Cold bluing is a quick and easy, if not great, finish. Here’s how I restored an inexpensive pocket pistol on the cheap.

by RK Campbell

There is nothing like a beautiful deep blue finish. Even matte blue, which needs less attention in polishing, is durable and reasonably attractive. But many times we need to apply a finish to small parts, the muzzle, or just the slide after performing work. The fine art of cold bluing works well for some of this work. With some care, it may even be applied to complete firearms.

The hardest part of getting a good finish is polishing the surface. It is best to strip the blue first. Home concoctions sometimes work but a solution that always works well is…

Read more in the November 2020 issue.

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