how fill pitting?

[bluebayou]

The thread below about filling old sight holes with screws made me wonder:

How can I fill really bad rust pitting in the bottom metal and floorplate? 

Assuming that I recoat with AlumaHyde then I could just use JB Weld or something.

But, what if I want to blue the pieces?

[billy_56081]

If you are going to use a paint or coating, JB, Bondo, or a good epoxy should work great.

[gunnut69]

I have had some luck with welding and it's really about your only choice.. The problem usually comes when attempting to reblue. The weld and the immediate area have heen heared pretty throoughly and this will cause salt blues to give differnent coloring. Best results usually entail not over heating an area and after filing back to polish a general heating of the piece to normalize variations. This doesn't have to be hot enough to change the temper of the steel..

[bluebayou]

If I weld and file then would the Brownells' Oxpho creme work evenly? 

I got a Yugo Mauser from Wideners a few months ago and there was pitting under the wood....not a big deal.  But, there was also pitting on bottom metal and floorplate.  I filed the floorplate and cold blued with creme.  It doesn't look very attractive.  Come to think of it, the barrel band/swivel looks pretty bad too.

[gunnut69]

I don't really reccomend the OxphoBlue creme much prefering the liquid but both usuall require several applications to get an even color. The burnishing step is very important to getting the color even with these products as is a bit of heat in the work piece. A bit of oil is pretty much irrelavent but take of as much as is possible by simply rubbing the work with a paper towel.. After the product stops biting the workpiece be sure to remove excess cold blue and dry the work piece off before burnishing. Also the 00 is the best choice for the burnishing. The 0000 just doesn't seem to give as good an effect but is preferable to polish at the end.. A bit of wax after the part has cured a day or so is a good idea.

[bluebayou]

hmm, maybe I should try the 00 wool.  good idea.  I haven't gotten a good finish with 0000 except for on the Hungarian copy Hipower that I have.  It was well polished to start.

I imagine that the alloy and the surface polishing make a difference with cold or hot bluing.

thanks

[Antietamgw]

I like Oxpho liquid but have found that I get a better, more even finish if I use 320 or 400 paper. I stay away from the polishing wheel and if I do use the wheel, finish up with paper. A little heat, some clean 00 steel wool and some elbow grease usually result in a pretty good finish. I have tanks but sometimes Oxpho is called for and does just fine. Good luck!

[gunnut69]

I'm not a chemist but sources say the OxphoBlue is a form of parkerizing and if the surface is too polished it makes it harder for the chemicals to bite.