Exactly what is a French Gray finish. I thought it involved plating?

I have an article from Brownells written by Guiseppi Forte, Master Engraver. Article number #076-200-388, but it did not come up on their site. I can't scan it at home, but Brownells will probably be glad to send it to you. He list four methods for a gray finish:

1. Hot blue first, then partial removal of blue to achieve gray (using phosphoric acid or 32% hydrochloric acid to do that).

2. Metal left white, treated with nitric acid to achieve gray. (mixed 1 part to 10 or 15 parts water. Then flushed with water, or club soda for a better finish)

3. Metal left white, then abrasive-blasted to achieve gray. Then black printer's ink is applied and baked at 275 for three hours. More methods given.

4. Electroless nickel first, the abrasive-blast to achieve gray.

These are just the titles of the four methods he describes.

That's where I got the idea to use cold blue and then take it down with 0000 steel wool to get the gray finish I desired, on my shiny receiver. The first coats of cold blue are gray, and not blue. I remember warming the metal with a pencil torch before cold bluing.

Should I Use perma blue or super blue? The pencil torching sounds out of my league.. Is that necessary?

I had excellent results swabbing on a barrel browning solution and after only a minute wiping it off. Nicely mutes the finish, leaving an aged patina.

Any cold bluing solution should work, or as Joe says even browning will work but browning is rusting and will leave the patina of 100 years in a jiffy. This may look old but probably not gray.

If the gun is assembled obviously the pencil torch is out of the question. But as we learned earlier in life, chemical reactions work twice as fast for every 10 degree increase in C temperature (just a general statement which is not precise but does matter). Get the receiver as warm as possible and not in a cold garage, and free of all oil and grease. Just my 2 cents, subject to criticism from the gallery as usual.

Please show us you result and don't have your lawyer contact me. For entertainment purposes only.

Cold blueing solutions usually leave a smell. You can tell a gun that has been cold blued by rubbing an area with your thumb until you feel warmth, then smell the area. It's a distinctive odor. I don't know if there is a time limit on this but I've done it on guns that were cold blued 8-10 years earlier that you could still smell.