Bluing Metal Tracks

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siegfried
Lance Corporal
Posts: 165
Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2016 10:38 pm

Re: Bluing Metal Tracks

Post by siegfried »

Got some in the garage will post its name and maker later today, so long as you stop the acid process with water or oil after you get the colour you want then it is fine, I seal with clear paint after to prevent further oxidization, when it wears off you get the bare metal to high points look, just like real tracks or use wire wool to bring out this look on the high points of the track, easy.
siegfried
Lance Corporal
Posts: 165
Joined: Wed Nov 02, 2016 10:38 pm

Re: Bluing Metal Tracks

Post by siegfried »

Product is called Aluminium Black and it is made by Birchwood Casey. I have used it on pot metal alloy and also brass and it works well, for steel and high ferrous content metals use the blue suggested by others above. For alloy metals with low ferrous content or pot metals as used in many parts kits and some tracks you will have more luck with Aluminium Black as the usual blue only sticks well to high ferrous content metal as the acid needs to rust to make the blue finish on the surface. Easy to tell which to use, if the metal can rust, use blue if the metal does not rust use aluminium black. Hope that helps.
Sabre27
Recruit
Posts: 6
Joined: Tue Jan 29, 2019 12:45 pm

Re: Bluing Metal Tracks

Post by Sabre27 »

Hi Everyone,
Just to renew this thread , my experience last week on bluing Challenger 2 tracks from brand new 2019 Version 6 tank.

Firstly as siegfried said above the product to use is Birchwood Casey-Aluminium Black .
The Heng Long tracks are totally non ferrous, the only reason a magnet sticks to the tracks slightly when placed over several links is the attraction to the steel track pins!!

I used 2 bottles, 1 for each track with some left over. Use fresh bottle for each track.
This is NOT a quick job as described above on the tracks for a M1 or C2 as opposed to the WW 2 tracks most people in this thread did above due to the shape of the track plates!

METHOD
I cleaned off tracks with rubbing alcohol and let dry.
Wear gloves and glasses, this is acidic!!!... but looks like windex.

Pour 1 bottle into a small bowl with circular bottom shape to get sufficient depth of liquid.
Hold tracks open like a necklace in an open loop and slowly pass bottom of loop thru the liquid, working your way around slowly, I did it several times.
I also used a brush with 1 hand on INSIDE of track as I passed it thru the liquid to force it into the square holes where the rubber track pads would go on the more expensive tracks with this feature.

I found this necessary (using brush) after my first attempt as despite tracks being completely submerged a number of these square areas were still metal colour as liquid did not touch them!! (due surface tension of liquid forming a bubble even though this was not visually apparent!!)

MODERN TRACKS- the other problem area on these tracks which was not apparent until removing from liquid and then immersing and washing in water after 2 to 3 min to nuetralize the acid was this-

Due to the surface tension of the liquid MANY of the small holes between the “track blocks” on each track link was also untouched and still metal colour.
I had to use a small brush to put a blob of liquid over each hole then work it into holes with wooden toothpicks moving back and forth in the holes. This took a long damn time!!
Once done all that rinsed off thoroughly and let dry in hot sun ( summer here in Australia)
Next step- I told you this wasnt a quick 20 min job!!

It took me several hours total!!

Rub off the inside and outside flat surfaces thoroughly to get off the loose oxide powder with a dry microfibre type cloth.
Then get a dry toothbrush and holding each link gap open between each track link brush a few times to remove powder build up in there too.
Then wash off all oxide dust , dry again and you are done !!

The results look Excellent!!

But I am worried that any running on pavers or concrete will scratch off the black oxide revealing the bright shiny metal underneath which may look ok on WW 2 tracks but not on modern ones that have rubber track block shape squares!!
I don't want to spray on a sealer coat as this will scratch off too anyway and then when needing to re blue with a brush over the scratches on the outer blocks there will be a layer of sealer paint over everything contaminating the surface.
Hope this helps anyone wanting to blue their new tracks!! Cheers All!! ;-))
whitewolf
Recruit
Posts: 42
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:00 pm

Re: Bluing Metal Tracks

Post by whitewolf »

How much of this would I need to do a set of King Tiger tracks?
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Rob1970
Corporal
Posts: 334
Joined: Sat Jul 17, 2021 6:47 pm

Re: Bluing Metal Tracks

Post by Rob1970 »

I've used the Birchwood Casey Perma Blue Paste in my Heng Long Sherman tracks instead of the liquid.
https://www.amazon.com/Birchwood-Casey- ... B000LC601K
I figured it would be easier to control on application than a liquid (less splashy). Important step is washing the tracks with plenty of hot water and dishwashing soap. I didn't sand them or anything, just made sure they were completely dry.

Application is pretty easy with an old toothbrush. Ofcourse while wearing gloves and a face guard/glasses. After letting the paste do it's work for about 10 minutes I rinsed them in a bucket of cold water and while keeping them submerged I pulled the tracks between two nail/hand brushed I screwed to a piece of wood with the bristles overlapping slightly. The brushing and dunking action cleaned of most of the residu. Just to be sure I put them on the ground and gave them a blast with my power washer. Dried them with compressed air, getting all the water out of the links was the last step.

I repeated the process twice, and each time I used a walnut sized dollop on an old saucer to do a whole track. The results are not being done justice by the pictures...

Image
It's a very dark brown/almost black colour...

Image
A few runs through sand an on the street rubbed the black off in all the right places. I like this look...

Image

TTFN,
Rob
Sherman M4A3/Stug III/Panzer III/Panzer IV/Tiger/King Tiger/KV-1/T34-85/Leopard 2A6/Abrams M1A2/Walker Bulldog/Pantiger
Under construction; Sherman Firefly IC - M3 Grant - Sherman BARV
... No, I do not have a problem....
whitewolf
Recruit
Posts: 42
Joined: Tue Apr 06, 2021 6:00 pm

Re: Bluing Metal Tracks

Post by whitewolf »

This sounds great! Do you lay the tracks on a flat surface whilst applying the gun blue? If so what type of surface? Has anybody tried pouring a load of gun blue into a bowl then just physically dipped the tracks in it instead of brushing it on?
Thanks
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