I just got a T/C Hawken kit for cheap to occupy my time with the build.(recently retired) What do you think would be the best looking and easiest to use; blue or brown? Any suggestions as to a good brand of finish?

brown. Laurel mountain forge.

Jon...

I was never really an advocate of browning because I've seen so many kit guns that were browned that looked like sh*t on a white rag. That said, I was impressed with the work I've seen that you've done using that product. If I were to decide to build a kit gun and decide to do a brown finish, that's what I'd use based on what I've seen you do with your guns.

BPS

Just like everything in life, it takes practice. I do plan on writing a how to on this when i am ready to brown my hawken barrel.

Brown for sure I just browned my target rifle barrel and it came out fantastic! I think there are pics on my profile page ? Pretty easy process just need patience and about 3-5 days.

I browned a T/C Renegade kit back in the very early 80's. And I have to admit through the years it just got better looking in age. I never could blue a barrel. A friend tried, I helps, we followed the instructions to the letter and needless to say were not happy with the results.

I like a brown barrel also. I have used Laurel Mountain Forge and got good results but my favorite browning solution is made and sold by Homer Dangler.

That Laurel Mountain Forge was the same stuff I used I believe. (All I remember was Mountain Forge, came in a small brown bottle.) I purchased the stuff at a Rendezvous. Some person was selling it, and I was impressed with the quality of work he'd done on his barrels.

For the record. A lot of the original Hawken rifles were blued.

They look like they might have been browned, but that was old guns we're looking at that got rusty or bluing just wore off. When they took off the barrels and looked at the bottom of them where it was protected they saw they were blued.

One thing that I like to do, and I don't remember where I learned this trick, but after I get the color brown that I want and kill the acid with baking soda solution, I wipe the barrel down with automatic transmission fluid. This will give the barrel a nice reddish brown color and it dries to a nice sheen.