cold bluing question(s)

[DaveL]

I want to cold blue a slide. Should I strip the rest of the gun and blue the whole thing? Or will the slide probably match the rest of the gun? Also, any hints/tips are appreciated.

 

[nicajack]

I did some experimenting with all of the cold blues on the market in the early 80's. Some were certainly better than others! There was one named 44-40 that even claimed to be used by manufacturers for factory touch-up. That worked the best for me, also. Be sure to thoroughly degrease the metal before application! I had the best luck applying it with 4-0 steel wool. It worked almost instantly. Repeat coats darkened the color.
Be sure to inspect your work 2 or 3 times the first day, as rust always develops on cold bluing. Just wipe off with a good gun cleaning solvent and then coat with an oil or other preservative. Then for the next couple of days, also.
You can determine if the color is close to the rest of the gun's bluing. Play it by ear. The cold stuff is apparently a very shallow finish and will not hold up very well to even normal cleaning....
This is just my experience. There are probably other and better cold blues on the market now. .....Good luck!....John