SDI Firearm Finishes and Engraving (FTT 201)
Please arrange the following surface preparation steps for the dipping process into the correct order.
1. Scuff the surface of the object so the paint will adhere 2. Clean the surface with a non-residue cleaner 3. Tape off any areas of the object that you don't want dipped and wipe the surface with tack cloth to help the paint adhere 4. Paint the object, ensuring all areas to be dipped are covered completely with paint
Before bluing, a gunsmith must make certain that all parts are thoroughly cleaned with which of the following:
A Degreasing Solution
Plating kits can be purchased for all of the following except:
Aluminum
Which of the following type of conversion coating used to create a layer of oxide that is somewhat corrosion-resistant:
Black Oxide
Which of the following provides some corrosion resistance but is considered mostly an aesthetic finish:
Bluing
There is generally more need for fire lapping in:
Button Rifled Bores
Coating can be classified into two subcategories based on their bond type: mechanical and which of the following?
Chemical
The basic tool of engraving, is a small piece of tool steel specially sharpened for the desired cut and sometimes having a wooden handle, and called which of the following:
Chisel
Lands in the throat are which are uneven in their short points are usually caused by:
Cleaning Rod Damage
For cold and slow-rust bluing, _______________ is critical to a satisfactory end result.
Cleanliness
In general, power polishing entails starting which of the following grits and polishing the surface of the metal in a given direction:
Coarset
Which of the following is the first step for engraving a design into a hard gun metal:
Creating the Design
The slow rust process consists of polishing the metal parts to be blued to the desired luster and then ________________ the parts by boiling them in a solution of lime and water or lye and water.
Degreasing
The power source used for plating must be:
Direct Current (DC)
The fire lapping process involves:
Firing cartridges with progressively finer grit abrasive coated bullets, which effectively polishes the bore.
While polishing or draw filling, it is important that all screw holes are maintained at the proper taper and that the holes do not become:
Funneled
Which of the following means that the parts are heated so that any remaining oils still left behind will seep out of holes and crevices?
Gassing-Out
When completely activated, the film should look:
Glassy
The plated parts should be:
Immediately washed with clean water and wiped dry
Which of the following is one gunsmith technique that is normally used on bolts of bolt-action rifles?
Jeweling
If stamping has been damaged or pitted, you should:
Leave the damaged stamping alone
Since the engraver makes many of his own tools, and must also sharpen them periodically, this tool is almost a necessity:
Mechanical Grinder
Which of the following seems to be the most critical task involved in restoring valuable firearms?
Metal Refinishing
Besides keeping the metal free of oil, which of the following is the most important step in obtaining a rich, velvety finish on your gun parts?
Polishing
Before restoration is attempted on any firearm, the firearm should be in which condition:
Poor
For the plating procedure, there are two phases. The second phase is the actual plating of the metal. Which of the following is the first phase:
Preparation of the Metal
Dan Herman suggests that you use a _________________________ for mixing acids, because of the amount of heat which can be produced.
Pyrex Glass Beaker
The first of three steps to hand finishing is:
Remove machine marks with files
Spray-on coatings can be applied to metal, wood, plastic, and which of the following:
Rubber
Before you begin spraying, the final step is to complete which of the following?
Run a Last Minute Check
There are four popular methods of finishing gun metal prior to bluing, plating, parkerizing, and the like: hand polishing, power buffing, mass finishing, and which of the following:
Sandblasting
The first step towards a good design is to be able to draw which of the following?
Scrolls
Which of the following is not part of the formula for Niedner blue.
Sulfuric Acid
T/F: A blued finish is actually the result of a process primarily comprised of controlled rusting.
TRUE
T/F: According to the course text, aluminum parts absolutely cannot be put through the hot caustic bluing tanks.
TRUE
T/F: Every part of a firearm can be coated inside and out (with the exception of the chamber and bore)
TRUE
When diluting an acid, you should never add the water to the acid because:
The amount of heat created could cause the solution to instantly boil, spattering concentrated acid all over.
Which of the following are capable of being as soft as an eraser or as hard as a bowling ball, but they will always retain their elastomer properties:
Urethanes
Which of the following determines the level of restoration to be performed on a firearm:
Value of the Firearm
After removing the object from the dipping tank:
Wait 60 seconds and then rinse the project with a clean, gentle spray of water
The concept of browning a gun is accomplished by which of the following:
Allowing Rust to Collect on the Metal
When using a wheel for polishing:
Always polish with sharp edges pointed in the same direction the wheel is turning.
Which of the following is a treatment that causes rapid oxidation, creating a thin surface layer of oxide on ferrous metals and producing a bright blue (nitre) or dark blue, blue/black finish.
Bluing
Joe Carlos' experiment showed that electropolishing was:
Effective for Increasing the Accuracy of Damaged Barrels
Most metal plating is accomplished by a process called which of the following:
Electroplating
T/F: A good rule of thumb for restoring antique firearms is to stop deterioration, preserve the current appearance, and rework any parts.
FALSE
T/F: Air bubbles forming during the dip process will have no negative impact on the final product.
FALSE
T/F: Although it is a normal practice in gun shops, using the lathe for polishing and grinding is recommended.
FALSE
T/F: Currently available film patterns are limited to various camouflage patterns.
FALSE
T/F: Fire lapping does not remove metal from the barrel.
FALSE
T/F: Hydrographic printing is only available as an aftermarket modification, as manufactures do not use it on factory firearms.
FALSE
T/F: Increasing the voltage will result in a thicker, more durable plating.
FALSE
T/F: It doesn't matter what color base coat is used because it will be entirely covered by the film.
FALSE
T/F: Most experts agree that slow rust bluing produces the least durable blue-black finish obtainable on gun metal.
FALSE
T/F: Only commercially purpose-built dip tanks can be used for applying hydrographic film.
FALSE
T/F: Slow-rust bluing has a significantly higher setup cost than conventional hot bluing.
FALSE
T/F: The electropolishing process both improves barrel accuracy and is safe for the environment.
FALSE
T/F: With modern spray-on coatings your color palette is very limited.
FALSE
Which of the following wheel types used in machine polishing will cut the fastest?
Felt
Power buffing: When using a bench grinder, one end of the double ended shaft contains a conventional grinding wheel, while the other end has which of the following:
Muslin Buffing Wheel
To prevent paint or ink from reaching undesirable places such as the inside of parts, you should:
Plug holes and mask areas not to be painted or printed.
When polishing, be careful not to polish out which of the following, and other lettering that is found on the typical firearm?
Serial Numbers
According to Joe Carlos, what must you do with a barrel to know for certain what its current capabilities are?
Shoot It
An advantage of the bluing method is that the number of guns that can be blued at one time is limited only by the heating facility and which of the following:
Size of the Tank
Which of the following is used to remove old plating, to brighten up oxidized surfaces, and to clean inaccessible places.
Stripping
Before plating all parts must be:
Well-polished; Free of Grease and Oil; Stripped of Any Prior Bluing or Other Finish (All the Above)
The purpose of the masking tape border on the film is:
to prevent the film from expanding too far, causing the image to become distorted
If dipping a part made of plastics or composities, what product should be used to create a better "bite" for the paint as part of the preparation for dipping?
An Adhesion Promoter
Which of the following is a process that creates a protective layer of oxide on some metals, consisting of an electric circuit:
Anodizing
An engraved design on steel can be geometric- straight lines, triangles, circles, etc - or it can be:
Artistic
Metal preparation, along with __________________________ is critical for slow-rust bluing.
Avoiding Grease and Oil Contamination During Bluing
Nickel plating has been a popular finish for handguns and certain small parts of long guns since the turn of the century. The finish is applied by a process called:
Electroplating
If you find after using your tank for multiple projects that the film is not adhering to the part, you should:
Empty the tank, clean it thoroughly, and fill it with fresh water
"Black Oxide" is another name for:
Ferro-Ferric Oxide
All of the following are other names for hydrographics except:
Film Adhesion Image Transfer
Which of the following is a tool made of hardened tool steel- hard enough to cut all but ultra hard alloys and cause hardened steel. These simple tools can be compared to the paint brushes of an artist.
Gravers
Metal surfaces may be etched with an etching solution usually consisting of nitric acid, but first the metal surface is covered with an acid-resistant coating called a:
Ground
To prevent the loss of or "pulling" of letters and numbers, these areas should be polished by:
Hand
The two basic metal preparation processes, according to Frank Fry, are:
Hand and Machine
"Throat maintenance" bullets were found through extensive testing to:
Have a reliably positive impact on accuracy
Hot water bluing solutions depend upon which of the following for their action?
Heat
Conversion coatings are coatings that use chemicals or a combinations of chemicals and which of the following to change (or convert) the surface of the part into a different chemical:
Heat and Electricity
When placing the project in the tank, you should ______________ and then __________________.
Hold it at a 30 degree angle; Submerge it slowly and consistantly
When applying clear coat to the dipped project, be sure that the project __________________ and the temperature is ___________________.
Is completely dry; greater than 65 degrees
In addition to softening the scale for easier removal, what other key role does boiling play in the bluing process?
It converts ferric oxide to ferro-ferric oxide
Why is the part held at a 30 degree angle and slowly dipped into the tank?
It prevents air bubbles from forming
Before handling any chemical, you need to know how it is used and how it must be handled to avoid harmful exposure, which means you need to understand which of the following:
Its Properties
For basic polishing: protect all of the newly-polished surfaces from rusting with which of the following until you are ready to apply the bluing solution:
Light Coat of Oil
For engraving, an equally important eye aid is which of the following:
Lighting
If water gets on top of the film, it will:
Not adhere to the part
The slow-rust bluing process includes all of the following except:
Oiling of the Surface Between Applications
Coating are designed to provide protection from corrosion, provide chemical resistance, provide protection from wear and abrasion, and provide protection from which of the following:
Oxidation
Which coatings are often harder and ore corrosion-resistant that most other coatings?
PVD
Which of the following is a process of coating a metal part with a ceramic-like, metal coating:
PVD
Which of the following is the most popular phosphate coating for firearms?
Parkerizing
Which of the following provides an excellent surface for holding a rust-inhibiting or lubricating compound:
Parkerizing
Which of the following is a coating process for steel and other metals:
Phosphate Conversion
T/F: Cold bluing chemicals will not blue case-hardened steel, stainless steel, aluminum, or other nonferrous metals.
TRUE
T/F: Fire lapping has about the same average effective improvement on accuracy as electropolishing.
TRUE
T/F: Heat bluing is used extensively in the gun shop, mainly to blue small parts such as screws, drift pins, etc.
TRUE
T/F: If you can blue guns, you can plate guns. It is only a matter of familiarization and practical experience.
TRUE
T/F: It is recommended that smaller parts be hand polished in preparation for plating.
TRUE
T/F: One possible indicator that a barrel is likely to shoot poorly is pitting near the crown.
TRUE
T/F: Sandblasting of parts prior to plating is one of the most universally appealing finishes you can give your guns.
TRUE
T/F: Some of the benefits of the bluing and browning solutions on the market today are that they greatly reduce concerns of time, predictability, and undesirable results.
TRUE
T/F: Some patterns of hydrographic film have a directional orientation, or "right side up" that needs to be kept in mind while dripping parts.
TRUE
T/F: Spray-on coatings perform best when applied to a properly prepared surface.
TRUE
T/F: Spray-on finishes are some of the most versatile modern coatings, capable of performing many roles at once.
TRUE
T/F: The main objective in restoring an old firearm is to maintain the gun's original form.
TRUE
T/F: The metal used as the plating material is transferred to the surface being plated by the flow of current from the power source.
TRUE
T/F: The most common type of anodizing is performed on aluminum.
TRUE
T/F:Areas of the firearm that have had hydrographics applied do not need to be oiled and will not rust.
TRUE
When preparing the film for dipping, there are two easy methods that can be used; _________________ or ____________________.
Taping; Building a PVC dam