Identifying hot blue vs rust blue...
 

Cold blue on barrels I can identify by the smell, and usually the look. Is there a tell I can use to identify hot blue, which in my mind would be worse than an application of cold blue?

On a double gun, the best indication of a hot bluing job is the ting/clunk sound as the bottom rib falls off and hits the floor.......

:biglaugh:................:rotf:

Bill you're killin' me.... but you're right.

The prospect of barrel separation makes me nervous. I have seen a few guns with blued receivers, and know they can be brought back to case colored specs. What makes me more nervous about those guns is that if someone didn't know any better than to blue the receiver, then how can you trust they didn't know any better than to hot blue the barrels. I guess the answer is, "You can't."