Van's Instant Gun Blue

**cruzans** · June 21st, 2012, 11:50 AM

So I was commenting on Remington788 thread about refinishing and Van's Instant Gun Blue and how I was very disappointed with it as well. I was a bit upset at myself for falling for the snake oil salesman at the gunshow, so I thought I'd give it one more, all out serious attempt to use it. Wanted to pass on what I found to anyone considering.

1. it will do absolutely nothing if you just want to wipe down a gun that has
some blueing loss and you think it will touch it up. despite the salesmans
claims - you are better off just rubbing some oil or cleaner on it !
2. if you use 0000 steel wool and work the area/areas carefully, then go
ahead and use the cleaner, then the blueing, then the oil that comes in
the Van's 3 pack, it does actually bring some life back to the metal.

I chose one of my old guns that had the worse finish - a Unique 25 acp with most of the blueing gone, and the entire gun was the same patina, greenish coloring. I broke it down and just worked the slide. I 0000 steel wooled the slide for about 10 minutes, then used the citrus cleaner in the kit and let dry. Then, using a toothbrush as recommended, I worked the blueing into the slide, about 6-8 "coates" worth. I then rubbed it down and dried. Then I finished off with a coat of the gun oil in the kit. Here's the end product of slide only done ( the rest of the gun is the same color / finish as the slide use to be ) so you can be the judge. For me, it was an "ok" job, so for $20 investment, and enough to do probably 5 or 6 guns - I'm on the fence, but not too bad - at least not the "windshield wash blue juice" that I thought it was - lol.

**c45man** · June 21st, 2012, 12:27 PM

Even if the stuff worked cruzin, there is always the issue of shade and type of finish, ie, dull, parkerized, or high luster. Cold bluing seldom, if ever matches the finish already present on the gun. Being fussy bout my guns, I have tried cold blueing process with bad results. If the gun is near and dear or worth something, but not a collectable, spend the money on a hot blue process, or if you are into the color thing, duracoat.

**CHEMICAL** · June 21st, 2012, 12:37 PM

I have used cold blue with decent results but I let the gun soak over night in the oil.

**Steelblitz** · June 21st, 2012, 12:47 PM

Looks like kind of like a black oxide finish instead of blueing.

I havent used that brand you did, but I have used some other big name brand cold blueing with better resutls. I found a key was to heat the part and I'd get a darker/richer color compared to not heating it. I just used a heatgun on the metal parts to be blued. Wiped the blueing on, let it sit for a few minutes, then wiped any excess off. I might repeat that all several times until I get it as dark as I want.

**Chazman321** · June 21st, 2012, 12:47 PM

I've used a cold blue kit before, but only as a stop gap measure until I could get the whole gun re-blued... Now I'm mainly parkerizing things, much easier and a nice durable finish... I soak my 1911 with a spray can of CLP from walmart and throw it in a gallon zip-loc bag once a month overnight. Take it out the next day, clean it up, oil with Weapon Shield. No rust or problems...

-Chaz

**cruzans** · June 21st, 2012, 01:19 PM

I would not use on any of my higher end guns, but for those cheap pick ups like the Unique, it's not bad. I just finished doing the whole gun, again, you can be the judge. I've gone from "I've been scammed" to "not bad for those beater guns I want to make look a little better". On my more valuable guns, I usually leave them be and enjoy them with "character" marks and wear. If I really want it to be perfect, I use Mahovsky's for great results. Here's before and after on my old Unique 25 acp - then a shot of my CZ-82 that I wanted to be perfect and turn into a project gun totally for me, knowing it's never going to be worth much, but near and dear to me