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Touching Up Case Harden Colors
A good friend gave me a Colt Army Replica. It was in good condition. I cleaned it up using a fine steel wool which showed the blue was perfect. The front brass post was loose which I repaired with a drop of Loctite. The barrel wedge showed the most damage not being fitted correctly to the receiver. I did some milling and sanding to get it reduced in size and remove the peen marks. The brass work was easily cleaned and brightened with fine steel wool. The wood stocks were in excellent condition showing no nicks or scratched.
I noticed the Case Harden Colors were gone from the Hammer. I checked a Navy Arms Catalog which showed me they came with colors. I took out the hammer and finely polished both sides. Then I used a process I learned reading the Ithacagun Parts & Service Manual which I got early in my Gunsmithing career. They sold the Perazzi Competition model shotguns, which had case harden colors on the frame.
Here is a resume of the process:
1. Clean the surface carefully with a solvent.
2. Heat the part to a point where liquid blue will dry instantly (160°).
3. Using a Q tip, draw squiggly lines, as a case harden color would look.
4. Space the lines about ¼” apart, then go back and fill in on the second pass.
5. Remove any oxidation with fine steel wool lightly oiled. Be careful not to remove color.
6. Clean with solvent and lacquer.
I looked around to find a low heat source to work the hammer and settled on the kitchen range. I placed it on the element and turned it to “Lo”. It worked great giving a quick low heat needed to do the process. By the way these replicas have soft screws, be careful.
I now have a Colt Army to be proud of.
by Guy G. Lemieux
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