MY BLASTER BUILD , PROGRESS

[marsattack]

i have used talcum powder but the use of graphite has actually stunned me and i am intrigued to use this next time.

[jameth]

[propsjonnyb]

Yes graphite powder is available from most hot-metal casting suppliers so anyone who supplies alloys or melting pots or hobby castings should be able to get it - think white metal figurines suppliers etc . I get mine from the same place I get my resin casting materials, as they do hot metal as well , so you could check resin casting suppliers some might have it , don't try grinding down graphite from pencils , its not milled fine enough for casting , but it's alright as a weathering effect , you need the very fine powder and use a mask at all times - it's nasty stuff - gets in your lungs etc !!!

[racprops]

OK propsjonnyb I hate to steal your thunder, but for those in the states, my plating shop is still open and the Min is $50.00.

That could cover one to ?? how many upper receivers.

Of course I think all the bare metal parts will need plating so that may only cover one model, also he can not plate zinc, so those parts (Trigger, hammer) will have to be unplated.

Rich
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I never have enough time to do all I want to do!

[propsjonnyb]

No problems Rich , I'd say $50 dollars would cover maybe two recievers , as it's the ratio of surface area to current required to fluid ( metal salts) so that's not bad really , I could match that here , but I couldn't better that price not without it costing me money , but I can plate zinc !! ( sorry only bragging !!) again ! and I can do all the precious metals - oops done it again sorry , Who wants to be the Man with the Golden Gun - Bu**er wrong film !!!!! no time for levity - this is a serious subject , I think it a marvelous idea offering a plating solution , I really do .

[racprops]

And I can send you the zinc parts to plate.

Rich
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I never have enough time to do all I want to do!

[racprops]

OK So how many want their models BLU??

Rich
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I never have enough time to do all I want to do!

[eltee]

A common problem with bluing / rebluing real guns is some loss of definition of the markings. Is there any noticeable loss of definition on the upper's markings with the plating? I, for one, would love a high polished blue finish on mine.

BTW, Rich, were you able to get that document we discussed?? I just flew back from L.A. and catching up on email, etc. I really want to move ahead with that!

Jameth, please do not leave the thread. Your comments are of value and I personally appreciate your presence and input. Clearly the issues here trigger passions and emotions, including frustration. We ALL can benefit from everyone's contributions. In the long run, we all just want to see successful RAC Propsummit S.E. builds and the ones being built now are paving the way for those to be built later.

Just reading this thread people have seen the challenges of the kit, some solutions and workarounds have developed, Rich has addressed issues, Mars is looking at a novel way of working with grips, etc. In the long run any keyboard battles mean so little when compared to the value of the information being developed.

[Photech]

It would be good to see a Blue example.
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No! 4, 2 - 2, 4.

[racprops]

OK Wait here.....

It will have to wait until the next run so I can get some super clean receivers again for such a run.

Rich
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I never have enough time to do all I want to do!

[propsjonnyb]

To answer's Eltee's question , there is no loss of definition whatsoever with the plating process in fact the opposite is true , any scratches ding's, brusiing marks etc with completely transfer through the process as you are bonding atoms of metal - at the atomic level - only microns thick - so the piece has to absolutely pristine clean and polished to a perfect mirror shine , if you examine the copperplate photos - the receiver in the top position , shows the best I could do with the casting, dents that can't be polished out will show through , which is why you can see on the lower one areas that are being fixed with a special conductive epoxy , this means that the next layer applied will cover and mask these marks and the final nickel plating
( the one you can blue ) will be much better, unless you have a totally perfect surface something will always come through, so the ' blueing' as the final metal surface treatment will not effect the marking's in any way - I guarantee it 100% !! and as to photech's - I'm getting there and will publish photos as I go along - as I have said before it's not easy plating pewter , you have to plate a base layer " the copper" then an intermediate layer "the bronze" and then finally the "nickel" , then 'blue' surface treatment , between each stage you have to polish and finish each & degrease and clean before going on to the next plate - so it's not something that can be done in 5 minutes it takes days, the very first thing you have to do is 'sublimate enmmersing' to make the pewter electoconductive , as an alloy it will pass an electric charge , but the varing metal contents means it isn't constant in areas so you get patching , so a bath for 24 hours 'makes it so' now you plate copper , then polish, then clean , then plate bronze, then polish , then clean , then plate nickel , then polish , then clean, than 'blue ' then polish , then clean , then eliminate moisture ( jade oil bath 24 hours ) then clean then seal the surface - job done !! and then you ask - why it's so dear to do !! I don't have an industrial plating plant - where they could do all I've said in a day, but I do replicate all the process steps exactly in my workshop, but it takes me a week ! and I only charge for the chemicals/materials used not the labour its £150 UKP or appx $165 dollars to do all the metal parts on a blaster and the turnaround time is two to three weeks at least, so you's pay your money & takes your choice! I'll be publishing a breakdown of plating prices on the Props store shortly for all the parts, as some will want to plate only certain pieces , with certain finishes, and I will offer a black oxide coating for the shrouds and ammo boxes and precious metal finishes as well silver and gold for those that want them. The only caveat I make is , I will not polish other than hand polish between each plating process ,so you must ensure that the polish/finish on your original part is exactly what you want in the first place, because that's what you'll get back plated and 'blued' or not blued as whatever the case may be.

[eltee]

Well this, then, might be a milestone in blaster replicas. A smooth, BLUED Steyr receiver. I am really looking forward to pics of this.

[racprops]

I am kind of interested as well.

I may have to commite a set to a run with my plater.

Rich
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I never have enough time to do all I want to do!

[marsattack]

if this was to happen guys, could the receiver be bought separate???
or will you only do theones sent to you?
Mars

[racprops]

I would consider both and an exchange system, send you old one in and pay for the extra work.

I feel that all the raw steel parts will need plating to get a uniformed look.

Rich
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I never have enough time to do all I want to do!

[propsjonnyb]

Mars , I'd offer the same deal as Rich for the one's in the UK , I would do parts or the full set , Rich being the source of the 'raw' parts

[eltee]

If I can get a smooth, polished and blued upper with no loss of definition of the marks I AM IN.

I would even keep my old upper for a beatup and neglected "Worldcon" version and have a polished and blued upper for an "arsenal issued" version.

Pretty cool.

[racprops]

Now to find time, money and get things made.....

Rich
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I never have enough time to do all I want to do!

[propsjonnyb]

Ok , I know I've been busy with family matters , so I've not posted in a while , Mars has an issue right at the beginning with pitting , and I posted this picture



showing where I'd attempted to fix the receiver with a specialist epoxy , cutting a long story short it wasn't that succcessful .

So , I asked around and spoke to a professional jewelry smith , and he told me of an old trick , using lead-free ( this is important!!) solder and a butane soldering iron ( solderpro 50 - Maplins UK) - what you do is rough the pit and surrounding surface (masking all the bits you want to protect with tape, ) with a riffer file and coarse grit sandpaper , then using the soldering iron warm up the pit and surface with the iron , ( the reciever will heat up quite a bit so mount it in a vice so you have hands free) and then dripple the solder into the pit so you end up with a small 'pimple' raised proud of the surface
- let it cool , then using hand files and course , medium fine and very fine grit sandpaper to smooth out the pimple and surrounding area , a good polish and you'd never know it was there

hers some shots of the almost completely finished pair of recievers I fixed using this method from the original shot . They are unfinished so you can see where the repairs took place - if you look carefully .

Same two blasters



Close up shot , the pits were right under the 'Styer - Puch'




This shot shows where I repaired the broken end of one of the receivers you can see the rough inside that still need to be sanded smooth



Close up showing the repair .



Close up of the other end




Now its electroplating and Blueing properly next !

[joberg]

Very nice job Propsjohnnyb! Eager to see the other episodes concerning the build.