Cold Bluing a Bullet Vise

[FJ 432]

A project that I had been meaning to complete was restoring a 5” Bullet. I bought it few years ago and it was not assembled at the time. It was missing its’ end cap, handles were bent, rusty and the rough finish that normally covers the entire vise was worn smooth on the top behind the anvil. It came with some very beat up copper jaws but overall fundamentally sound. Date on the slide is November 1976.

I thought I would share my experience to novices like myself who have bought a used vise and wanted an alternative to paint, BLO, bare or powder coating.

 

[FJ 432]

The finish I chose came into light after reading this thread:

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=377463&highlight=tool+polishing

I credit JMLangford for pointing me in this direction because I am not a gun person. He used the product below to blue some Snap On punches. After seeing his results I thought it might be a good finish for my vise. You can find the product at Wal-Mart in the gun/sporting goods section and a 3oz bottle will cost $8.44. I used two bottles for this project but I spilled a quarter of my first bottle and my impatience to do a better job sanding meant that I sanded a couple of coats off to remove lighter blemishes. So, realistically 1 bottle should complete your project if you try this method.

 

[FJ 432]

I began this project by removing the rough finish. Wire brushes failed so I used an adaptor on my drill with a 6” 36 grit grinding wheel that came off of a block grinder. It allowed me to grind at low rpm’s and it allowed me to remove most of the surface area in short order. A word of caution to those using this method; take it slow so that your vise can be manufactured from Schiller Park Illinois and not Illinoi like mine. I later found out using this method creating more work for me. The wheel left scratches that were deeper than I imagined. I started using the chemical only to find that I needed to do a better job at sanding.

Harder to reach areas I used my dremel, using sanding drums and stone bits. The end result I removed about 90% of the marks so it is by no means perfect. I also chose not to grind the anvil down to preserve some of its’ character (too lazy and super deep grooves). Sand blasting using a media that works on cast iron is a much better alternative to clean up your vise if you try this method.

To apply this product I followed the directions. Make sure that you use latex gloves (fingerprints) and thoroughly clean the areas with a degreaser before applying the chemical. I left the product on longer than the directions however too long and the chemical leaves a milky substance. I used a wet rag to neutralize the chemical and I can’t say enough about drying the area quickly. Flash rust happened once when I took a phone call and it just adds to the restoration time. I used cotton swabs to apply and once the chemical makes contact with the metal the change is almost instantaneous. The product has no odor. Additional coats darkens the color however after 3 coats I saw very little additional darkening. I lightly oiled the entire vise once done.

 

[FJ 432]

The finished product and I am pleased with the results. In real life I would describe the look as a cross between a rifle barrel and a newly oiled skillet. Thanks again to JMLangford for the idea and also KMScott for a great end cap that blued nicely!

 

[ndnchf]

Nice job, I like the look. I've used cold blue before on gun parts, but never on a vise.

 

[drivesitfar]

FJ: thanks for starting the thread and for showing me (us) how this product works. i think i might have asked JM to post what bluing he used on his tools that really did pop.

if you might want your vise to POP a bit more hitting the anvil with a belt sander even leaving some of the marks might work along with wire wheeling the removable jaws. also some of the guys like to shine the slide and the swivel handles, but that's all your personal choice.

i was surprised you used that big stone wheel to take the rust off cause i usually can get surface rust off with a wire wheel and i've got a small 6 inch old B&D one on a stand i can easily put outside so i don't have to wear a mask and clean up so much later.

thanks for sharing and WELL DONE!!

 

[Chicken]

this looks awesome, I'll have to try it.

I've got a number of tools, such as scribes or tap 'T' handles, that I've wanted to do something with to stop the surface rust. This could be an option

 

[FJ 432]

FJ: i was surprised you used that big stone wheel to take the rust off cause i usually can get surface rust off with a wire wheel and i've got a small 6 inch old B&D one on a stand i can easily put outside so i don't have to wear a mask and clean up so much later.

thanks for sharing and WELL DONE!!

Thanks DIF

My corded drill jaws needs to be replaced and I was left with only my cordless and they didn't have enough power to take out the texture with a wire wheel (BTW is there a technical term for that finish?)

The other part was the vise was so damn heavy I became fatigued at trying to use a bench grinder while holding the monster. That will work well on my Prentiss which I intend to use the same treatment and is smaller.

 

[ndnchf]

This polycarbide wheel works really really well for stripping and polishing all in one. I went through two of them cleaning up this anvil, but it was well worth it.

https://www.harborfreight.com/4-12-in-polycarbide-abrasive-wheel-60571.html

 

[FJ 432]

This polycarbide wheel works really really well for stripping and polishing all in one. I went through two of them cleaning up this anvil, but it was well worth it.

https://www.harborfreight.com/4-12-in-polycarbide-abrasive-wheel-60571.html

Holy ****! That looks great. Off to HF! Thanks for the tip.

 

[drivesitfar]

FJ: i'm not entirely sure what finish you are asking an official term for. maybe SURFACE RUST that you were were removing or a few coats of Wilton's paint and primer? or maybe you were talking about the new finish or BLO (boiled linseed oil which is my personal favorite so far).

cheers and looks like you are off to HF today. be careful cause it's pretty shiny in there so you might want to wear sunglasses with all that Chinese chrome, but they do have some good deals i'm hearing.

 

[FJ 432]

DIF

The rough texture that accompanies a vise. A pebble like associated with casting???

 

[Lelandwelds]

Scotchbrite, in its many, many forms, is a better choice. That "poly carbide" is a SB knockoff that is great for removing gummy coatings and paint. EXL wheels or other deburring wheels come in lots of hardnesses and coarseness of abrasives.

Bluing isn't very durable for a working finish. I like Moly Resin. It is comparable to powder paint. Industrial valve paint is a good choice. It polishes instead of chipping.

Manganese parkerizing is a great finish if you can improv the SS tanks. I have not tried on big cast parts.

 

[JMLangford]

Thanks for the recognition.........Wow, your vise turned out great...
You're a brave man.....I never would have tackled bluing such a large item and a BIG thumbs-up for thinking "outside the box" and bluing a WHOLE VISE........Cool, I likey...well done

As Lelandwelds stated, bluing isn't very durable for a working finish so, you might want to consider some type of top-coat such as BLO (Drivesitfar's favorite finish ) or a finish like maybe Tru-oil (another Birchwood Casey product also used in finishing firearms....)

.

 

[FJ 432]

Thanks for the recognition.........Wow, your vise turned out great...
You're a brave man.....I never would have tackled bluing such a large item and a BIG thumbs-up for thinking "outside the box" and bluing a WHOLE VISE........Cool, I likey...well done

As Lelandwelds stated, bluing isn't very durable for a working finish so, you might want to consider some type of top-coat such as BLO (Drivesitfar's favorite finish ) or a finish like maybe Tru-oil (another Birchwood Casey product also used in finishing firearms....)

.

Thanks for the idea. I completely understand Lelandwelds point and I will look into Tru-oil. As you know bluing is also easy to touch up and it may look good with a few knicks.

But more importantly your thread is about making things that most people could care less about look great. So, my shop is not a production facility.

 

[drivesitfar]

FJ: i'm not sure what they call the imperfections on old cast iron but maybe Chaff, chuff or I just call those imperfections CHARACTER. I'm still learning to SPEAK METAL.

any plans to use the bluing on any other old tools or machines?

hope your arms are feeling better from wrestling that big Wilton.

have a great weekend

 

[Stuart in MN]

I've used cold bluing on a number of metal items, it does make for a nice appearance. The last time was on the cast iron bell housing in my '61 Pontiac, it also provided a more uniform finish over the entire housing than how it looked when it was just clean bare metal.

 

[Rick B.]

Cold bluing will not protect the metal finish. All it will do is darken it and make it look better. If you don't protect the surface after bluing the surface will rust over night depending on your climate. Same thing happens to blued guns.

If you're going to blue then I'd spray some kind of metal treatment over it. I love this stuff.

http://www.gibbsbrandlubricant.com/

I've sprayed it on and wiped it off bare metal and no rust for months.

 

[switchman]

like it!

 

[bonneyman]

I used this product on several non-gun items. Works well.
You put it on and when it gets as dark as you want you stop the reaction by putting an oil on it. This also prevents rusting, as the solution etches the metal surface and the neutralizing oil gets down into those microscopic pits and prevents/slows rust.

https://vansgunblue.com/