Certainly an interesting idea, I wonder if anyone has tried it. Blueing is a species of a rust finish, with the idea of putting a thin coating on the metal to prevent additional corrosion. The surface is not exactly zero maintenance, as you normally have to keep an oily rag around to wipe down your shooting iron periodically, and keep em away from persons with sweaty fingers, or else find their fingerprints etched in rust on your Holland and Holland double.
Also, if you were thinking of using the "touch up" bluing products available in local sporting goods shops, beware that these are usually only for spot repairs and it's hard to cover large surfaces and get an even color. Original bluing is usually done with a dip tank into a hot solution. I don't know if anyone has a big enough tank to take an entire frame, maybe one of the big manufacturers like Remington or Winchester. I also don't know how hot the solution is, but I doubt it would be enough to bother a brass brazed frame. You have to make sure that the solution drains entirely out of the frame, but I don't suppose that's a problem.
Many gun barrels are made from chrome moly, so I don't expect any compatability issues except where the brass shows through on the frame. You might have automatic lug outlining if the blue doesn't stick to the brass.
One exciting possibility would be that the exteme thin nature of a blued finish would permit engraving to be done on the frame. Imagine a bike with scroll work, fleur de lis, and oak leaves along the top tube (at least in the butted sections) ! :-)
Tom Adams, Shrewsbury NJ
>From: Wornoutguy@aol.com
>To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
>Subject: [CR]Keeping a steel frame without any paint idea?
>Date: Sun, 13 Apr 2003 15:23:44 EDT
>
>I started thinking about something today while I was sanding a frame I am
>going to paint. In the past I have run into people who wanted to keep a
>steel frame bare showing everything to the world. I had tried spraying bare
>metal with a thin coat of Acrylic Urthane clear coat. That product is not
>designed to attach to bare metal and it will yellow and fail. I came up
>with an idea today. Gun barrels are steel and they are not painted. What
>if I used gun bluing to finish the metal and the owner kept it clean?
>Any gun nuts out there have any ideas?
>
>Sam DiBartolomeo
>Riverside CA
>
>
>
>
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