Tips for removing foul smell of cold blue?

[pysen78]

Hi everyone!

I recently took delivery of an old percussion revolver (Beaumont Adams pocket revolver) that had been re-blued by a previous owner. I plan to use it for recreational target shooting.

(This is not a hunting question, btw, since blackpowder isn't legal for hunting in Sweden, but I thought it to be a hunting related question anyways, seeing as the question could be relevant to refurbished hunting arms as well)

It has a smell of rotting fish or maybe reaally far gone unwashed hair. Not a pleasant smell, and it rubs off on the hands too. I don't know why it smells, but my first thought was that veg or animal grease had been used for lubrication and gone off. I plan to rinse the whole thing thoroughly in kerosene, in order to rule that out.

I've read online, the smell might be due to cold blue being used. I have no way of telling if it has been proper hot blued or cold blued. But in case the grease isn't the culprit I guess cold blue is the most likely cause of the smell.

Seeing as a lof of crafty people congregate here, I thought it wise to ask if anyone have a tip for removing the smell. Anyone come across this before with guns or knives that's been cold blued?

(I'd not like to return or sell on the revolver, since it's in good nick otherwise, and a nice piece of craftsmanship. Thanks for any help.)

 

[Hibrion]

I've used cold blue before on an old user shotgun. I just rinsed off the barrels with cold water and wiped down with some brunox oil and there was no smell left.

 

[mrcharly]

Hmm - some engine grease (particularly marine grease) definitely has an 'unwashed hair' smell.

So I reckon it is the oil that they've used.
Now I'm no expert in percussion revolvers, only shot them a couple of times, but I would have thought you will have to be *very* careful to remove residues of kerosene from the cap vents. Other than that, sluicing with kerosene sounds like a good idea.

 

[pysen78]

Thanks for the suggestions, gents. Didn't have time to do anything substantial last night, so, detached the cylinder and submerged it in kerosene for the time being. If that rids the cylinder of the smell, I'll go ahead with cleaning the remaining parts later. Will update this post accordingly.

 

[slowworm]

It might be the residue used for lubricating the balls once seated, I've seen a few interesting recipes! Mine I just wash out with very hot water and a black powder solvent, then dry. If the nipples do get blocked those inter-dental brushes you get are very handy for cleaning them out.

 

[pysen78]

Time for an update. I've had contractors blocking my garage for a few weeks, and before that didn't get around to finishing the job.
Following your suggestions, I removed the grip, and let that soak in boiled linseed oil for an hour, then brushed it clean of all the grub with a stiff brush.
Put the revolver in kerosene for a few days and then wiped it clean. To my horror it now showed small partches of surface rust around the nipples and I feared other places too, so I sprayed it with WD40 as a first temporary measure. (I know, maybe shouldn't use wd40, but I kinda panicked.) I'm not sure wether the rust came from corrosion in the kero-bath, or maybe it was there before only didn't show because it was covered in grease. Could it be sulphur or something in the kerosene?

Anyways, smell is now all gone, and since then I've had time to fettle the mechanism back into shape. Next on the to-do-list is to take it to the range. Fun times ahead, I hope! Thanks for all the help!