Need help replicating a gunmetal finish...

[Jerry B.]

I have a spare Amberola 1-A mechanism with the remains of a gunmetal finish. What exactly is a "gunmetal" finish and what is the best way to restore the finish?

Thanks, Jerry Blais

[Phonofreak]

Jerry,
A gun metal finish is a dark silvery gray that is used on early steam locomotives. I know this from model trains. It is kind of a difficult finish to reproduce. Personally, I would send it to a professional like Steve Farmer.
Harvey Kravitz

[Bruce]

Jerry

Gunmetal finish is the blue grey finish/colour you see on steal items where extremes would cause peeling of pain, such as handguns or rifles, or trains.

I have had great success with "gun blue" from Outers. I picked it up years ago from a gun shop. And yes we have those in Canada. I use it when I have had to grind or polish down the rust off of screw heads which were originally black.

It is simple to use; clean the metal with steel wool, and cleaner, dab on (q-tip is best), let dry and polish with steel wool or cotton rag.

Any gun shop or outdoor store should have a small bottle of gunmetal for fairly cheep.

Bruce

[Henry]

The "dark, silvery gray" finish on steam locomotives, specifically on the smokebox (front end, under the stack) and firebox, is actually graphite. These are high temperature areas where paint would not be durable. Elsewhere, the finish is typically black paint, even over the boiler portion, which was lagged (insulated) with asbestos and jacketed with a sheet metal cover. If you ever see a steam locomotive stripped down to its essentials, it looks quite different than one that's fully dressed, so to speak.

[Phono48]

It is simple to use; clean the metal with steel wool, and cleaner, dab on (q-tip is best), let dry and polish with steel wool or cotton rag.
Any gun shop or outdoor store should have a small bottle of gunmetal for fairly cheep.Bruce

I use this all the time for the case fittings on portables. It's amazing stuff, and the more coats you apply,the darker the blue gets.I usually do each piece about six times, using a small artist's brush, then washing off and polishing lightly with very fine steel wool between each application.

It does wear off in time if left unprotected, so I give it a couple of coats of satin finish acrylic spray lacquer.

[Jerry B.]

I'm a little confused... Isn't the silver/gray gunmetal finish on an Amberola deck different than gun bluing? Jerry

[JerryVan]

Yes Jerry, it is different than gun bluing. None of the methods above will give you what you want. Old editions of Machinery's Handbook discuss several methods of coloring metal, all of which seem to require chemicals that will kill you. They describe Gun Metal finish as being black. However, during the intermediate steps, a "greyish black" can be obtained. There is also a recipe for a Grey color.

I would try a search for commercial or custom plating companies, other than those that do decorative chrome. If a company does zinc, passivation, anodizing, cadmium and the like, it's a good place to start. Basically, look for "Platers: non-decorative".