Best product or process for removing bluing on a bolt carrier.

[Friedspam]

Looking for a little guidance for removing Bubba's bluing job on my /26\ 11 million series rifle.
I found lots of products online, just hoping someone here my have first hand experience in this task and can give me a little direction.
Thanks, Mike

[ceedub53]

I recently re-blued my Remington 1100 shotgun. I stripped the old bluing with Naval Jelly (phosphoric acid). The jelly removed the bluing down to the bare metal which is what I wanted. After lots of steel wool and polishing I applied Brownell's Oxpho-Blue. Rinse and repeat, bottom line it turned out great for a cold blue job. Whatever you do, take your time and buy plenty of 00 steel wool. The cleaner you can keep the metal during application using denatured alcohol the better your job will look. YouTube has lots of "how-to's" that can be your guide. Good luck.

[Friedspam]

Thanks, that's what I'm looking for. 

I am just talking about taking off the blue applied to the bolt carrier.
There will not be anything going back on till possibly a new owner acquires it from my widow.

[Bob_The_Student]

I'd slow down on that removal. Post more photos of that rifle. Are you sure it's not an Israeli capture??

[Shoot The Refurbs]

I'd slow down on that removal. Post more photos of that rifle. Are you sure it's not an Israeli capture??

From the moment I started reading this thread that was my first thought lol, and boy if that don't look like a stock that would also fit the description of an IC carbine. Not to mention it's in the serial number range.

[Greasemonkey]

Yes.. please more photos.. Israeli Captures aren't that common of a variant, they take on all forms.. so before you start, at least provide photos before you turn it into a normal Chinese SKS, once it's stripped you can't replace the age and character thats gone.

[Friedspam]

I'll take some more pictures, is there something I should be looking for?  A certain mark or something?
It's had a Bubba "reddish" poly slopped onto the stock, so when you see the pictures, it's not the lighting but the poly shining like a beacon.

I'd never seen a Chicom SKS with a blued bolt so had assumed it was part of the beautification process of one of it's former state side owners.
I haven't done anything with it yet.

Thanks

[Greasemonkey]

Here is a info sticky worth reading.. it explains a lot.. and assuming can usually be 50/50 or just plain bad..

https://sks-files.com/index.php?topic=1886.0

[Friedspam]

I read over the posting you suggested, I guess anything is possible.  The more light I put on it the redder/pinker it looks.
It's not a IO import, blued carrier, albeit not well blued.  The stock is matching and looks to be the Chinese garden variety.

Here you go, hopefully this link works.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/fHTM95TUrG9iAKfk7

Thanks,
Mike

[Phosphorus32]

Foxtrot imported from Albania relatively recently. Definitely not one of the Israeli Capture SKSs imported by CAI ca. early 2000s. Yours is a bubba refinish job. Bubba also liked his cold blue, so I'd say the phosphoric acid is fair game for trying to bring the bolt carrier back to bare steel. A rotary wire brush for a drill or grinder can also help in these extreme cases where you really can't do any more damage than has already been done.

[Boris Badinov]

With a Foxtrot import stamp we know it's one from the Albanian stockpiles.

Stock has been refinished. Question is was it refinished in Albania or post import?

Did you buy the rifle from a large retailer or from a private seller?


As it is not an Israeli Capture or a VN bringback, and with the glossy stock refinish,  imho I don't see how removing the bluing could harm the value of the rifle.

I have a mismatched, de-bubbafied carbine from factory /6166\. It came with a blued carrier and an aftermarket cheese grater hand guard.  I removed the bluing on the carrier with two treatments of Naval Jelly, and then evened it out with a buffing wheel. Turned out great.

[Friedspam]

The gentleman I bought it from said he was pretty sure the glossy pink poly job was done here by the guy he bought it from not all that long ago. 

Yeah, the bolt carrier blue job will never win any awards.  I'll strip that stock and hopefully get it looking better, can't look much worse.

Thanks guys.

[Greatguns]

A wire wheel on a grinder will take that bluing off pretty quickly and is not as messy as using the Acid. I've used that method plenty of times and leaves it with a nice satin sheen. Works better if you use a fine/dense wire wheel.

[running-man]

Dang that's the original stock too.   

It's a real shame bubba had to 'improve' that one.

Ahh well, at least it's in good hands now. 

[Shoot The Refurbs]

Wow, that is a disgusting color red. 
The lighting on the first one didn't look nearly that bright and shiny and dare I say... Pinkish?
I think even the purists are on the bandwagon with a refinish on that one, can't wait to see how it turns out. 

[Friedspam]

Thanks for the ideas, I've got a wire wheel on my bench grinder, I'll see if I can't take off that cruddy bluing.

I've refinished antique furniture for years, that polyabomination has got to go!  Hopefully that pink dye comes off with it.

[Greasemonkey]

I've used my bead blast cabinet with walnut shells, pulls bluing right off easily. I have glass beads as well, but it can slightly pock mark the metal and alter markings.

One other thing that would remove it is Evap-o-rust.. the warmer it is the better it works, especially in an ultrasonic cleaner. Plus it's easier to deal with than acid, it tastes like crap but harmless basically.