COLD BLUING A BARREL

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Hello members
The barrel on my FX Royale 400 Is in need of some love
Most of the bowling is gone, the barrel is nearly bright, and there is no pitting or rust.
I have bought some Oxpho Blue (Cream and liquid versions)
I have also watched a number of videos on the process and think I understand the need for degreasing, wearing gloves the general method.
And I plan to do the heating of the steel with the heat gun
For those of you who have done this process, especially with this product, are there any pitfalls that I should be aware of or any difficulties along the way?
Thank you for your help
Edward

[JKM6442]

I've re-blued a number of barrels using Brownell's Oxpho-Blue and had excellent results by following Brownell's instructions.  Be sure and polish the barrel with the mildest emory cloth you can get and be prepared to give the barrel a number of coats.  The first coats will be streaked but this will even out as you add coats.  I attribute the streaking to varying degrees of metal hardness ?

[AKM]

Brownell's Oxpho-Blue will produce a more Blueish finish no matter how many coats you apply. It is very durable.

I prefer Brownells Dicropan-T4. It produces a Black finish after many coats, mimics black oxide that most manufactures use.

You can't go wrong with either. I have used both with great results. It takes about 10 coats or more for a deep finish. Don't over card between coats. If you do you are just removing most of the last coat.

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Thanks @AKM and @JKM6442
Your advice has encouraged me to move forward
And I will research Brownell Dicrophan T-4 before beginning
Edward

[Van]

   I like the T-4 Black Cream on most of my air gun steel as Benjamins and Crosmans match better with it.  I use Oxpho- Blue cream on my blued powder burners for touchups.  Both work so well they are the only ones I use anymore but I get best results with the cream.  I wash the part with Dawn dish soap first and use 90% rubbing alcohol to finish degreasing.  A really thorough degrease job makes it work without streaking and usually fewer coats needed.   Warming the part may help but I just go with room temp. 

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Reiterating my thanks and adding some for @Van
I have a follow up question
Is there a big difference between using the crème and the liquid on these Brownell products (blue & black)

Also, I recall reading a method from one person where he used both during the same job. Liquid first, and then the crème

Any thoughts on this
Edward

[Van]

  For me the cream just coats better and stays on without runoff. When the cream gets low I have added some of the same in liquid form to it to finish a job and it worked as good as cream alone.  I think it's the even cling to the part of cream that makes the difference. I get best results using a large cotton ball to apply rather than cloth pads.

[Ronno6]

I typically apply 3 or 4 rounds of JAX Metal Black for iron,
Followed with 3 or 4 rounds of Birchwood Casey Perma-Blue paste

Light steel wool rub and alcohol wipe down.

Then Barricade oil.......

[Novagun]

I have a home bluing recipe. I have never used it but it is reported to be good. It involves chemical processes. I will dig it out and try to post it on the forum, With my computer skills don't hold your breath.

[AKM]

This is my favorite blue:

https://www.brownells.com/tools-cleaning/paint-metal-prep/metal-bluing/express-blue-1/

You have to heat the parts to 150f-200f, apply the blue and then boil the part in boiling water.

It's a hassle but the finish is as durable as salt blueing with a rich black finish.

I use this after shaping the grip safeties on M1911's. No one has ever been able to tell that they are water blued, the finish matches colt blueing perfectly and holds up like the factory blueing. 

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Decision made
I am going with the Dicropan T-4
The blackness will be more suitable for the Royale
I just ordered some crème
(No one seems to have the liquid in stock)
So the project is delayed until it gets here multiplied by when I get to it
I’ll post results even if embarrassing
Thanks again everyone
Edward

[WobblyHand]

Originally I thought this was about home made cold bluing.  I have done that with hydrogen peroxide and salt.  (Some folks add vinegar to the recipe, but I didn't.)  It's fine for tooling, but wouldn't use it on an airgun or firearm.  I got the recipe and technique from https://mypeculiarnature.blogspot.com/2014/08/quick-rust-bluing-back-in-black.html  The problem, at least for me was there was some very minor pitting.

The basic technique is immersion of the part in the solution and letting it act until the surface of the part is rusty, which is about 3-4 minutes.  The part is removed, dried with a hair dryer, and the loose rust is removed with ultra fine steel wool.  (Carding)  Then the part is put into boiling water for about 5 minutes.  The boiling water converts the orange rust to magnetite which is dark blue.  The process is repeated until the depth of color is achieved.  I had to do it about 8 or 9 times.  The advantage of this is the materials are both cheap and non toxic.  It's not particularly hard to do.  Here's some tee-nuts that I made for my rotary table and blued using this technique.