Cold blue question

[martin bingham]

thumbs up to baz for taking the time to research and post the result,very much appreciated,thanks

[Benelli B76]

My biggest problem with cold blue(have tried g96, hoppes, birchwood casey, some german gel, brownells oxpho, and a locally made Norwegian solution) is the wear to a dull grey fast inf you handle the gun much.

Next biggest problem is the smell.

Never seen that happen, unless the steel is extra hard or has alloys added, and never had a problem with G96 smelling. Done loads of pistols in Africa and dozens of air rifles in UK. To me there is no alternative because I would never pay someone else to hot blue, you can never recoup the cost when selling, and I really I do not see the need to do hot blueing myself. I think the difference is if you want to restore a classic rifle to concours condition and cost is not a problem go for hot blueing. If you want to bring back a rifle to good workable use cheaply with a decent appearance go for cold blue.

Baz