My exposure to this product was not intended as a test, but rather as a need to find a product that would work. It began with the frame I used for my kit build 1911 project. The slide in the kit was blued, but the frame was not. Sending the frame out for professional finishing would have blown the project budget out the window, so I had to find a finish I could apply myself. Perfection was not necessary, but I hoped it would at least be "decent."
After considering the spray-applied teflon/polymer coatings, I realized that (a) I am not skilled enough at spray painting to risk learning how to apply one of these products on a project that I wanted to work, first time; and (b) I really prefer the appearance of a blued pistol over that of a "painted" pistol.
I had lots of recommendations for different cold bluing products. It seems every person I asked had tried and recommended a different product. I read up on all of them in Brownells catalog, and all seemed to offer potential drawbacks. After much reading and agonizing, I finally decided to try Brownells Oxpho-Blue liquid (it is also available as a paste, which I have not tried). I suppose I am just perverse -- nobody I asked even mentioned this product.
The frame had arrived in the white, with a bead-blasted finish. After test fitting parts in the frame, I stripped it back down and polished the flats using fine emery cloth followed by very fine automotive wet-dry sandpaper. I then sprayed the frame several times with automotive brake cleaner to remove all finger oils, although the instructions say that this product will actually penetrate through light oil and light rust.
Application was by cotton swab. The outside of the frame was easy; getting into all the internal nooks and crannies was difficult, and I'm certain there are some corners I missed. Once everything had been wetted, per the instructions I waited 60 seconds, then dried with a soft cloth. The metal turned dark virtually instantly when the liquid hit it. After drying, the appearance was a dark matte finish. Brownells says to burnish with 000 or 0000 steel wool, so I did. This brought the polished surfaces up very nicely. I repeated the process on the outside surfaces to get it darker, then dried and burnished again. The resulting finish was very acceptable.
Fast forward several weeks. I came into possession of a recondition Brazilian army slide. This was also in the white, with the sides ground to remove all markings and then a bead blast finish. I spent quite a bit of time polishing the flats and the round top with emery cloth and crocus cloth (a very, VERY fine grade of emery cloth), then blued it. This time I used a plastic pan and poured in enough liquid to immerse the slide, rather than trying to reach tiny crevices with a Q-tip. As before, I dried and burnished, then reapplied to the exterior surfaces, dried, and burnished again.
The results were, frankly, amazing. Before bluing I could see graininess in the metal that I expected to show through the finish. It does not. The finish is far better than I expected from cold bluing. This time I rinsed with hot water, then immersed in white vinegar to stop the process in places where I can't reach. Only time will tell how successful that step will be. I also sprayed the underside and the interior spaces with WD-40, and wiped the outside down with 3-in-1 sewing machine oil.
It does not look like a cold blued slide.
I recommend this product highly.
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