View allAll Photos Tagged got_rust
..."oh I used to be disgusted
and now I try to be amused
but since their wings have got rusted
you know,
the angels wanna wear my red shoes"...
(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
-Elvis Costello
I have recently come in touch with a great photographer with a superior taste in as well as with a sharp eye for minimal and abstract photography - quite often combined in one and only shot... the perfect Ministract!
Now, neither minimal nor abstract are fields I particularly specialize in, although I 'd love to.
I kind of try hard to do my best, though, and in this regard I do appreciate the guidance and support of generous Flickrites, such as daruma is!
Tom, this is for you! It's quite minimal, it's got (all natural) texture, it's got rust, it's got bokeh... and of course it's also got some of my signature blue, so that you may know it's definitely from me!
Thank you for being there, man!
:-)
"Explored" on April 2, 2009. #78
Presence of moisture or oxygen on steel creates layers of a reddish/yellowish-brown iron oxide coating, so-called rust. This phenomenon, however, is very natural to steel. Fun fact, even stainless steel got rust, just "less".
Oh I used to be disgusted
And now I try to be amused.
But since their wings have got rusted,
You know, the angels wanna wear my red shoes.
But when they told me 'bout their side of the bargain,
That's when I knew that I could not refuse.
And I won't get any older, now the angels wanna wear my red shoes.
Oh-oh.
I was watching while you're dancing away.
Our love got fractured in the echo and sway.
How come everybody wants to be your friend?
You know that it still hurts me just to say it.
Oh, I know that she's disgusted. (Oh why's that)
'Cause she's feeling so abused. (Oh that's too bad)
She gets tired of the lust, (Oh I'm so sad)
But it's so hard to refuse.
Can you say that I'm too old,
When the angels have stolen my red shoes?
Oh, I said "I'm so happy, I could die."
She said "Drop dead", then left with another guy.
That's what you get if you go chasing after vengeance.
Ever since you got me punctured this has been my sentence.
Oh I used to be disgusted
And now I try to be amused.
But since their wings have got rusted,
You know, the angels wanna wear my red shoes.
But when they told me 'bout their side of the bargain,
That's when I knew that I could not refuse.
And I won't get any older, now the angels wanna wear my red shoes.
Oh I won't get any older, now the angels wanna wear my red shoes.
Red shoes, the angels wanna wear my red shoes.
Oh, I used to be disgusted
Now I try to be amused
But since their wings have got rusted
You know the angels wanna wear my red shoes
But when they told me 'bout their side of the bargain
That's when I knew that I could not refuse
And I won't get any older
Now the angels wanna wear my red shoes
I was watching while you're dancing away
Our love got fractured in the echo and sway
How come everybody wants to be your friend?
You know that it still hurts me just to say it
Oh, I know that she's disgusted
(Oh, why is that?)
'Cause she's feeling so abused
(Oh, that's too sad)
She gets tired of the lust
(Oh, I'm so sad)
But it's so hard to refuse
How can you say that I'm too old
When the angels have stolen my red shoes?
Oh, I said, "I'm so happy I could die"
She said,…
Oh I used to be disgusted, and now I try to be amused.
But since their wings have got rusted,
you know, the angels wanna wear my red shoes.
Best comment from Donny O'Smokem.
Portfolio | Facebook | Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram
This was a group effort, and I still could have/should have done better, but it was pretty epic nevertheless :)
Had to put a ladder there then have it moved away once I was set. I got rust shards embedded in my skin everywhere and my heart almost exploded with fear. Not a fan of heights and not a fan of ladders, but thanks to the support and encouragement of friends, I was able to do this. If that's not a metaphor for how life works, then I don't know what is.
2009 Challenge, Day 324: GREASE
This morning I arrive a little late at the office, Friday traffic!!! As soon as I got out of the car close to the bus stop, I saw the puddle and the empty bus with the driver busying himself with something and emergency lights on!!!
First reaction: take the camera out and snap few for today's photochallenge!!
Second reaction: go to the office download yourself and come back!!
Third reaction: go back to first reaction!!
How cool is this shot with bus reflection, from three blocks away Chrysler's bldg. reflection to a bldg. reflecting in the puddle!!! And, hey, I even got rust on the fire hydrant!!! LOL!!!
Have a great Friday and week-end!!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting!!
It’s made of metal and is the same width as a 13” vintage hubcap! It’s bent from the being next to the curb where I found it tonight! It’s got rusting in certain places and is very unusual! Looks like some European classic hubcap but I doubt it. If anyone can help me that would be appreciated. Thanks
spotted this neglected JDM Pajero with the Twin Turbo v6 engine. Hasn't moved in years and it got rust underneath. A shame as it is a very special and rare Mitsubishi
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update: Oct. 16, 2011
I gave this advice to a Flickr user who asked about using Gun Blue on a bike frame. I thought it might be helpful to others considering this finish:
I think gun bluing if a great way to approach frame finishing, but in my particular case things worked out poorly. I used a newbie powder coater who offered me a good price to apply the clear. I think he made a bad choice on which powder to use--like he went with one that is normally a top coat and is insufficiently tough enough to be a single coat. Long story short I got rust ... Bad. After commuting in snowy conditions a couple times the salt slag somehow got under the coat and the rust spread around the BB like a disease.
Now I'm having the frame recoated in a solid color by a good and recommended coater. He told me that the rust wasn't a product of the bluing -- it should have worked well if the original coater had done a better job.
As for bluing tips:
I was bluing a completely stripped frame that was cleaned up with a fine rotary wire brush drill attachment. I went over the frame with a very hi grit sandpaper -- like 800 -- and steel wool.
When applying the blueing agent, work from the bottom up - seems counter intuitive but this minimizes the effect of drips. If drips run down the raw unfinished steel they will appear darker when you hit up that section with its own layer of blue. If your working from the bottom up the drips only hit finished areas. Be quick with a rag to wipe them up and the won't leave a mark.
Do one full tube at a time -- that's a larger area than the Bluing box recommends but just work quickly to get it on evenly as fast as possible. Overlap can leave uneven darkness, so you don't want to have two work sections joining mid-tube. Wipe the blue on in long tube length swipes that end at the welds or lugs. Might consider using something larger than the swab they provide to get it on faster. A small sponge maybe.
Also, that stuff works fast so you can pretty much start cleaning it from the first area you swiped as soon as you finish the last swipe. Better to keep it light and hit it up again than let it sit and get irrevocably dark.
Note to anyone considering applying clear powder coating to a bike frame, gun blued or not: The heat of powder coating darkens raw steel. With one bike I coated clear, I hoped to preserve to look of cold raw steel, but it yellowed when it was coated... it didn't look bad--sort of made it look brassy-- but it's safe to say that you shouldn't expect the clear-coated frame to look exactly the same as id did pre-coating. In the case of this frame, the blue got darker too. Mine even took on a reddish hue behind the blue that was unexpected but, in a way, richer and awesome. Because of this darkening, you might want to leave it a little lighter than you want the finished frame to be. That will also help the texture of thebrushed steel to come through. Too dark and it will just look black after coating.
Last, keep it in a dry area until you are ready to coat. Bluing doesn't do much to ward off rust, and if it does rust you will be in a jam because you can't knock back the rust without removing the finish. I experimented with adding gun oil to keep the frame rust free until I got it to the coater. I think this was a mistake because the oil is the enemy of powder coating. It had to be fired off before the frame could be coated - this can change the tint. And it may have been remnant oil creating voids between the coating and tubing that led to my rust down the line. Regardless, your coater should treat the frame with an astringent to get all hand oils off the frame prior to coating.
Despite the failure of this frame I will definitely try this on future frames. When done well, it can be awesome. Next time I'm just going to be very upfront with the coater that I want a bombproof clear - possibly too coats if that can be done without too much discoloration.
spotted this neglected JDM Pajero with the Twin Turbo v6 engine. Hasn't moved in years and it got rust underneath. A shame as it is a very special and rare Mitsubishi
1/6th scale German DRK (Deutsches Rotes Kreuz – German Red Corss) Nurse Elsa by Dragon in 2000.
When I had my roof repainted back in 2013 unfortunately water blast got in to the store room ceiling and managed to ruin some figure sets and plastic kits and this was one of them. Unfortunately the box had gone completely water damaged (although I took the picture with tricky angle and the lighting to hide the damages) and the worst damage was caused by two metal bits on the nurse cap got rusted over a long period of time without being noticed left awful rust stains on the cap.
I cleaned it but could not completely restore the original white so I then weathered it further and also weathered the apron to match the cap. It was not a big heartbreak as the figure is not the very best compare with more recent female figures but it still is the shame to see the set ruined. So I took her out of the package and assigned her as the head nurse of the toy room.
I'm finishing a bike frame using Birchwood-Casey Perma Blue - Liquid Gun Blue. It gives a deep blue/black finish that lets some of the qualities of the raw metal shine through.
Step 3 - Using a swab or rag, apply the gun bluing liquid evenly over a small area. It helps to start from the underside and work up to prevent drips which come out a deeper shade. This stuff works fast (instantly really) and set in about a minute, so only cover a section at a time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update: Oct. 16, 2011
I gave this advice to a Flickr user who asked about using Gun Blue on a bike frame. I thought it might be helpful to others considering this finish:
I think gun bluing if a great way to approach frame finishing, but in my particular case things worked out poorly. I used a newbie powder coater who offered me a good price to apply the clear. I think he made a bad choice on which powder to use--like he went with one that is normally a top coat and is insufficiently tough enough to be a single coat. Long story short I got rust ... Bad. After commuting in snowy conditions a couple times the salt slag somehow got under the coat and the rust spread around the BB like a disease.
Now I'm having the frame recoated in a solid color by a good and recommended coater. He told me that the rust wasn't a product of the bluing -- it should have worked well if the original coater had done a better job.
As for bluing tips:
I was bluing a completely stripped frame that was cleaned up with a fine rotary wire brush drill attachment. I went over the frame with a very hi grit sandpaper -- like 800 -- and steel wool.
When applying the blueing agent, work from the bottom up - seems counter intuitive but this minimizes the effect of drips. If drips run down the raw unfinished steel they will appear darker when you hit up that section with its own layer of blue. If your working from the bottom up the drips only hit finished areas. Be quick with a rag to wipe them up and the won't leave a mark.
Do one full tube at a time -- that's a larger area than the Bluing box recommends but just work quickly to get it on evenly as fast as possible. Overlap can leave uneven darkness, so you don't want to have two work sections joining mid-tube. Wipe the blue on in long tube length swipes that end at the welds or lugs. Might consider using something larger than the swab they provide to get it on faster. A small sponge maybe.
Also, that stuff works fast so you can pretty much start cleaning it from the first area you swiped as soon as you finish the last swipe. Better to keep it light and hit it up again than let it sit and get irrevocably dark.
Note to anyone considering applying clear powder coating to a bike frame, gun blued or not: The heat of powder coating darkens raw steel. With one bike I coated clear, I hoped to preserve to look of cold raw steel, but it yellowed when it was coated... it didn't look bad--sort of made it look brassy-- but it's safe to say that you shouldn't expect the clear-coated frame to look exactly the same as id did pre-coating. In the case of this frame, the blue got darker too. Mine even took on a reddish hue behind the blue that was unexpected but, in a way, richer and awesome. Because of this darkening, you might want to leave it a little lighter than you want the finished frame to be. That will also help the texture of thebrushed steel to come through. Too dark and it will just look black after coating.
Last, keep it in a dry area until you are ready to coat. Bluing doesn't do much to ward off rust, and if it does rust you will be in a jam because you can't knock back the rust without removing the finish. I experimented with adding gun oil to keep the frame rust free until I got it to the coater. I think this was a mistake because the oil is the enemy of powder coating. It had to be fired off before the frame could be coated - this can change the tint. And it may have been remnant oil creating voids between the coating and tubing that led to my rust down the line. Regardless, your coater should treat the frame with an astringent to get all hand oils off the frame prior to coating.
Despite the failure of this frame I will definitely try this on future frames. When done well, it can be awesome. Next time I'm just going to be very upfront with the coater that I want a bombproof clear - possibly too coats if that can be done without too much discoloration.
1/6th scale German DRK (Deutsches Rotes Kreuz – German Red Corss) Nurse Elsa by Dragon in 2000.
When I had my roof repainted back in 2013 unfortunately water blast got in to the store room ceiling and managed to ruin some figure sets and plastic kits and this was one of them. Unfortunately the box had gone completely water damaged (although I took the picture with tricky angle and the lighting to hide the damages) and the worst damage was caused by two metal bits on the nurse cap got rusted over a long period of time without being noticed left awful rust stains on the cap.
I cleaned it but could not completely restore the original white so I then weathered it further and also weathered the apron to match the cap. It was not a big heartbreak as the figure is not the very best compare with more recent female figures but it still is the shame to see the set ruined. So I took her out of the package and assigned her as the head nurse of the toy room.
1/6th scale German DRK (Deutsches Rotes Kreuz – German Red Corss) Nurse Elsa by Dragon in 2000.
When I had my roof repainted back in 2013 unfortunately water blast got in to the store room ceiling and managed to ruin some figure sets and plastic kits and this was one of them. Unfortunately the box had gone completely water damaged (although I took the picture with tricky angle and the lighting to hide the damages) and the worst damage was caused by two metal bits on the nurse cap got rusted over a long period of time without being noticed left awful rust stains on the cap.
I cleaned it but could not completely restore the original white so I then weathered it further and also weathered the apron to match the cap. It was not a big heartbreak as the figure is not the very best compare with more recent female figures but it still is the shame to see the set ruined. So I took her out of the package and assigned her as the head nurse of the toy room.
1/6th scale German DRK (Deutsches Rotes Kreuz – German Red Corss) Nurse Elsa by Dragon in 2000.
When I had my roof repainted back in 2013 unfortunately water blast got in to the store room ceiling and managed to ruin some figure sets and plastic kits and this was one of them. Unfortunately the box had gone completely water damaged (although I took the picture with tricky angle and the lighting to hide the damages) and the worst damage was caused by two metal bits on the nurse cap got rusted over a long period of time without being noticed left awful rust stains on the cap.
I cleaned it but could not completely restore the original white so I then weathered it further and also weathered the apron to match the cap. It was not a big heartbreak as the figure is not the very best compare with more recent female figures but it still is the shame to see the set ruined. So I took her out of the package and assigned her as the head nurse of the toy room.
Our Daily Challenge 5-11 November : Levers and Balance.
These have got rusted up now, but were an essential when I was a potter and making my own glazes.
Time to send them for scrap, I suspect.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4zluA60hjs
"So, enough with this self-improvement, penance, hand-wringing shit. Let's go to work."
"Fuck! ... Hell of a bedside manner you got, Rust!"
"... Ah, you know, being stupid is different than calling in sick. And this is a bar, not a fuckin' bedside!"
"A friend in need... Everytime I think you hit a ceiling, you just keep raising the bar. You're like the Michael Jordan of being a son of a bitch!"
1/6th scale German DRK (Deutsches Rotes Kreuz – German Red Corss) Nurse Elsa by Dragon in 2000.
When I had my roof repainted back in 2013 unfortunately water blast got in to the store room ceiling and managed to ruin some figure sets and plastic kits and this was one of them. Unfortunately the box had gone completely water damaged (although I took the picture with tricky angle and the lighting to hide the damages) and the worst damage was caused by two metal bits on the nurse cap got rusted over a long period of time without being noticed left awful rust stains on the cap.
I cleaned it but could not completely restore the original white so I then weathered it further and also weathered the apron to match the cap. It was not a big heartbreak as the figure is not the very best compare with more recent female figures but it still is the shame to see the set ruined. So I took her out of the package and assigned her as the head nurse of the toy room.
"Since their wings have got rusted
You know, the angels want to wear my red shoes."
24 April 2016.
***************
Photo by Yours For Good Fermentables.com.
Commercial use requires explicit permission, as per Creative Commons.
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spotted this neglected JDM Pajero with the Twin Turbo v6 engine. Hasn't moved in years and it got rust underneath. A shame as it is a very special and rare Mitsubishi
OLD THINGS MAY BROKE!
SOMETIMES THEY MAY STOP WORKING
OR GOT RUSTED
EVEN IF YOU TRASURE THEM WELL, NOTHING LAST FOREVER
THE ONLY & 1 THING THAT U MAY KEEP IT IN GOOD SHAPE
IS UR “MEMOREIS”
TAKEN : MEAH
MODEL: A GIFT I HAD 5Y AGO AND GET RUSTED XP
( cause i was like 24 wearing it .. and the water effect da metal Y_Y)
GEAR : CANON S5 IS
EDIT : NO EDIT
“ WELL YESTARDAY I WAS TALKIN TO MA BST FRIEND WHO GAVE ME THAT BRACELET IN OUR FIRST DAY ON UNI! AND NOW I JUST GRADUATED.. AND IT REMINDS ME OF ALL DA GOOD DAYS THAT I MISS”
DNT JUST VIEW ! COMMTNZ PLLZ! ^__^
I'm finishing a bike frame using Birchwood-Casey Perma Blue - Liquid Gun Blue. It gives a deep blue/black finish that lets some of the qualities of the raw metal shine through.
Step 2 - Remove all oils, fingerprints, spittle, snot with several thorough passes of dishsoap and water or your degreaser of choice. Dry thoroughly.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update: Oct. 16, 2011
I gave this advice to a Flickr user who asked about using Gun Blue on a bike frame. I thought it might be helpful to others considering this finish:
I think gun bluing if a great way to approach frame finishing, but in my particular case things worked out poorly. I used a newbie powder coater who offered me a good price to apply the clear. I think he made a bad choice on which powder to use--like he went with one that is normally a top coat and is insufficiently tough enough to be a single coat. Long story short I got rust ... Bad. After commuting in snowy conditions a couple times the salt slag somehow got under the coat and the rust spread around the BB like a disease.
Now I'm having the frame recoated in a solid color by a good and recommended coater. He told me that the rust wasn't a product of the bluing -- it should have worked well if the original coater had done a better job.
As for bluing tips:
I was bluing a completely stripped frame that was cleaned up with a fine rotary wire brush drill attachment. I went over the frame with a very hi grit sandpaper -- like 800 -- and steel wool.
When applying the blueing agent, work from the bottom up - seems counter intuitive but this minimizes the effect of drips. If drips run down the raw unfinished steel they will appear darker when you hit up that section with its own layer of blue. If your working from the bottom up the drips only hit finished areas. Be quick with a rag to wipe them up and the won't leave a mark.
Do one full tube at a time -- that's a larger area than the Bluing box recommends but just work quickly to get it on evenly as fast as possible. Overlap can leave uneven darkness, so you don't want to have two work sections joining mid-tube. Wipe the blue on in long tube length swipes that end at the welds or lugs. Might consider using something larger than the swab they provide to get it on faster. A small sponge maybe.
Also, that stuff works fast so you can pretty much start cleaning it from the first area you swiped as soon as you finish the last swipe. Better to keep it light and hit it up again than let it sit and get irrevocably dark.
Note to anyone considering applying clear powder coating to a bike frame, gun blued or not: The heat of powder coating darkens raw steel. With one bike I coated clear, I hoped to preserve to look of cold raw steel, but it yellowed when it was coated... it didn't look bad--sort of made it look brassy-- but it's safe to say that you shouldn't expect the clear-coated frame to look exactly the same as id did pre-coating. In the case of this frame, the blue got darker too. Mine even took on a reddish hue behind the blue that was unexpected but, in a way, richer and awesome. Because of this darkening, you might want to leave it a little lighter than you want the finished frame to be. That will also help the texture of thebrushed steel to come through. Too dark and it will just look black after coating.
Last, keep it in a dry area until you are ready to coat. Bluing doesn't do much to ward off rust, and if it does rust you will be in a jam because you can't knock back the rust without removing the finish. I experimented with adding gun oil to keep the frame rust free until I got it to the coater. I think this was a mistake because the oil is the enemy of powder coating. It had to be fired off before the frame could be coated - this can change the tint. And it may have been remnant oil creating voids between the coating and tubing that led to my rust down the line. Regardless, your coater should treat the frame with an astringent to get all hand oils off the frame prior to coating.
Despite the failure of this frame I will definitely try this on future frames. When done well, it can be awesome. Next time I'm just going to be very upfront with the coater that I want a bombproof clear - possibly too coats if that can be done without too much discoloration.
I'm finishing a bike frame using Birchwood-Casey Perma Blue - Liquid Gun Blue. It gives a deep blue/black finish that lets some of the qualities of the raw metal shine through.
Step 4 - Buff with dampened steel wool. The water helps stop the reaction and the steel wool removes excess and helps blend shades between sections.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update: Oct. 16, 2011
I gave this advice to a Flickr user who asked about using Gun Blue on a bike frame. I thought it might be helpful to others considering this finish:
I think gun bluing if a great way to approach frame finishing, but in my particular case things worked out poorly. I used a newbie powder coater who offered me a good price to apply the clear. I think he made a bad choice on which powder to use--like he went with one that is normally a top coat and is insufficiently tough enough to be a single coat. Long story short I got rust ... Bad. After commuting in snowy conditions a couple times the salt slag somehow got under the coat and the rust spread around the BB like a disease.
Now I'm having the frame recoated in a solid color by a good and recommended coater. He told me that the rust wasn't a product of the bluing -- it should have worked well if the original coater had done a better job.
As for bluing tips:
I was bluing a completely stripped frame that was cleaned up with a fine rotary wire brush drill attachment. I went over the frame with a very hi grit sandpaper -- like 800 -- and steel wool.
When applying the blueing agent, work from the bottom up - seems counter intuitive but this minimizes the effect of drips. If drips run down the raw unfinished steel they will appear darker when you hit up that section with its own layer of blue. If your working from the bottom up the drips only hit finished areas. Be quick with a rag to wipe them up and the won't leave a mark.
Do one full tube at a time -- that's a larger area than the Bluing box recommends but just work quickly to get it on evenly as fast as possible. Overlap can leave uneven darkness, so you don't want to have two work sections joining mid-tube. Wipe the blue on in long tube length swipes that end at the welds or lugs. Might consider using something larger than the swab they provide to get it on faster. A small sponge maybe.
Also, that stuff works fast so you can pretty much start cleaning it from the first area you swiped as soon as you finish the last swipe. Better to keep it light and hit it up again than let it sit and get irrevocably dark.
Note to anyone considering applying clear powder coating to a bike frame, gun blued or not: The heat of powder coating darkens raw steel. With one bike I coated clear, I hoped to preserve to look of cold raw steel, but it yellowed when it was coated... it didn't look bad--sort of made it look brassy-- but it's safe to say that you shouldn't expect the clear-coated frame to look exactly the same as id did pre-coating. In the case of this frame, the blue got darker too. Mine even took on a reddish hue behind the blue that was unexpected but, in a way, richer and awesome. Because of this darkening, you might want to leave it a little lighter than you want the finished frame to be. That will also help the texture of thebrushed steel to come through. Too dark and it will just look black after coating.
Last, keep it in a dry area until you are ready to coat. Bluing doesn't do much to ward off rust, and if it does rust you will be in a jam because you can't knock back the rust without removing the finish. I experimented with adding gun oil to keep the frame rust free until I got it to the coater. I think this was a mistake because the oil is the enemy of powder coating. It had to be fired off before the frame could be coated - this can change the tint. And it may have been remnant oil creating voids between the coating and tubing that led to my rust down the line. Regardless, your coater should treat the frame with an astringent to get all hand oils off the frame prior to coating.
Despite the failure of this frame I will definitely try this on future frames. When done well, it can be awesome. Next time I'm just going to be very upfront with the coater that I want a bombproof clear - possibly too coats if that can be done without too much discoloration.
spotted this neglected JDM Pajero with the Twin Turbo v6 engine. Hasn't moved in years and it got rust underneath. A shame as it is a very special and rare Mitsubishi
I'm finishing a bike frame using Birchwood-Casey Perma Blue - Liquid Gun Blue. It gives a deep blue/black finish that lets some of the qualities of the raw metal shine through.
Step 1 - Remove all rust, paint, grime from the tubing with a wire brush, sandpaper, whatever.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update: Oct. 16, 2011
I gave this advice to a Flickr user who asked about using Gun Blue on a bike frame. I thought it might be helpful to others considering this finish:
I think gun bluing if a great way to approach frame finishing, but in my particular case things worked out poorly. I used a newbie powder coater who offered me a good price to apply the clear. I think he made a bad choice on which powder to use--like he went with one that is normally a top coat and is insufficiently tough enough to be a single coat. Long story short I got rust ... Bad. After commuting in snowy conditions a couple times the salt slag somehow got under the coat and the rust spread around the BB like a disease.
Now I'm having the frame recoated in a solid color by a good and recommended coater. He told me that the rust wasn't a product of the bluing -- it should have worked well if the original coater had done a better job.
As for bluing tips:
I was bluing a completely stripped frame that was cleaned up with a fine rotary wire brush drill attachment. I went over the frame with a very hi grit sandpaper -- like 800 -- and steel wool.
When applying the blueing agent, work from the bottom up - seems counter intuitive but this minimizes the effect of drips. If drips run down the raw unfinished steel they will appear darker when you hit up that section with its own layer of blue. If your working from the bottom up the drips only hit finished areas. Be quick with a rag to wipe them up and the won't leave a mark.
Do one full tube at a time -- that's a larger area than the Bluing box recommends but just work quickly to get it on evenly as fast as possible. Overlap can leave uneven darkness, so you don't want to have two work sections joining mid-tube. Wipe the blue on in long tube length swipes that end at the welds or lugs. Might consider using something larger than the swab they provide to get it on faster. A small sponge maybe.
Also, that stuff works fast so you can pretty much start cleaning it from the first area you swiped as soon as you finish the last swipe. Better to keep it light and hit it up again than let it sit and get irrevocably dark.
Note to anyone considering applying clear powder coating to a bike frame, gun blued or not: The heat of powder coating darkens raw steel. With one bike I coated clear, I hoped to preserve to look of cold raw steel, but it yellowed when it was coated... it didn't look bad--sort of made it look brassy-- but it's safe to say that you shouldn't expect the clear-coated frame to look exactly the same as id did pre-coating. In the case of this frame, the blue got darker too. Mine even took on a reddish hue behind the blue that was unexpected but, in a way, richer and awesome. Because of this darkening, you might want to leave it a little lighter than you want the finished frame to be. That will also help the texture of thebrushed steel to come through. Too dark and it will just look black after coating.
Last, keep it in a dry area until you are ready to coat. Bluing doesn't do much to ward off rust, and if it does rust you will be in a jam because you can't knock back the rust without removing the finish. I experimented with adding gun oil to keep the frame rust free until I got it to the coater. I think this was a mistake because the oil is the enemy of powder coating. It had to be fired off before the frame could be coated - this can change the tint. And it may have been remnant oil creating voids between the coating and tubing that led to my rust down the line. Regardless, your coater should treat the frame with an astringent to get all hand oils off the frame prior to coating.
Despite the failure of this frame I will definitely try this on future frames. When done well, it can be awesome. Next time I'm just going to be very upfront with the coater that I want a bombproof clear - possibly too coats if that can be done without too much discoloration.
I'm finishing a bike frame using Birchwood-Casey Perma Blue - Liquid Gun Blue. It gives a deep blue/black finish that lets some of the qualities of the raw metal shine through.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update: Oct. 16, 2011
I gave this advice to a Flickr user who asked about using Gun Blue on a bike frame. I thought it might be helpful to others considering this finish:
I think gun bluing if a great way to approach frame finishing, but in my particular case things worked out poorly. I used a newbie powder coater who offered me a good price to apply the clear. I think he made a bad choice on which powder to use--like he went with one that is normally a top coat and is insufficiently tough enough to be a single coat. Long story short I got rust ... Bad. After commuting in snowy conditions a couple times the salt slag somehow got under the coat and the rust spread around the BB like a disease.
Now I'm having the frame recoated in a solid color by a good and recommended coater. He told me that the rust wasn't a product of the bluing -- it should have worked well if the original coater had done a better job.
As for bluing tips:
I was bluing a completely stripped frame that was cleaned up with a fine rotary wire brush drill attachment. I went over the frame with a very hi grit sandpaper -- like 800 -- and steel wool.
When applying the blueing agent, work from the bottom up - seems counter intuitive but this minimizes the effect of drips. If drips run down the raw unfinished steel they will appear darker when you hit up that section with its own layer of blue. If your working from the bottom up the drips only hit finished areas. Be quick with a rag to wipe them up and the won't leave a mark.
Do one full tube at a time -- that's a larger area than the Bluing box recommends but just work quickly to get it on evenly as fast as possible. Overlap can leave uneven darkness, so you don't want to have two work sections joining mid-tube. Wipe the blue on in long tube length swipes that end at the welds or lugs. Might consider using something larger than the swab they provide to get it on faster. A small sponge maybe.
Also, that stuff works fast so you can pretty much start cleaning it from the first area you swiped as soon as you finish the last swipe. Better to keep it light and hit it up again than let it sit and get irrevocably dark.
Note to anyone considering applying clear powder coating to a bike frame, gun blued or not: The heat of powder coating darkens raw steel. With one bike I coated clear, I hoped to preserve to look of cold raw steel, but it yellowed when it was coated... it didn't look bad--sort of made it look brassy-- but it's safe to say that you shouldn't expect the clear-coated frame to look exactly the same as id did pre-coating. In the case of this frame, the blue got darker too. Mine even took on a reddish hue behind the blue that was unexpected but, in a way, richer and awesome. Because of this darkening, you might want to leave it a little lighter than you want the finished frame to be. That will also help the texture of thebrushed steel to come through. Too dark and it will just look black after coating.
Last, keep it in a dry area until you are ready to coat. Bluing doesn't do much to ward off rust, and if it does rust you will be in a jam because you can't knock back the rust without removing the finish. I experimented with adding gun oil to keep the frame rust free until I got it to the coater. I think this was a mistake because the oil is the enemy of powder coating. It had to be fired off before the frame could be coated - this can change the tint. And it may have been remnant oil creating voids between the coating and tubing that led to my rust down the line. Regardless, your coater should treat the frame with an astringent to get all hand oils off the frame prior to coating.
Despite the failure of this frame I will definitely try this on future frames. When done well, it can be awesome. Next time I'm just going to be very upfront with the coater that I want a bombproof clear - possibly too coats if that can be done without too much discoloration.
I'm finishing a bike frame using Birchwood-Casey Perma Blue - Liquid Gun Blue. It gives a deep blue/black finish that lets some of the qualities of the raw metal shine through.
Step 5 - Rinse with soapy water and dry thoroughly. Blued steel plus a gun oil is fairly weather resistant, but you would have to be vigilant about reapplying oil regularly. I'm going to give this frame a clear powder coating.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update: Oct. 16, 2011
I gave this advice to a Flickr user who asked about using Gun Blue on a bike frame. I thought it might be helpful to others considering this finish:
I think gun bluing if a great way to approach frame finishing, but in my particular case things worked out poorly. I used a newbie powder coater who offered me a good price to apply the clear. I think he made a bad choice on which powder to use--like he went with one that is normally a top coat and is insufficiently tough enough to be a single coat. Long story short I got rust ... Bad. After commuting in snowy conditions a couple times the salt slag somehow got under the coat and the rust spread around the BB like a disease.
Now I'm having the frame recoated in a solid color by a good and recommended coater. He told me that the rust wasn't a product of the bluing -- it should have worked well if the original coater had done a better job.
As for bluing tips:
I was bluing a completely stripped frame that was cleaned up with a fine rotary wire brush drill attachment. I went over the frame with a very hi grit sandpaper -- like 800 -- and steel wool.
When applying the blueing agent, work from the bottom up - seems counter intuitive but this minimizes the effect of drips. If drips run down the raw unfinished steel they will appear darker when you hit up that section with its own layer of blue. If your working from the bottom up the drips only hit finished areas. Be quick with a rag to wipe them up and the won't leave a mark.
Do one full tube at a time -- that's a larger area than the Bluing box recommends but just work quickly to get it on evenly as fast as possible. Overlap can leave uneven darkness, so you don't want to have two work sections joining mid-tube. Wipe the blue on in long tube length swipes that end at the welds or lugs. Might consider using something larger than the swab they provide to get it on faster. A small sponge maybe.
Also, that stuff works fast so you can pretty much start cleaning it from the first area you swiped as soon as you finish the last swipe. Better to keep it light and hit it up again than let it sit and get irrevocably dark.
Note to anyone considering applying clear powder coating to a bike frame, gun blued or not: The heat of powder coating darkens raw steel. With one bike I coated clear, I hoped to preserve to look of cold raw steel, but it yellowed when it was coated... it didn't look bad--sort of made it look brassy-- but it's safe to say that you shouldn't expect the clear-coated frame to look exactly the same as id did pre-coating. In the case of this frame, the blue got darker too. Mine even took on a reddish hue behind the blue that was unexpected but, in a way, richer and awesome. Because of this darkening, you might want to leave it a little lighter than you want the finished frame to be. That will also help the texture of thebrushed steel to come through. Too dark and it will just look black after coating.
Last, keep it in a dry area until you are ready to coat. Bluing doesn't do much to ward off rust, and if it does rust you will be in a jam because you can't knock back the rust without removing the finish. I experimented with adding gun oil to keep the frame rust free until I got it to the coater. I think this was a mistake because the oil is the enemy of powder coating. It had to be fired off before the frame could be coated - this can change the tint. And it may have been remnant oil creating voids between the coating and tubing that led to my rust down the line. Regardless, your coater should treat the frame with an astringent to get all hand oils off the frame prior to coating.
Despite the failure of this frame I will definitely try this on future frames. When done well, it can be awesome. Next time I'm just going to be very upfront with the coater that I want a bombproof clear - possibly too coats if that can be done without too much discoloration.
The water feature outside Millennium Point in Eastside City Park is back on!
But since the park was completed, the area below the jets entry points has got rusted, dripped down and dried to the bottom!
For some reason, the business let their sign got rust, and didn't care to renew them, maybe moved to other location. It was around the old part of the town, where some old sign, and building remains.
Paint stripped. Ready for plating and gun bluing.
I've never had a bike with these massive clearances. You could drive a train through the front fork.
Velo Orange Polyvalent frame. 650b wheels. 42 mm Grand Bois Hetre tires.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update: Oct. 16, 2011
I gave this advice to a Flickr user who asked about using Gun Blue on a bike frame. I thought it might be helpful to others considering this finish:
I think gun bluing if a great way to approach frame finishing, but in my particular case things worked out poorly. I used a newbie powder coater who offered me a good price to apply the clear. I think he made a bad choice on which powder to use--like he went with one that is normally a top coat and is insufficiently tough enough to be a single coat. Long story short I got rust ... Bad. After commuting in snowy conditions a couple times the salt slag somehow got under the coat and the rust spread around the BB like a disease.
Now I'm having the frame recoated in a solid color by a good and recommended coater. He told me that the rust wasn't a product of the bluing -- it should have worked well if the original coater had done a better job.
As for bluing tips:
I was bluing a completely stripped frame that was cleaned up with a fine rotary wire brush drill attachment. I went over the frame with a very hi grit sandpaper -- like 800 -- and steel wool.
When applying the blueing agent, work from the bottom up - seems counter intuitive but this minimizes the effect of drips. If drips run down the raw unfinished steel they will appear darker when you hit up that section with its own layer of blue. If your working from the bottom up the drips only hit finished areas. Be quick with a rag to wipe them up and the won't leave a mark.
Do one full tube at a time -- that's a larger area than the Bluing box recommends but just work quickly to get it on evenly as fast as possible. Overlap can leave uneven darkness, so you don't want to have two work sections joining mid-tube. Wipe the blue on in long tube length swipes that end at the welds or lugs. Might consider using something larger than the swab they provide to get it on faster. A small sponge maybe.
Also, that stuff works fast so you can pretty much start cleaning it from the first area you swiped as soon as you finish the last swipe. Better to keep it light and hit it up again than let it sit and get irrevocably dark.
Note to anyone considering applying clear powder coating to a bike frame, gun blued or not: The heat of powder coating darkens raw steel. With one bike I coated clear, I hoped to preserve to look of cold raw steel, but it yellowed when it was coated... it didn't look bad--sort of made it look brassy-- but it's safe to say that you shouldn't expect the clear-coated frame to look exactly the same as id did pre-coating. In the case of this frame, the blue got darker too. Mine even took on a reddish hue behind the blue that was unexpected but, in a way, richer and awesome. Because of this darkening, you might want to leave it a little lighter than you want the finished frame to be. That will also help the texture of thebrushed steel to come through. Too dark and it will just look black after coating.
Last, keep it in a dry area until you are ready to coat. Bluing doesn't do much to ward off rust, and if it does rust you will be in a jam because you can't knock back the rust without removing the finish. I experimented with adding gun oil to keep the frame rust free until I got it to the coater. I think this was a mistake because the oil is the enemy of powder coating. It had to be fired off before the frame could be coated - this can change the tint. And it may have been remnant oil creating voids between the coating and tubing that led to my rust down the line. Regardless, your coater should treat the frame with an astringent to get all hand oils off the frame prior to coating.
Despite the failure of this frame I will definitely try this on future frames. When done well, it can be awesome. Next time I'm just going to be very upfront with the coater that I want a bombproof clear - possibly too coats if that can be done without too much discoloration.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update: Oct. 16, 2011
I gave this advice to a Flickr user who asked about using Gun Blue on a bike frame. I thought it might be helpful to others considering this finish:
I think gun bluing if a great way to approach frame finishing, but in my particular case things worked out poorly. I used a newbie powder coater who offered me a good price to apply the clear. I think he made a bad choice on which powder to use--like he went with one that is normally a top coat and is insufficiently tough enough to be a single coat. Long story short I got rust ... Bad. After commuting in snowy conditions a couple times the salt slag somehow got under the coat and the rust spread around the BB like a disease.
Now I'm having the frame recoated in a solid color by a good and recommended coater. He told me that the rust wasn't a product of the bluing -- it should have worked well if the original coater had done a better job.
As for bluing tips:
I was bluing a completely stripped frame that was cleaned up with a fine rotary wire brush drill attachment. I went over the frame with a very hi grit sandpaper -- like 800 -- and steel wool.
When applying the blueing agent, work from the bottom up - seems counter intuitive but this minimizes the effect of drips. If drips run down the raw unfinished steel they will appear darker when you hit up that section with its own layer of blue. If your working from the bottom up the drips only hit finished areas. Be quick with a rag to wipe them up and the won't leave a mark.
Do one full tube at a time -- that's a larger area than the Bluing box recommends but just work quickly to get it on evenly as fast as possible. Overlap can leave uneven darkness, so you don't want to have two work sections joining mid-tube. Wipe the blue on in long tube length swipes that end at the welds or lugs. Might consider using something larger than the swab they provide to get it on faster. A small sponge maybe.
Also, that stuff works fast so you can pretty much start cleaning it from the first area you swiped as soon as you finish the last swipe. Better to keep it light and hit it up again than let it sit and get irrevocably dark.
Note to anyone considering applying clear powder coating to a bike frame, gun blued or not: The heat of powder coating darkens raw steel. With one bike I coated clear, I hoped to preserve to look of cold raw steel, but it yellowed when it was coated... it didn't look bad--sort of made it look brassy-- but it's safe to say that you shouldn't expect the clear-coated frame to look exactly the same as id did pre-coating. In the case of this frame, the blue got darker too. Mine even took on a reddish hue behind the blue that was unexpected but, in a way, richer and awesome. Because of this darkening, you might want to leave it a little lighter than you want the finished frame to be. That will also help the texture of thebrushed steel to come through. Too dark and it will just look black after coating.
Last, keep it in a dry area until you are ready to coat. Bluing doesn't do much to ward off rust, and if it does rust you will be in a jam because you can't knock back the rust without removing the finish. I experimented with adding gun oil to keep the frame rust free until I got it to the coater. I think this was a mistake because the oil is the enemy of powder coating. It had to be fired off before the frame could be coated - this can change the tint. And it may have been remnant oil creating voids between the coating and tubing that led to my rust down the line. Regardless, your coater should treat the frame with an astringent to get all hand oils off the frame prior to coating.
Despite the failure of this frame I will definitely try this on future frames. When done well, it can be awesome. Next time I'm just going to be very upfront with the coater that I want a bombproof clear - possibly too coats if that can be done without too much discoloration.
This is my VO Polyvalent frame, which I labored over - stripping, gun blue, clear powder coat. A couple wintery commutes and some invasive rust set in. The situation went from on small spot of rust to what you see here in a week, two tops.
The frame is currently being cleaned up and is getting a fresh coat of British Racing Green. Pick it up tonight! It's going to be reborn as a Rando bike
.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update: Oct. 16, 2011
I gave this advice to a Flickr user who asked about using Gun Blue on a bike frame. I thought it might be helpful to others considering this finish:
I think gun bluing if a great way to approach frame finishing, but in my particular case things worked out poorly. I used a newbie powder coater who offered me a good price to apply the clear. I think he made a bad choice on which powder to use--like he went with one that is normally a top coat and is insufficiently tough enough to be a single coat. Long story short I got rust ... Bad. After commuting in snowy conditions a couple times the salt slag somehow got under the coat and the rust spread around the BB like a disease.
Now I'm having the frame recoated in a solid color by a good and recommended coater. He told me that the rust wasn't a product of the bluing -- it should have worked well if the original coater had done a better job.
As for bluing tips:
I was bluing a completely stripped frame that was cleaned up with a fine rotary wire brush drill attachment. I went over the frame with a very hi grit sandpaper -- like 800 -- and steel wool.
When applying the blueing agent, work from the bottom up - seems counter intuitive but this minimizes the effect of drips. If drips run down the raw unfinished steel they will appear darker when you hit up that section with its own layer of blue. If your working from the bottom up the drips only hit finished areas. Be quick with a rag to wipe them up and the won't leave a mark.
Do one full tube at a time -- that's a larger area than the Bluing box recommends but just work quickly to get it on evenly as fast as possible. Overlap can leave uneven darkness, so you don't want to have two work sections joining mid-tube. Wipe the blue on in long tube length swipes that end at the welds or lugs. Might consider using something larger than the swab they provide to get it on faster. A small sponge maybe.
Also, that stuff works fast so you can pretty much start cleaning it from the first area you swiped as soon as you finish the last swipe. Better to keep it light and hit it up again than let it sit and get irrevocably dark.
Note to anyone considering applying clear powder coating to a bike frame, gun blued or not: The heat of powder coating darkens raw steel. With one bike I coated clear, I hoped to preserve to look of cold raw steel, but it yellowed when it was coated... it didn't look bad--sort of made it look brassy-- but it's safe to say that you shouldn't expect the clear-coated frame to look exactly the same as id did pre-coating. In the case of this frame, the blue got darker too. Mine even took on a reddish hue behind the blue that was unexpected but, in a way, richer and awesome. Because of this darkening, you might want to leave it a little lighter than you want the finished frame to be. That will also help the texture of thebrushed steel to come through. Too dark and it will just look black after coating.
Last, keep it in a dry area until you are ready to coat. Bluing doesn't do much to ward off rust, and if it does rust you will be in a jam because you can't knock back the rust without removing the finish. I experimented with adding gun oil to keep the frame rust free until I got it to the coater. I think this was a mistake because the oil is the enemy of powder coating. It had to be fired off before the frame could be coated - this can change the tint. And it may have been remnant oil creating voids between the coating and tubing that led to my rust down the line. Regardless, your coater should treat the frame with an astringent to get all hand oils off the frame prior to coating.
Despite the failure of this frame I will definitely try this on future frames. When done well, it can be awesome. Next time I'm just going to be very upfront with the coater that I want a bombproof clear - possibly too coats if that can be done without too much discoloration.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update: Oct. 16, 2011
I gave this advice to a Flickr user who asked about using Gun Blue on a bike frame. I thought it might be helpful to others considering this finish:
I think gun bluing if a great way to approach frame finishing, but in my particular case things worked out poorly. I used a newbie powder coater who offered me a good price to apply the clear. I think he made a bad choice on which powder to use--like he went with one that is normally a top coat and is insufficiently tough enough to be a single coat. Long story short I got rust ... Bad. After commuting in snowy conditions a couple times the salt slag somehow got under the coat and the rust spread around the BB like a disease.
Now I'm having the frame recoated in a solid color by a good and recommended coater. He told me that the rust wasn't a product of the bluing -- it should have worked well if the original coater had done a better job.
As for bluing tips:
I was bluing a completely stripped frame that was cleaned up with a fine rotary wire brush drill attachment. I went over the frame with a very hi grit sandpaper -- like 800 -- and steel wool.
When applying the blueing agent, work from the bottom up - seems counter intuitive but this minimizes the effect of drips. If drips run down the raw unfinished steel they will appear darker when you hit up that section with its own layer of blue. If your working from the bottom up the drips only hit finished areas. Be quick with a rag to wipe them up and the won't leave a mark.
Do one full tube at a time -- that's a larger area than the Bluing box recommends but just work quickly to get it on evenly as fast as possible. Overlap can leave uneven darkness, so you don't want to have two work sections joining mid-tube. Wipe the blue on in long tube length swipes that end at the welds or lugs. Might consider using something larger than the swab they provide to get it on faster. A small sponge maybe.
Also, that stuff works fast so you can pretty much start cleaning it from the first area you swiped as soon as you finish the last swipe. Better to keep it light and hit it up again than let it sit and get irrevocably dark.
Note to anyone considering applying clear powder coating to a bike frame, gun blued or not: The heat of powder coating darkens raw steel. With one bike I coated clear, I hoped to preserve to look of cold raw steel, but it yellowed when it was coated... it didn't look bad--sort of made it look brassy-- but it's safe to say that you shouldn't expect the clear-coated frame to look exactly the same as id did pre-coating. In the case of this frame, the blue got darker too. Mine even took on a reddish hue behind the blue that was unexpected but, in a way, richer and awesome. Because of this darkening, you might want to leave it a little lighter than you want the finished frame to be. That will also help the texture of thebrushed steel to come through. Too dark and it will just look black after coating.
Last, keep it in a dry area until you are ready to coat. Bluing doesn't do much to ward off rust, and if it does rust you will be in a jam because you can't knock back the rust without removing the finish. I experimented with adding gun oil to keep the frame rust free until I got it to the coater. I think this was a mistake because the oil is the enemy of powder coating. It had to be fired off before the frame could be coated - this can change the tint. And it may have been remnant oil creating voids between the coating and tubing that led to my rust down the line. Regardless, your coater should treat the frame with an astringent to get all hand oils off the frame prior to coating.
Despite the failure of this frame I will definitely try this on future frames. When done well, it can be awesome. Next time I'm just going to be very upfront with the coater that I want a bombproof clear - possibly too coats if that can be done without too much discoloration.
Top 20 Songs (that I can think of at this moment)...in no particular order:
1. But since their wings have got rusted, you know, the angels wanna wear my red shoes. (The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes ~ Elvis Costello
2. When my time comes, forget the wrong that I've done/Help me leave behind some reasons to be missed Leave Out All the Rest ~ Linkin Park
3. What if I say I'm not like the others? The Pretender ~ Foo Fighters
4. You will be the death of me. Time is Running Out ~ Muse
5. The time between meeting and finally leaving is sometimes called falling in love. Falling in Love ~ Lisa Loeb
6. What can you do? With a brat like that always on your back. Beat on the Brat ~ The Ramones
7. You got to give it all you got now/Or you might get shot down/Fight hard until the battle is won. Stick to Your Guns ~ Bon Jovi
8. I'll be your mirror/Reflect what you are, in case you don't know. I'll Be Your Mirror ~ The Velvet Underground
9. You're at the mall and I'm missin' you, missin' you. At the Mall ~ Damone
10. Without you/The ground thaws/The rain falls/The grass grows. Without You ~ RENT
11. It was a monday, when my lover told me, /"never pay the reaper with love only." Lucky ~ Bif Naked
12. The Fire's In Their Eyes And Their Words Are Really Clear. Beat It ~ John Mayer & Fall Out Boy
13. Your voice was the soundtrack of my summer/Do you know you're unlike any other? Thunder ~ Boys Like Girls
14. Wanting you the way I do/I only wanna be with you/And I will go/to the ends of the earth/'cause darling, to me that's what you're worth. Where You Lead ~ Carole King
15. I'm reading your note over again/There's not a word that I comprehend/Except when you signed it/"I will love you always and forever." Screaming Infidelities ~ Dashboard Confessional
16. But I’m gonna show you, baby, that a woman can be tough. Piece of My Heart ~ Janis Joplin
17. I won't hesitate no more, no more/It cannot wait, I'm yours I'm Yours ~ Jason Mraz
18. What would you think if I sang out of tune/Would you stand up and walk out on me? With a Little Help from My Friends ~ Joe Cocker
19. Hey Jude, don't be afraid/You were made to go out and get her/The minute you let her under your skin/Then you begin to make it better. Hey Jude ~ The Beatles
20. Heartbeat, Why do you miss when my baby kisses me. Heartbeat ~ Buddy Holly
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update: Oct. 16, 2011
I gave this advice to a Flickr user who asked about using Gun Blue on a bike frame. I thought it might be helpful to others considering this finish:
I think gun bluing if a great way to approach frame finishing, but in my particular case things worked out poorly. I used a newbie powder coater who offered me a good price to apply the clear. I think he made a bad choice on which powder to use--like he went with one that is normally a top coat and is insufficiently tough enough to be a single coat. Long story short I got rust ... Bad. After commuting in snowy conditions a couple times the salt slag somehow got under the coat and the rust spread around the BB like a disease.
Now I'm having the frame recoated in a solid color by a good and recommended coater. He told me that the rust wasn't a product of the bluing -- it should have worked well if the original coater had done a better job.
As for bluing tips:
I was bluing a completely stripped frame that was cleaned up with a fine rotary wire brush drill attachment. I went over the frame with a very hi grit sandpaper -- like 800 -- and steel wool.
When applying the blueing agent, work from the bottom up - seems counter intuitive but this minimizes the effect of drips. If drips run down the raw unfinished steel they will appear darker when you hit up that section with its own layer of blue. If your working from the bottom up the drips only hit finished areas. Be quick with a rag to wipe them up and the won't leave a mark.
Do one full tube at a time -- that's a larger area than the Bluing box recommends but just work quickly to get it on evenly as fast as possible. Overlap can leave uneven darkness, so you don't want to have two work sections joining mid-tube. Wipe the blue on in long tube length swipes that end at the welds or lugs. Might consider using something larger than the swab they provide to get it on faster. A small sponge maybe.
Also, that stuff works fast so you can pretty much start cleaning it from the first area you swiped as soon as you finish the last swipe. Better to keep it light and hit it up again than let it sit and get irrevocably dark.
Note to anyone considering applying clear powder coating to a bike frame, gun blued or not: The heat of powder coating darkens raw steel. With one bike I coated clear, I hoped to preserve to look of cold raw steel, but it yellowed when it was coated... it didn't look bad--sort of made it look brassy-- but it's safe to say that you shouldn't expect the clear-coated frame to look exactly the same as id did pre-coating. In the case of this frame, the blue got darker too. Mine even took on a reddish hue behind the blue that was unexpected but, in a way, richer and awesome. Because of this darkening, you might want to leave it a little lighter than you want the finished frame to be. That will also help the texture of thebrushed steel to come through. Too dark and it will just look black after coating.
Last, keep it in a dry area until you are ready to coat. Bluing doesn't do much to ward off rust, and if it does rust you will be in a jam because you can't knock back the rust without removing the finish. I experimented with adding gun oil to keep the frame rust free until I got it to the coater. I think this was a mistake because the oil is the enemy of powder coating. It had to be fired off before the frame could be coated - this can change the tint. And it may have been remnant oil creating voids between the coating and tubing that led to my rust down the line. Regardless, your coater should treat the frame with an astringent to get all hand oils off the frame prior to coating.
Despite the failure of this frame I will definitely try this on future frames. When done well, it can be awesome. Next time I'm just going to be very upfront with the coater that I want a bombproof clear - possibly too coats if that can be done without too much discoloration.