Rust browning a barrel

[Ole Scratch]

Ok, I have a T/C Hawken .54 cal.  The barrel has some surface rust and some around the breach area.  I have decided to rust brown the barrel.  I know I need to remove the sight,. What else needs to be removed?  Should I redo three lock and hammer and plate?  What course of action would all employ?  Thanks in advance. Ole Scratch

[rollingb]

Ok, I have a T/C Hawken .54 cal.  The barrel has some surface rust and some around the breach area.  I have decided to rust brown the barrel.  I know I need to remove the sight,. What else needs to be removed?  Should I redo three lock and hammer and plate?  What course of action would all employ?  Thanks in advance. Ole Scratch

You will get a much more even browning, if you remove the hammer, frizzen, frizzen spring, bolts/screws, and etc. from the lock plate.
This also makes it easier to remove the old blueing, and aids the "degreasing process" of those small parts prior to browning. 

[BEAVERMAN]

Actually pretty simple, no need to completely take the lock apart, and a good application of naval jelly to the original blueing , let it sit a good half hour then wipe with some 0000 steel wool and voila! naked barrel!

[Bigsmoke]

And a quick reminder.  One coat of the rust brown solution will not get the job done.  It takes several.  Once you have the parts degreased, learn to love latex gloves, don't go near the parts without them on.  I am not sure if John F is making Ol' Thunder Cold Brown or not, but if he is, that is the best I have found.  I guess Laurel Mountain is next best.  I saw where October Country is making a cold brown, probably a copy cat version of Ol' Thunder, no idea if it works well or not.  Once you are happy with the look, be sure to kill the browning solution.  I used washing soda (I think it is called), then apply a liberal dose of something oily.  Personally, I do like October Country's Bumblin' Bear Grease for metal treatment, a wood preservative and on leather as well.  Good stuff.

[Winter Hawk]

I've done several with Laurel Mountain Forge degreaser/browning solution with good results.  Just need to make sure that you have a high humidity room to leave the piece you are browning in.  Making a plastic tent with a vaporizer works, as well as just having a vaporizer in a room.  The directions are with the solution.  You can also use it to blue the barrel as I did with a smoothbore barrel which came out okay.  Carding between treatments is crucial; I used scrap blue jeans material.

Washing soda, baking soda will both work to neutralize the solution.  Then liberally coat it with oil and let it set for a day.

For the barrel I took a block of wood and drilled a hole in it, then glued about 6" of dowel in the hole.  You put the barrel muzzle over the dowel for a base and lean the edge of the bottom flat of the breech against the wall/  Other folks hang the barrel up from the breech plug hook.  I'm sure someone else has a different way of doing this and will suggest it also.

~Kees~