MY BLASTER BUILD , PROGRESS

[BeastMaster]

You could try filling the pits with excess metal blobbed on using a soldering iron. be careful not to touch the surface of the part.

I've used a few of Rich's parts on my sidkit blaster. Though the metal is quite difficult to melt, to me this indicates it is a good quality hard metal, which is one of the main reasons I wanted this kit.

The pitting could be a side effect of the higher temperature melting point because it would set alot faster. I imagine metals with a lower melting point might give a cleaner result because they take longer to cool thus setting to the mold better but the metal would be too soft.
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"F*ck it, it's just a movie. Let him worry about it" Harrison Ford

[racprops]

And again if a part becomes a major problem, I will repair OR replace really bad parts.

I also feel that the only parts that I am willing to exchange are the ones that will be treated by pewter black, or bluing, the ones that show and really do need to nice.

These are: the Steyr Receiver, rear cap, cocking lever, trigger guard, triggers, and in some cases the Bulldog frame. As so little of the Bulldog is visible, as is the cylinder, these can be a little poorer and not show in a build model.

If I do a repair I will sand the part, to insure it is repaired.

I want to point out that the slight holes around the screws cutouts are NOT mistakes or flaws, they are in the real prop. Making these parts accurate produces the same holes/flaws that showed up in the real prop.

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

[marsattack]

Rich , my parts are on the way to you. I did pack a couple of the black ones for you to assess, if you can help me out , great!

Beastmaster, i did try the other day on a piece of pewter , with the soldering iron, and lets just say ...... I will leave that procedure to the experts. It not only melted it , it actually crumbled apart. I guess I heated up the surface too long.

Again guys thank you for all your imput on this.

Mars

[marsattack]

Hi guys, received the new parts from Rich, gotta say they are exceptionally better!
I have polished them to a mirror finish with little to no pitting , all the upper receiver has been completed and test fitting the sides and mag holder.
sides are just sanded finely but no finishing on these as I will paint them in a textured black paint.
My goal is to achieve a brand new style of blaster as issued, hence my worldcon already displayed uptop.
The parts Rich replaced are much better than my initial ones .
A lot of fine detailed work has been done up to now for the slider to move freely , all holes were tapped , and currently working on side grips.
I will recast the grips (RELAX PEOPLE) to be able to sand down the alloy so it fits perfectly. Then fit my original grips......
I have noticed that one side fits closer than the other , possibly the handle is at an angle.

Not sure if i will be blueing this one. I am also unsure hoe the blueing would work on mirror finished surfaces , anyone????
Mars





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[Robotprops]

Impressive, can't wait to see the finished product!

[Staar]

Those pieces certainly DO look much better Mars - good to know Rich was able to help…

Your build is looking damn impressive mate and I too look forward to seeing how it finally turns out. BTW. When I built my kit I also initially had the metal polished to a very high sheen but before finishing it I made sure the parts were perfectly clean of oil and dust before I blued it and I think it worked very well…

Not sure how RAC's metal will take if its polished so brightly soo.. perhaps others can chime in here with their experiences…?

Cheers for sharing bud

Regards

MARK
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[propsjonnyb]

Staar is perfectly correct, the parts to be 'blued' must be highly polished and must be absolutely spotlessly clean , I use a professional degreaser and cleaning agent and then wear latex gloves to handle the part as little as possible , I normally mount the pieces on a piece of dowel rod , so I have both hands free to 'blue', I then proceed to 'blue' trying not to touch the piece during the whole process , since we are talking predominantly about pewter , Rich recommends Pewter Black - which I have used along with my own mix of chemicals - which works extremely well , any antiquing/restoration metal blackening kit will work to a greater or lesser effect but you can't really use a real blueing agent such as 'Blue Wonder' as the pewter reacts differently because of the metal content of the alloy , the copper in the alloy reacts faster due to the chemical reaction and oxidation that takes place, that's why it goes brown, I normally continue to treat, wash with distilled water and degrease, several times, repeating the treatment, until it goes to the depth of colour I want , I finish by lightly scotchbrighting the piece , a final rinse with distilled water and I then seal the piece with a metal lacquer varnish - 'Krylon Clear' is a good one , Humbrol 'Clear cote' is another - to prevent further oxidisation.

[joberg]

Mars, these guns rock! Beautiful work on your part (and cuddos to Rich for providing clean parts)

[eltee]

Rich,
Can you take an old or unusable Steyr upper and do the following? If you do it, maybe it will answer alot of questions about how to do a final finish on the pewter upper:

- Polish to a mirror like finish
- Mark off (tape, scribe, etc.) "slices" of the upper
- Apply different liquid finishes to different slices
- Use different application techniques (rub, brush, single/multiple layers)
- Different or no topcoat

This might help with those who don't want to experiment with their precious blasters. I know you are busy as the dickens, but this experiment might save everyone alot of time in the long run.

Just an idea since so many are curious about how best to finish the upper. While some want the look of the Worldcon with the finish worn off, some want an arsenal finish representing what a blaster might look like brand new. Who knows how the pewter specific finishes compare with those intended for gunmetal? I, for one, would like to have a "new from the factory" look RAC blaster to display next to my worn "Worldcon" blaster.

THANKS for considering, Rich.

[racprops]

Sorry but there are many problems here.
1)Any bad Steyr Receivers are either repaired or remelted.

2)I don’t have the time nor the funding, fighting some dragons here… .

3)Sid found a Bluing kit for Pewter, other that the pewter black that is the only other way I know of coloring this metal other that plating, it will take a nickel plate, someone is trying a black nickel.

4)Plating make even a harder surface, but again you need a clean polished part.

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

[jameth]

[racprops]

I can answer that Scotchbriteing is the red and gray body shop scuffing pads.

# 7447 for red and # 7445 (I think) for the gray, they are like flexable sand paper... Red is like 400 grit and Gray 600 to 800.

And he is talking about Rattlecan clear kryon paint for a sealer.

Rich


What do you meen by Scotchbrighting???

For the clear coat are you talking about just standard spray paint Krylon??

Thanks[/quote]
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I never have enough time to do all I want to do!

[jameth]

Thanks Rich

[marsattack]

on my sidkit above i used birchwood perma blue which blued instantly,
I tried it on Richs blaster and it gave it a rather odd but very nice yellowing brown effect, which takes off the just polished effect on the blaster maintaining a full mirror finish.
It sort of looks like a shelf soiled older blaster that was never used.
I did take it off again as i had not cleaned it properly.
I am hoever trying to achieve a more bluer" effect.
What other brands can i look for as the local gun shop only carries the birchwood range?
thx
Mars

[propsjonnyb]

Since Rich uses a fairly hi spec pewter alloy , the copper content within the alloy mix is the fastest, reacting ( oxidising) to the chemicals in the blueing compound , 'Blue Wonder' is another you can try ,but as I have stated before, the alloy will react to the chemicals according to the pecentages of metal present , copper reacts first so the piece yellows then browns Pewter Black or any of the antiquing fluids you can buy accellerate the oxidation process and as long as you follow the instructions and follow the mantra ' apply compound , wait ,wash (distilled or ionised water ) ,clean ( degrease) apply compound ' several times the brown will darken - it will never really go black ,but it does produce an acceptable finish which can be seen on my guns elsewhere in this forum. Siderio used a different alloy mix ( known in the trade as 'Scandanavian' alloy or' Sweedish' pewter so again the metal reacts differently ,in the UK our pewter is made to a set of British standards B541a and again each of the various alloy mixes react differently!! and there at least four main alloy mixes available - and don't forget you can also have an alloy specially made up !!

The only way to produce a true ' steel blueing' is to have it made out of steel and use a true gun blueing agent, second best is to electroplate the pewter with a metal that will 'blue' this is possible , but not easily done as the pewter cannot be plated directly , firstly the item has to be posished to an absolute mirror finish - no scratches or blemishes as these will transfer through the plating process - then it has to be clean and degreased and then a base metal has to be laid down first . Before you can plate in nickel which will take almost all gun blueing agents I am currently experimenting with a process to do this.

[propsjonnyb]

Since Rich uses a fairly hi spec pewter alloy , the copper content within the alloy mix is the fastest, reacting ( oxidising) to the chemicals in the blueing compound , 'Blue Wonder' is another you can try ,but as I have stated before, the alloy will react to the chemicals according to the pecentages of metal present , copper reacts first so the piece yellows then browns Pewter Black or any of the antiquing fluids you can buy accellerate the oxidation process and as long as you follow the instructions and follow the mantra ' apply compound , wait ,wash (distilled or ionised water ) ,clean ( degrease) apply compound ' several times the brown will darken - it will never really go black ,but it does produce an acceptable finish which can be seen on my guns elsewhere in this forum. Siderio used a different alloy mix ( known in the trade as 'Scandanavian' alloy or' Sweedish' pewter so again the metal reacts differently ,in the UK our pewter is made to a set of British standards B541a and again each of the various alloy mixes react differently!! and there at least four main alloy mixes available - and don't forget you can also have an alloy specially made up !!

The only way to produce a true ' steel blueing' is to have it made out of steel and use a true gun blueing agent, second best is to electroplate the pewter with a metal that will 'blue' this is possible , but not easily done as the pewter cannot be plated directly , firstly the item has to be posished to an absolute mirror finish - no scratches or blemishes as these will transfer through the plating process - then it has to be clean and degreased and then a base metal has to be laid down first . Before you can plate in nickel which will take almost all gun blueing agents I am currently experimenting with a process to do this.

[Staar]

[joberg]

Very nice looking Colt Mark

[propsjonnyb]

I second that Mark ! it's a nice piece and I wasn't saying you can't 'blue' other alloys, of course you can !! - it is totally dependant on the alloy mix and you look at the fasted reacting % of metal that will determine which chemicals to use and how the chemicals react and ultimately which colour you end up with, alloys such as Zamack , Zemtek the zinc based alloys will 'blue ' as will most of the Denex range, I would suggest though to stop the problem you're experiencing , blue it twice rubbing back with a very fine grit 6,7, 800 and then wash/degrease and reapply 'blue' then a light rub back and finally a clear laquer spray to seal and protect th e finish, as once sealed your 'blue' will not rub off.

[marsattack]

thank you Joberg ,, missed your comment and thank you robotprops!!
Phew !! all this info .... sorry i asked !!!lol
no seriously thanks guys Propjohhny and Mark!
Propjohnny , you got any pics or smaple blueing on Rich's blasters???
would love to see other brands being used .
Mars