Q:
Robert Erickson mentioned that he uses gun bluing and lacquer to waterproof some of the metal hardware in his Adirondack chair (“Uncompromising Adirondack,” FWW #231). I’d like to do the same. What’s involved in that process?
Ken Brooks, Johnstown, PA
A:
First, lightly sand the exposed metal of the hardware. Next, prep the steel with Industrial Metal Supplies’ Metal Cleaner ($6, sculptnouveau.com), then use Birchwood Casey Super Blue ($11, sport.birchwoodcasey.com) straight from the bottle. This darkens the metal, but does not turn it a true black. The color is more like the black on forged steel. (For a true black color, I use black lacquer.) After the gun bluing process is complete, I seal the metal with Clear Guard lacquer ($13, sculptnouveau.com). For a marine environment, I use Ever Clear lacquer ($26, sculptnouveau.com), which is a two-part acrylic urethane.
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