4 oz Steel Blackening Concentrate, Makes 2 1/2 Pints, Bluing Solution, Gun Blue/Black

Update: 3 days after initial tries I redid the screw in the same original solution. This time I spent alot of time on polishing and properly cleaning the part. Also used a liberal amount of oil after the blackening. Will add pics tomorrow after process is finished. Original review First time trying my hand at blackening. I am restoring an old Columbian vise and thought that blackening some parts would help with rust protection and aesthetics. Worked like a charm - in the first 5 seconds. Waited the allotted time just in case. Parts were blackened with a nice, even coat. Devil is in the prep. Polishing the part well and cleaning it even better is a must. Had to redo the small handle 24 hours later after some of the patina peeled off. This time it was really well polished and cleaned meticulously! Will redo the screw as well. Its not as perfect as I would like it to be so repeat it is. Not sure why but the solution turned cloudy after the first use. It still worked as in the initial try, was just less transparent. Acetone worked reasonably well to clean the metal from finger prints and other oils. If you found this review helpful, please click "helpful" to save others reading time and help them make the right choice. Thank you and happy "blackening" :)

I was skeptical of getting a good result with cold bluing. After some experimentation, I found, in order to get the best result, you have to: Above all else, use rubber gloves and safety classes! This stuff is corrosive and will burn your skin and eyes. 1. Clean, clean, clean your parts with denatured alcohol. I tried lacquer thinner first because the can was closer. It didn’t seem to work as well. It smears and leaves a film. Denatured alcohol dries clean. 2. Handle with clean cloth or paper towels. The oil from my hands affected the quality of finish. 3. Where possible, I kept the part moving in the solution. From an anecdotal perspective, it seemed to help. 4. To save solution, I capped a piece of 1” PVC pipe and cut it to length for doing the rifle barrel. I didn’t account for the dowel plug in the barrel and should have cut the PVC pipe a bit longer. Nevertheless, it worked great! This is where I found a couple faded spots from touching with my bare hands. 5. Oil kills the process and shows up as faded areas. Avoid this by cleaning everything with denatured alcohol, and when you think you are done, clean it again. 6. Did I say clean your parts? 😉 I’m not sure how long you can continue to reuse the solution. I’ve nearly completed the entire rifle with a 380ml dilution. Happy customer.

Work good, but, spent too much time bluing the parts and leave a lot of residue

The parts MUST be clean from the old rust, bluing and oil. In my case, immediately after pulling my parts out of the solution I wiped it with a clean cloth and quickly dunked it back for a second time. it came out even darker. When you get your desired finish, wipe dry and quickly apply plenty of a good quality gun oil. I'm VERY satisfied with the product and its results. I'm definitely purchasing more and recommending it.

This is what a lot of cold blueing wishes it could be. I use it as a metal touchup in the shop and apply it onto a sanitized surface with a Q-tip. I do not dilute it. It gives you a very nice finish on carbon steel. But be careful of what jar you end up storing/ mixing the thing in because it can corrode the lid.

Follow instructions and it works just like it should. The more you polish and clean metal the better it looks.

I was refinishing a frame and after three previous products let me down (wouldn’t hold up to a just water ultrasonic cleaning), I tried this on a whim. 10 minutes after following the instructions, I had an amazing looking Frame! Screw those other guys!!

This product did not work. I did everything as directed from cleaning the metal to mixing the solution. However, the black finish was very sporadic and rust came through before the end of the day. I even applied oil to the pieces right after. I wish I would have tried it with about 1/2 the water in the mix. Now I guess I will re-grind/sand the metal, clean it, and just use flat black paint.