Hello, I have been looking at the Tool Blackening Kit (#3435K11) from McMaster-Carr. I was wondering if anyone here has tried this to blacken steel. I have a small batch of fixtures and tooling plates that I would like to blacken.
Is this kit easy to do? Is it the same look and protection as black oxide? Is there any safety issues? Do you just dip your part or wipe it on and let it dry or does it have to be heated in an oven?
Thanks for the help!
Eric
Not only have I tried it, I wrote a product review of it in Home Shop Machinist in the March April 2001 issue. I did some extensive testing and I really like it.
On thing though is that you do still need to keep the tools oiled. The blackening makes more of a porus surface that holds the oil than just putting a protective film on the surface. Not sure if other blackning methods work the same way.
It is easy to use. Basically clean the parts with their degreaser then put them in the blackening for a few minutes. If the parts are larger you wipe on the blackening with cotton balls or paper towels, wash and dry the parts in water, then spray with their Prevent oil.
How black the parts get depends on the type of steel. I have found that most steel gets real black, but hardened tool steels get more of a dark brown.
I use phosphating to blacken steel such as gun, with this one, you should boil the mixture in ss pan and put the steel in it about 15 min. You should clean with soda ash first before you put the steel.
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