Help, Blade Runner Tomenosuke Bluing Turned Brown

Bobdor

New Member
As the title states, I need a little help figuring out what could have gone wrong with the bluing on my Blade Runner Tomenosuke.

This is my first time attempting to chemically blue metal. I read every post here, on propsummit, and on the greater internet I could find before I started. After viewing other people's results, I decided to go with Birchwood Casey Perma Blue.

I blued all the parts. The finish quality came out fine for my standards. However all the zamak parts came out with a brown tint. Oddly enough, I also blued an aftermarket steel barrel, which came out the correct neutral dark gray/gunmetal color.

20210119_232926.jpg


Any ideas what could have gone wrong? Only thing to note is my home tap water is extremely iron rich which is the only conclusion I could come to. However, I don't know why the steel came out perfect.

20200426_150311.jpg


You can really see the difference between the zinc and steel here.

Thanks for looking.
 
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Built a few of these and I've encountered what you've seen. You may have to buff and reapply the bluing liquid a few times to get the color you want. If you're going for the smooth bluing look, you may want to try finishing it with Cape Cod Polish Co Metal Polishing Cloths. I used that with my recent build and it turned out great.

You may also want to try aluminum black as an alternative if you can't get the color you want.
 
sorry i can't help you but i like how it looks as it is.
Thanks. I don't hate it. I was just going for some a little more on the cool rather than warm side. Closer to screen accurate.
Built a few of these and I've encountered what you've seen. You may have to buff and reapply the bluing liquid a few times to get the color you want. If you're going for the smooth bluing look, you may want to try finishing it with Cape Cod Polish Co Metal Polishing Cloths. I used that with my recent build and it turned out great.

You may also want to try aluminum black as an alternative if you can't get the color you want.
I will gave that a try. I have some Cape Cod Cloths for my watch.
Should I reapply the finish in its entirety? Like, vinegar bath, light sand, steel wool, and reapply?
 
Look into Dura Blue by Duracoat. Different metal react differently to certain chemicals. Cold blue is a bad finish that will yellow after awhile. I have worked in gun shops for over 45 years, always the same. If you doubt that a piece has been cold blued, just smell it.
Plenty of youtube vids on Dura Blue. Can buy it on amazon.
 
To be honest, No I do not. I believe it is a coating as opposed to a chemical reaction. It should work. I would have to research it to know for sure.
 
Yeah, some times gun blue goes "plum" in color, and looks reddish instead of bluish. I have some old surplus guns that have it, and frankly I like how it looks on old surplus arms. I don't think I'd like it on my BR blasters though.

From what I understand it is all down to the metal. Be careful with vinegar and zinc based metals. They can react, and the the vinegar can eat away at the zinc.

I would also recommend aluminum black.
 
Did you apply silicon gun oil after finishing? That tends to keep the bluing blue/grey rather than brown. Try a light coat of the oil and see if it helps at all. If not, you can lightly go over the browning with a 0000 steel wool pad. Then try another pass or two with permablue. Then try coating it with the gun oil.

Btw Duracoat is basically like a hearty paint. It can look nice, but the engravings would soften slightly with a coat of duracoat.
 
Did you apply silicon gun oil after finishing? That tends to keep the bluing blue/grey rather than brown. Try a light coat of the oil and see if it helps at all. If not, you can lightly go over the browning with a 0000 steel wool pad. Then try another pass or two with permablue. Then try coating it with the gun oil.

Btw Duracoat is basically like a hearty paint. It can look nice, but the engravings would soften slightly with a coat of duracoat.
I did not apply gun oil. The parts just came out of the solution brown. The real steel part "blued", everything zinc kind of "browned". You can see the difference in the picture I posed with the yellow towel. I did knock the parts back with a bit of steel wool to highlight the edges, and that did take some of the dirty brown away but not much.

Also, do you have any brand recommendations on oil? Funny enough if you google "silicon gun oil" that is apparently a brand of sex lube. :unsure:
 
One trick I used on mine was to dilute the blue with water. Quarter strength. Apply light coats at first. The blueing maintained color as I applied each coat.
 
One trick I used on mine was to dilute the blue with water. Quarter strength. Apply light coats at first. The blueing maintained color as I applied each coat.

Thanks, I'll give that a try. I just dunked the pieces, let them sit for 60 seconds, the rinsed with tap water.

Some of the guides recommend carefully wiping on the fluid, and some (especially in the firearms community) just say submerge.
 
I applied the bluing in several successive layers, and thus built up the bluing. The result should be more even and shiny.
The oil is the one on the left here:





Thanks, I'll give that a try. I just dunked the pieces, let them sit for 60 seconds, the rinsed with tap water.

Some of the guides recommend carefully wiping on the fluid, and some (especially in the firearms community) just say submerge.
 
Also, do you have any brand recommendations on oil? Funny enough if you google "silicon gun oil" that is apparently a brand of sex lube. :unsure:

I used to use a gun oil called Hobbs. It always worked well with my guns and zinc metal replicas.

My mistake. I have not bought any for years and I got the name wrong. It is actually Hoppes Gun Oil.
 
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