Henry Rifle Forums

My wife just recently received the case hardened 44 mag carbine Henry she ordered.
It's truly beautiful.
Last weekend I changed the rear barrel mounted sight to a Skinner barrel mounted peep.
The bluing under the factory sight elevator was just slightly scratched and the Skinner sight doesn't quite cover them.
Anybody used Brownell's Oxpho Blue or the Birchwood Casey gel blue to touch up an area?
I was afraid it may affect the factory bluing if I overlap slightly when applying.
Thanks

The best cold blue in my opinion is Oxpho Blue but have never used the gel blue. I have found that Oxpho works best when the steel is hot to the touch but not hot enough to instantly evaporate the bluing. The work I have done with it usually takes several applications.

I've used oxpho blue on my marlin 336 that got scratches on reciever. Before application I cleaned it with hoppes#9. I gave it two applications of oxpho then buffed with gun oil and fine steel wool..It worked very well

Best cleaner before bluing touchup is Acetone or lacquer thinner. Either one will remove all oil or wax. Next to Oxpho blue Birchwood Casey Perma blue in the tube would be a close second. A few times it actually worked better than the Oxpho. Getting it clean and getting some heat on the spot to be blued is important. I have had excellent results with using a degreased small piece of 0000 steel wool to apply the bluing gel. Brake cleaner on the steel wool removes the oil and then air dry before using. I shake the Birchwood paste in the tube and then squeeze the tube all over to mix it up while in the tube. I usually get results that are very hard to nearly impossible to detect where I touched a spot up.

If you use acetone to clean the surface prior to the touch up (which I endorse) be sure to use a clean rag and wipe the area after the acetone evaporates. It can leave a residue on the surface. I used to build airplane parts and we used a lot of acetone prior to bonding and QA pounded into our heads to be sure to wipe after applying any solvent prior to the adhesive. Wipe on wipe off they always told us.

I've used Van's instant gun blue with great success. Clean the area, heat it a little, apply, the longer it sits the darker it gets. Jut touched up my Uberti had a scratch on the barrel from the ejector, can't see it now.

I've used Blue Wonder with great success. It comes in a kit with cleaner, bluing, and developer.
Jake

Lots of great information here!