done

Black oxide finish looks good. I was a professional gunsmith 20 years and understand the challenge of metal prep and achieving a nice black oxide finish with methods other than hot caustic salt blueing.

I am curious , did you stop short of tapping the threads all the way thru to prevent the hold done bolt from contacting the bottom of the t-slot?

 

[bird dogger]

@Runs With Scissors ..... there you go again!! Enticing me to spend more money on another fun system I didn't know I now need. Your part looks great. And a nice alternative to heat bluing!!

 

[Lil Foot]

Nicely done.
I've been using this stuff for years:

BLU-IT GUN BLUING SOLUTION FOR STEEL & IRON GUNSMITH BLACKSMITH FORGE WORKSHOP | eBay

BLU-IT IS A GREAT PRODUCT FOR GUNSMITH, JEWELRY MAKERS, BLACKSMITH, TOOLING, HOBBY AND OTHER NEEDS. ONE BAG OF POWDER MAKES ONE GALLON OF REUSABLE GUN BLUING SOLUTION! THIS IS NOT A TRADITIONAL BLUING SOLUTION - MUST FOLLOW INSTRUCTION!

www.ebay.com

I keep the entire packet mixed up in an old gallon ice tea jug for large and multiple parts.
Warming the parts and the solution generally speeds things up and helps with some alloys that don't darken as readily.

 

[Hugo Habicht]

Black oxide finish looks good. I was a professional gunsmith 20 years and understand the challenge of metal prep and achieving a nice black oxide finish with methods other than hot caustic salt blueing.

Is the chemical black oxide actually the same as hot salt oxide? Reason I am asking is that it is virtually impossible to gain access to those oxidising salts.

 

[lynnmor]

I have used this for many years:

Precision Brand

1 Pint Bottle Tool Black Liquid Kit-1 Pint Tool Black Liquid, 1 Pint Metal Polish Cleanser and 1 Pint Prevent

MSC # 43420660 Mfr # 45126

It is not a professional product but is good enough for many jobs.

 

[ken erickson]

Is the chemical black oxide actually the same as hot salt oxide? Reason I am asking is that it is virtually impossible to gain access to those oxidising salts.

I doubt it very much. I did a quick AI and copy and pasted, saved typing time, plus I would have had to refresh my memory! LOLOL

Key Chemicals in Hot Caustic Bluing

• Potassium Nitrate (KNO₃): This is a key oxidizing agent that helps in the formation of the black oxide layer.
• Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH): Also known as caustic soda, it serves as a strong alkaline agent that aids in the bluing process.
• Sodium Nitrite (NaNO₂): Sometimes included in the mixture, it can enhance the bluing effect and improve the quality of the finish.
• Water: Used to dissolve the salts and create the bluing solution.

 

[dlsmith]

I don't remember the brand, but I bought a bottle of that solution and used it to refinish a lot of bolts on my Nova when I was restoring it. Makes them look just like factory.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Now you are going to have to buy a vibratory tumbler to get rid of the milling marks. See, this stuff never ends! Seriously, nice job on the tee nut and that black makes it look professional!

Is that the same type of tumbler used for cleaning brass when reloading?

You need a surface grinder if you don't want the mill marks. Just mill everything a few thousandths oversize and grind to size. Just keep spending!

Damn.....I was not in the market for one of those, but ......

Linen wheel and rouge on a bench grinder will polish that right up. (I’ve also used a linen wheel to restore damaged CD and DVD discs. Works great.)

Good idea, I'll try that on the next one.

I am curious , did you stop short of tapping the threads all the way thru to prevent the hold done bolt from contacting the bottom of the t-slot?

I did, but admittedly it was only by accident. I will keep that in mind for the next one though.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Looks awesome I might have to pick up some and try a few small gun parts in it to see what it looks like. how do you post those pictures on here?

Thanks,


I use an Apple most of the time, so I just "drag and drop" the pics.

On Windows machines, I think you can "drag and drop" or hit the "insert image" thing in the tool bar, and select the image from your machine.

I'm sure there are multiple ways to do it though.....

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Nicely done.
I've been using this stuff for years:

BLU-IT GUN BLUING SOLUTION FOR STEEL & IRON GUNSMITH BLACKSMITH FORGE WORKSHOP | eBay

BLU-IT IS A GREAT PRODUCT FOR GUNSMITH, JEWELRY MAKERS, BLACKSMITH, TOOLING, HOBBY AND OTHER NEEDS. ONE BAG OF POWDER MAKES ONE GALLON OF REUSABLE GUN BLUING SOLUTION! THIS IS NOT A TRADITIONAL BLUING SOLUTION - MUST FOLLOW INSTRUCTION!

www.ebay.com

I keep the entire packet mixed up in an old gallon ice tea jug for large and multiple parts.
Warming the parts and the solution generally speeds things up and helps with some alloys that don't darken as readily.

I have used this for many years:

Precision Brand

1 Pint Bottle Tool Black Liquid Kit-1 Pint Tool Black Liquid, 1 Pint Metal Polish Cleanser and 1 Pint Prevent

MSC # 43420660 Mfr # 45126

It is not a professional product but is good enough for many jobs.

Just an observation here, but all of our "featured products" have a "blue'ish" liquid in the kits, so I'm thinking they are similar/same products.

Either way, I was very happy to find something that was so quick, relatively easy, and odorless.

 

[Workerbee]

You can get cold bluing lots of places. I use oxpho blue from Brownells and occasionally Birchwood Casey Superblue thats in every walmart and hardware store in the country. Theres dozens more of brands if you check.

 

[Sidekick]

I use fine glass beads to remove the marks. I don't see them quite that big though. Your mill must not be that rigid and pick up harmonics. A tumbler would also work.