URGENT:remove blue on Reblued MG s

[DaniCele]

Hi all

Urgent
is there any way to remove the blue colour on MG s that have been reblued postwar?

thank you

Daniele

[DARIVS ARCHITECTVS]

If you use a bluing remover from a bottle, available at MidwayUSA.com or Brownells.com or many gun product stores, you will be left with shiny white metal. You cant do this very cheaply. Bluing is not like paint, where you can carefully remove one layer from another. It's a controlled metal oxide made by literally oxidizing the surface metal. This layer is porous, and holds oil like a microsponge. Hence, it literally prevents your acidic fingers from touching fresh unprotected metal and rusting it.

So, if you remove the bluing using bluing remover, you should reblue the gun parts very soon to protect them from rusting from contact with air. Bluing is not the best means of protecting metal, since it is susceptible to scratching and scrapes, but it is probably the oldest and still popular.

[DaniCele]

thanks for your answer,
what i mean is removing the postwar blue that yugo or austrian army used to repaint the mg s like mine to bring back the original wartime paint or metal colour (im not sure if they used to paint them or just leave them baremetals once the mg was built?)

[Der Alder]

Blueing can be removed pretty easy with chemicals like Birchwood Casey's "rust and blue remover", but it sounds like you are are talking about parkerizing which is more difficult to remove. Abrasive methods like blasting work best. You can use fine aluminum oxide if you are going to blue it then polish the parts if you want.

There is a chemical method, but I have not tried it. From their website;

IOSSO QUICKSTRIP is a revolutionary product designed to remove Parkerizing and blueing within minutes without etching. Just immerse parts into Quickstrip solution and let soak for several minutes. Watch closely until completely stripped, then remove, and rinse thoroughly with water. Eliminates the need for bead blasting. Solution is re-useable. Quickstrip does not contain a rust inhibitor. Easy to use – little odor! Environmentally friendly.

http://www.iosso.com/MivaStore/merchant ... unCleaning

Also Brownell's sells a product called "steel white". You dilute it by 50%. I've read it works well to take off Parkerizing and blueing. Just don't mix it too strong, or leave parts in it longer than necessary.

Once you get the park off you can then have it reblued. You can use a cold blue product, but it's not as durable as hot bluing. A gun like that IMO deserves hot bluing.

[DaniCele]

Thanks a lot for your answer, I dont intend to reblue it, my goal is to remove the blue given by postwar yugo/austrian army to bring out the wartime finish, is that possible ? is there wartime time finish underneath?the gun is deact and only for display witha mannequin.

were mg s left baremetal during the war i wonder?

[Der Alder]

If it's actual bluing and not park, then it will come off pretty easy with the rust and blue remover I mentioned. Any method is going to remove it to bare metal, so the what ever is under the coating will not be salvagable.

So far as I know the post war Yugo M53's were blued like the German MG42's and the post war Austrian MG's were parked like the post war MG1 and MG3's.

Being that it's a display gun, then I'd strip it and try cold bluing it, which may give you decent results without putting a lot into it. In my prior post I was thinking it was a fully fuctional NFA gun.

[DaniCele]

yes the gun is fully german June 1944 built (cra NC) ww2 just reblued. what if i leave it baremetal?would it look better like during the period than putting any blue into it?

thanks again for your time, i really appreciate it

[Der Alder]

For replicating WWII era it should be blued. I have seen parts on STG44s that were left "in the white" (unblued bare metal) as they were built near the end of the war in many different shops and colors varied greatly. That said and I could be wrong, but all the wartime MG42's I've seen have been blued with only parts like the bolt, carrier and buffer parts left bare metal. Though many blued guns that were carried a lot have the bluing worn to where many areas are worn to bare metal in places. I have a post war blued Yugo M53 kit like that.

I think if you strip it assuming it is parked and apply a few coats of cold blue it should be the look you are wanting for a display gun. Brownell's Oxpho blue works good or you get decent results with Birchwood Caseys Super blue which can be found locally at most places like Dunhams or Gander mountain, even Walmart sometimes carrys it.

If you post some pics we can probably tell if its a blued or parked finish, if it's already blued, you could cold blue over top the bluing for touch-up. Parkerized will be a very flat black or dull gray, blued is usually a deeper black or blackish blue that has a bit of a shine. If it's a post war Austrian I'm guessing it has a dark grayish park like the MG1 which again will be more difficult to strip than a actual blued finish.

[DaniCele]

Thanks again, I think it was reblued, not 100% tho

[Der Alder]

That looks like bluing. You may get decent results just cold bluing over it for touch up then wiping it with an oiled cloth. Myself I kinds like the worn finish it has.

[amafrank]

The basic answer to your original question is a resounding no. You cannot remove bluing to uncover the blue underneath....because its not there. As someone else noted the bluing is actually oxidation of the metal. You can't deoxidize the surface to reveal an oxide layer because if you remove the oxide you remove all of it. The original bluing from WWII was removed when they reblued.....bluing is not paint so you can't chip it off to reveal anything. Hope that answers the question.


Frank

[WhitePatriot77]

actually CLR sold at the home depot and steel wool with goggles and gloves is how I strip all my receivers .I use different dilutes for different strengths and aggressions.I have done exactly like you ask so yes it can be done.You can not dilute and it will strip it off to the white metal or you can mix with water and do test pieces .Dilute and timing is most important .For large pieces complete submergence and long strokes with the steel wool.stop before its where you want it because by time you clean up it will be correct.Some kits come with paint over the blue ,paint stripper can be used without affecting most blueing