What to blacken steel with

Anyone know how to blacken steel or any other metal. Is it a dye or a process with chemicals. I use liver of sulphur for Zinc. But not sure about other metal's. By blacken I mean like gunmetal etc.

Steve.

Hi Steve,

You can buy so called cold blacking solutions for steel, a friend of mine has tried and it works. I just heat the mild steel parts to about 270 to 300 deg. C and apply linseed oil, the treatment will to some degree protect against corrosion. Others use motor oil. The treatment is best done outdoors.

Thor

I have also used the cold blacking kits for steel and am quite impressed with them, the only one that I cannot get to work is the brass blacking kit.

Just google "cold blue for barrels" then pick whatever you can legally purchase.

One tip, Cleanliness and de-greasing is mandatory.

* Danny M *

Gun-bluing paste G96 works for me on a warm and well-degreased surface. It's generally well-regarded as a quick and relatively simple home bluing or blacking solution. Last for decades at least. There's a Phillips lookalike that works pretty much the same. See the 24-pdr cannon in my album for evidence.

Edited By Mick B1 on 18/01/2020 09:11:59

There was a discussion of blueing (and blacking) steel in a recent post, which may be useful.

https://www.model-engineer.co.uk/forums/postings.asp?th=141342&p=1

Thanks all.