Let’s blue some hands

Since we’ll be using flame, a few safety tips first: 

  1. Do this in a well ventilated area,

  2. Maintain a clean working area, and clear out any inflammable objects nearby. Don’t leave the flame unattended.

  3. If you have long hair or loose clothing, tie it up.

  4. Do not touch the bluing tray or its holder while its hot.

Besides our kit, you’ll also need:

  1. A white light source to help you determine the color

  2. A can of butane to fill the torch

  3. Distilled water to quenched the hand with (normal water will leave deposits on the hand)

Filling the torch with butane

1. Find a butane nozzle of the right size, matching the refill hole at the bottom of the torch

2. Hold both the torch and butane upside down, and press the stem of the can into the refill hole on the torch to fill it

 

Using the torch

1. Press the trigger to turn on the torch

2. With the trigger pressed down, move the lock switch to the right to keep the torch on. Move the switch back to the left to release the trigger and turn off the flame.

 

You’re all set!

This video will teach you how to blue a set of hand step by step. We recommend watching the whole video first before you attempt flame bluing yourself.

Troubleshooting

“The color is uneven”

Try heating the filings evenly. And make sure the hand is well in contact with the filings along the entire length of it. Heating the hand slower will also allow it time to spread the heat more evenly.

“There are spots or smudges”

The hand is contaminated by dust or grease. Clean the hand with Rodico before heating.

“I can’t get to the exact color I want”

Try heating the hand more slowly, using a smaller flame and/or pulling the flame further from the tray to make it easier to quench the hand at the right time.


Almost there…

Your gorgeous blue hands are waiting to go into a watch. Install them to your watch right now to see the amazing result. If you’re not sure how to do it, these guides will help you:

But wait, there’s more!

Do you know that you can also blue screws on the movement? It has basically the same principles as bluing hands, with a few caveats. So we prepared the following video guide to show you how to do it:

Finishing up

When you’re done flame bluing, wait for the bluing tray and filings to cool down before tidying everything up. The filings are reusable so you can put them back into the bottle for bluing next time.

That’s it!

Now go and have fun with your newly modded watch!

If you are itching for more watchmaking tutorials like this, subscribe to our YouTube channel, where we regularly publish free tutorials!