Gun Blue / Gun Black FAQ

This kit is perfect for someone that is looking to touch up or give their firearm a new life with a complete rebluing. The best part about this kit is that you don’t have to be a gunsmith to use it. As long as you follow all the steps carefully, you will produce a beautiful factory-like blue finish.

Shooter’s Choice Gun Blue/Gun Black is a two-part cold blue. Where most cold blues are a corrosion and dyeing process, ours is designed to bond to the metal.”

For most people, the entire process will take up to 2-3hrs to complete. However, it depends on how much cleaning the firearm needs, as well as how humid the environment is that you will be doing this in.

The Gun Blue will appear black but when light hits the barrel, it will produce a nice blue shine. The Gun Black is just a solid black finish.

The surface must be thoroughly cleaned before bluing. If you followed the steps carefully and the gun is clean with no contaminants it will work properly. If your results are not perfect and you have splotchy or uneven finish we recommend is re-heating the barrel to a hotter temperature; usually around 160F, and then repeating the gun cleaner steps. We’ve seen instances where dried blood has surfaced from the metal pores once hot enough. This product is forgiving and you can do touch-ups to areas without redoing the entire firearm.

Shooter's Choice Gun Blue/Gun Black only adheres to carbon steel. Not to stainless steel or to aluminum. Also keep in mind that the product only adheres to clean, bare metal or itself

Shooter's Choice Gun Blue/Gun Black can be reapplied, but if your newly refinished surface wears off it is most likely due to the metal not being cleaned properly or not leaving the curing agent on the barrel long enough to cure the blue/black to the metal.

We recommend using only the chemicals and applicators provided in the kit. Using other chemicals during this process can result in a dull or uneven finish. If you find you’ve run out of applicators or the scour pads, we offer an application accessory kit which is essentially a larger pack of all the non-chemical components of this kit.

In this case, either the curing agent had not fully dried before applying the lubricant or the environment was too humid for the blue/black to cure properly. Your best bet after the curing agent has done its thing is to generously apply lubrication to every square inch of the cured surface. Store the firearm in a non-humid environment, then check on it the next day. The complete curing process takes about 3-4 weeks to finish, so you might find yourself babysitting your gun at times during this period. If you see surface rust start to form on the barrel, apply a light coat of lubricant and wipe the barrel off.

No, Shooter's Choice Gun Blue/Gun Black process is a 2-part process that bonds to and colors the metal, unlike others that oxidize the metal. So you won't damage your firearm if you make an error in the process.

Shake the Gun Blue/Gun Black as much or as often as possible. We recommend shaking the bottle vigorously before and between each application. There is gold and silver particulate in the solution that is responsible for the chemical bonding to the metal. The particulate is very dense so if the bottle hasn’t been shaken properly, the particulate will collect at the bottom of the bottle and very little will be applied to the metal. Cover the opening of the bottle with your thumb over the cloth, then shake the bottle while it’s upside down, more of the particulate is absorbed in the cloth, and the color change happens a lot faster.