"re-blackening" frames?

[Anonymous]

I have a 8770 EMD MPC-era switcher in to which I'm going to put TMCC. I noticed that the frame, which was perfect 6 mo. ago has stared to rust. It looks like the chemical "blackening" treatment on the sheetmetal frame was't done as thoroughly as my other locos.

Is there a product/chemical I can use to "re-blacken" it? It wouldn't look quite right if I just painted it. Can anyone give me hint as to what to ask for, and where?

[lionelsoni]

You can buy it in a bottle at a reasonably well-stocked hobby shop. I don't have mine here, so I can't tell you what's in it. It works well on some metals, not well on others. It works best if you can dunk the part in it and leave it for a while.

[SPFan]

Another source are gun shops and sporting goods stores that carry gun supplies. It only works on clean metal though and you can help protect it with a light coat of oil or WD40. I have yet to find a cold blue that matches the original though.

Pete

[ben10ben]

I second the use of Gun Blue, available from a gun shop, or the sporting goods section of Walmart. It will only work on steel, though, so don't try to use it on a nickel plated surface, or on a cast zinc piece.

I use a dremel tool with a gray emery polishing wheel to clean the surface before blueing. This leaves behind a shiny surface free of rust(even heavy rust), paint, plating, blueing, and just about anything else that can contaminate the surface. Wipe the spot, then, with 91% alcohol or acetone, and swab on some gun blue. Let it sit for a minute, wipe it off, buff it with steel wool, and then swab on a light coat of 3-in-1 oil.

If you really want the shade to match, you could redo the whole frame using a hot blackening kit from Caswell plating. www.caswellplating.com .

[Anonymous]

Thanks, for the tips, guys. I think I'll check out the local gun store.

Regards,

[nitroboy]

Or, just paint it semi-gloss black. Caswell products are excellent. I've used their nickle plating kits and they work great. I haven't tried the blackening, but if it works as well as the other kits, you won't be dissapointed.