Any folks leave there smoothbore barrels in the white ?

[Rick Villerot]

What do you do ? Leave & let them age on their own or brown/blue them ?

[Roaddog]

I like browing.

[pathfinder]

I usually do the boil in bleach treatment on the steel, other times just wool it down and leave her be. Depends on the gun and what the customer wants. don't brown much of anything anymore, fashions change.

[Capt. Jas.]

I think most eary ones that got over here were either left bright or fire blued which wore quickly.

I like oxpho-blue backed off or left bright.

Another option is LMF brown and let it go way too far then take it all off with a wire wheel and polish down.

[Shawnee Mike]

Osayo,
Capt JAs is right.  I am told that most originals were bright or blued and aged on their own.  I like browning though as well.  My Fowler is browned.

[mario]

For my 18th century pursuits:

Military guns and French hunting fusils- left bright to age on their own.

English trade guns- barrels blued, locks left bright/polished.


Mario

[biliff]

FWIW, when I finished my trade gun I left the barrel in the white but browned the trigger guard.

 After almost two years the breech is starting to color a bit and there's a small brown streak midway up the barrel where I leaned it against something.

  At this rate I'll probably be dead before the whole barrel has some kind of "patina". Then again, that's about what one would expect if the gun was purchased new in 1755 and now its 1757.

[Loyalist Dave]

does it have to be a smoothie?  I let my rifle age, and my muskets have to be polished, but I use ashes and sweet oil or brick dust when I can get it, and they have their own "patina" from that process.

LD