Blued receivers
 

Can receivers and foreend iron that have been "modern" blued be taken to the white and then case hardened colored to restore them to original? I recently saw a nice little 26" 20 ga. some misguided owner had 're-blued". What a shame.

Yes it can be done.





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The surface hardening still exists. So from a functional standpoint there is no need to. The bluing can be chemically removed, leaving a silver/gray finish, and be just fine. However if you want case colors for cosmetic purposes, the frame can be annealed, polished out and re-case hardened.

For any hope to have it ever look "right" include having the engraving picked up in the above!!

Of course. The only way that would not have to happen is if there are NO flaws or pitting in the metalwork. Which is almost not heard of. Nearly all of them need some extent of engraving work.

The best way to avoid any of this hassle is to just not mess with a gun that someone has messed up in the past with incorrect work. Or just be happy with using it as is.

Removing the blue is no problem. I have done it to several guns in the past, a couple of them brand new. If I remember, the simplest way was a quick dip in regular white vinegar and a rinse. This is what the charcoal hardening guy recommended to cut his cost.

Hadn't considered it but I can live with the silver/grey finish like Brian talks about, the blueing is just wrong. The engraving while not new was pretty sharp and this is not a high grade gun, I had no plans to completely restore it to original. I'm weak, I just got a thing for short, light small bores.
Thanks All.
Art, the vinegar thing intrigues me, can it really be that simple? Gotta look into that.

I like to use the birchwood casey bluing and rust remover. It works quick enough, but not too quick.

Vinegar will remove hot bluing quite well, though I have found it needs a tiny bit more than a quick dip. It leaves an appearance not unlike French gray. The problem with guns that have been hot blued is that the receiver is often polished before bluing, and usually does require picking up the engraving.

However you do it, it is pretty simple. I just recently removed the blue on a trigger guard of an English double and it took a little soak. The first time I tried this I was stripping two Ruger No. 1 actions (new) to get case colored, and they literally turned gray instantly. I always suspected this was due to a combination of the gluing process used by the factory and the 4150 steel.