Trouble bluing a pistol, bluing wont stay.

[His lordship.]

I have a Rock Island Armory .45 cal. Model 1911 pistol that has been stubborn on touch up bluing.  The gun was bought new and it must have rubbed wrong in the box as there are 3 very small places where the finish is down to the steel.  I tried using Birchwood Casey's blue touch up, then tried gloss paint like the British used on their Enfields, then Brownel's bluing, and after the gun gets oiled a few times the touch up gives out after being wiped with any kind of gun oil, or Hoppes #9.

I used isopropyl alchohol to degrease the steel, then followed the directions.  I even used a small knife to strip away any sealant that may have been on the surface of the steel before applying the blue or paint.  The gun itself is finished in a weird semi-gloss black finish.  The small scratch marks blue up very nicely, a magnet will stick, so the gun is made of steel, then after 1-2 wipes of oil after shooting the exposed steel appears.

I have been using cold blue for years and generally have had good luck. 

I have had experiences with old military mausers from Spain that were resistant to a good bluing, the blue just did not look right, and then would come of easily, but this pistol is very strange.  I had a gunsmith years ago that said he had problems hot bluing guns that had been exposed to Breakfree lubricant, that is why I used the knife, just in case.

Anyone have a gun that would not hold a blue touch up, or even a painted finish?

Thanks.

[crow_feather]

have you tried a LITTLE heat to open the pores of the metal?

[His lordship.]

I no longer have a torch, how about a bick lighter or matches, or would that leave soot on the surface?

[trotterlg]

A traditional finish for a 1911 is a parkerized finish, it is a dull finish depending on the finish of the steel.  None of the cold blues I have ever tried would stay put like a real hot salts job.  If it is parkerized it is dead easy to re-do, a stainless pan on the stove will get the job done for about $25.00 worth of material.  Larry

[gunnut69]

The OxphoBlue from Brownells won't clean off with solvent. Use a bit of heat and burnish with steel wool after dry, repeat several times. That's works for OxphoBlue. It is advertised as a cold parkerizng.. but I don't know. It is as tough as some of the hot salts. It may be that the gun is a blackened stainless piece.. They won't take a normal blue and painting or some other coating is your only choice.. They can also be plated with something such as black chrome or one of the baked on teflon finishes.