My Pre-B refinishing and modification diary

[sberres]

Wait, what?  You got cardboard?!  I thought this was supposed to only be temporary?

[Underwhere]

So I attempted my 3rd rusting and boiling. Here are the pics. Still getting some strange marks which I assume are from my "process" being sloppy or too fast.

I'm using Mark Lee's express blue.
The directions state to
* heat the metal to 150 to 200 degrees
* apply the solution
* wait 30 seconds for it to flash dry
* apply 2 more times
* rust should form immediately
* boil for 5 minutes

There is no mention of actually waiting for rust which seems different than most other bluing solutions. (I assume)

The entire process for me takes about 2.5 hours (heating, applying, boiling, carding)

[Underwhere]

So I'm going to try as suggested and not heat and slow down... Let the solution do its thing.

I wiped on the solution very carefully after wringing the cleaning patch out. As soon as I wiped I got dry spots as the solution thinned against the metal so I wiped again until I knew the solution had uniformly been applied.

I strung it up in a cardboard box and went looking for my candle melt thing. I couldn't find it... So I did what I could.

I placed a sheet of glass on the bottom and laid and 2 wet paper towels on top of it. Then a small plastic cup of water.

I doubt I'll get much moisture. It's 55 degrees in my basement and dry.

But if I'm slow bluing... I guess I'm going really slow now.

[Underwhere]

So re-reading another set of Mark Lee's instructions it says in the tips section "coat it as if you were trying to ruin it"

So maybe the sloppy method is OK?
The instructions mention that variances will work their way out as each application is done.

[Earl Keese]

If Mark Lee's express blue "method" was superior to the slow rust blue method, I'd think it would have replaced the traditional way by now. Seeing the results you're getting, I would change my approach if I was you. You've got all the advice you need in this thread to be successful if you're patient. SP01SHADOW is active on another forum, he would likely tell you the same.

[Underwhere]

If Mark Lee's express blue "method" was superior to the slow rust blue method, I'd think it would have replaced the traditional way by now. Seeing the results you're getting, I would change my approach if I was you. You've got all the advice you need in this thread to be successful if you're patient. SP01SHADOW is active on another forum, he would likely tell you the same.

Yup. Understood.

I'm trying to rig up some humidity from boiled water as a stopgap before I can go out and pick up a wax warmer. (boiled water and transferred to a pot inside the box)

Thanks for the advice and patience through my experimentation.

Here is where my parts stand now. Hanging out for 8 hours with bluing solution on but without a ton of humidity.

The paper towels didn't work.
 

[Earl Keese]

Just some very warm tap water in a pan would work. Boiling water will just cause condensation, which will cause more spotting. Slow down and enjoy the process, the results will come.

[Underwhere]

Just some very warm tap water in a pan would work. Boiling water will just cause condensation, which will cause more spotting. Slow down and enjoy the process, the results will come.

Crap back to the basement for me.

[Underwhere]

Just some very warm tap water in a pan would work. Boiling water will just cause condensation, which will cause more spotting. Slow down and enjoy the process, the results will come.

Crap back to the basement for me.

You're right. Just 2 minutes with the boiled water and the were coated in condensation.

I grabbed the wire and used my compressor to blow them dry.

Here they are dry again with my mistake boiled water.

[sberres]

You're getting there. If the small parts are not progressing any further you may we'll be done with them and able to focus on the frame parts. The oxide was formed for them in the first couple of applications.  They really aren't getting any further benefit as long as they appear even.
It'll really make for a top notch finish but you can certainly see how impractical it is for large scale commercial manufacture.

[Underwhere]

You're getting there. If the small parts are not progressing any further you may we'll be done with them and able to focus on the frame parts. The oxide was formed for them in the first couple of applications.  They really aren't getting any further benefit as long as they appear even.
It'll really make for a top notch finish but you can certainly see how impractical it is for large scale commercial manufacture.

That's what I was thinking as well (the small parts).

I just don't understand why they would finish before the rest as they went through the same prep process and same rusting process. I was thinking everything would finish at the same time.

[sberres]

They're so small that they just don't have difficulty appearing even and uniform. The first couple of acid applications get the oxide formation right away and it's not like it gets somehow deeper or thicker. If it does anything like that it is at the expense of the parent metal and that is NOT what you are after. Once the oxide layer forms it serves to protect the parent metal from further oxidation.
I'm trying to figure out the tapatalk thing to post some pics of my last project. Any advice?

[Underwhere]

They're so small that they just don't have difficulty appearing even and uniform. The first couple of acid applications get the oxide formation right away and it's not like it gets somehow deeper or thicker. If it does anything like that it is at the expense of the parent metal and that is NOT what you are after. Once the oxide layer forms it serves to protect the parent metal from further oxidation.
I'm trying to figure out the tapatalk thing to post some pics of my last project. Any advice?

I installed the app on my phone. It allows me to load pics directly from my phone. It actually is easier than using a computer. That also happens to be why this thread has so many of my pics.

[sberres]

I installed the app cuz I've heard that. Now I'm trying to figure out the rest but not having much luck so far. Not quite as intuitive as I'd hoped. I'll keep monkeying with it.

[Underwhere]

I installed the app cuz I've heard that. Now I'm trying to figure out the rest but not having much luck so far. Not quite as intuitive as I'd hoped. I'll keep monkeying with it.

When you reply, look at the bottom left of the screen and there is an icon to add pics. Then it'll allow you to choose from your phone's gallery.