So with two of the Montgomery Ward and Co. Eclipse handplanes in my possession now I thought it was time to get the stuff together to do these the way I wanted and that means…. bluing. This post will be a precursor for a short video on this incredibly simple process.
I have seen several pics on the web of these planes with blued finishes and as I was cleaning up the body of the 1205 and the lever cap of the 1203 I did find traces of bluing on them… not much was left and I may have removed some trying to get rid of the globbed on paint but it was there.
So off to Amazon I went and looked at what they had available and came across two products, this Formula 44/40 arrived first so I decided to give a whirl.
It doesn’t look like much more than blue water in a little bottle but let me tell you, a little goes a long way as I poured just a bit into the bottom of one of those tiny little Dixie cups and it covered the cheeks of the 1205 and the lever cap and chip breaker of the 1203 and I prolly could have done more but those were the only pieces I had cleaned up at the moment.
So what did I do… first I cleaned the parts and smoothed them all down, running through the grits until I had them to the desired finished I was after. There’s a bit of pitting on these so I didn’t chase it too much instead I opted to make sure what needed to be clean and smooth was clean and smooth.
I then wiped off everything with alcohol to get rid of the funk and dust from the sanding and then I read the directions on the bottle and completely disregarded them. I did watch several videos on YouTube and followed those which made a lot more sense and the results are great.
Once the parts were cleaned I got out a couple of shop rags, foam applicator brushes, and my little Dixie cup I cut down. I then dunked the brush into the blue stuff and ran it over the first piece and it turned blacker than my wife trying to make toast on any given day. Gave it quick wipe down and the black stayed and I was immediately impressed and had to show the wife…. she wasn’t all that impressed.
So yeah, this stuff works and I will be using it to finish out the Eclipse planes I have and will get to finish my set.
The stuff is called Brownell Formula 44/40 Instant Gun Blue and I will post up some more pics and links once I get things sorted out. I’m still under the weather but wanted to make a post and accomplish SOMETHING today besides tossing my cookies all day.
You can get it through this affiliate link on Amazon here: