WHEN THERE IS A GOOD DENSE COAT OF FINE RED RUST ON EVERYTHING, CARD OR BRUSH IT DOWN TO THE BLUE WITH A FAIRLY STIFF MOTOR DRIVEN WIRE WHEEL. THIS BLUE IS REALLY TOUGH, AND ANY AMATEUR CAN DO IT. As discussed in the article What Blue Solution to Use I explain that it does not really matter what you use as long as it is corrosive, in the article I compare salt water with rust blue solution and end up with the same result. However I still get people contacting me asking what solution I use as the one they use doesn't work. My advice to everyone on the topic is keep your solution simple.
Youtube video on applying Rustblue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4QOcRTZv2Q
General rust blueing instructions (individual products may vary):
- Use silicon carbide paper up to 320 grit to prepare the steel. If a matte finish is desired then sand/bead blast the parts. Make sure all active rust is removed. You may need to use a commercial rust remover to assist in de-rusting heavily corroded parts.
- Degrease with 3 washes of naptha or acetone. Then give it a bath in a warm solution of dishwashing detergent. Rinse thoroughly with hot water. Look for 'sheeting' of the water on the steel and no beading. Beading means there is still oil on the surface. You don't want any oil on it!
- Generally, parts not coated with Rust Blue won't rust in the blueing process. But if you desire added protection, spray any parts you don't want to rust with clear lacquer. You can even coat the inside of the bore with it. It removes easily when you are through with lacquer thinner.
- After the metal has dried, apply the bluing solution to cold metal with a 100% cotton swab. Squeeze out the swab so it is damp but not dripping. Use long even strokes with the barest of overlap. Going back over missed areas can actually remove previous color, so avoid doing that.Allow it to dry for 2 hours (this primes the metal). Re-coat, let dry, heat metal above 100 F and put in a damp cabinet* for 4-6 hours to rust, or overnight if a damp cabinet is not available and local humidity levels are above 30%. If you use a sweat box and low pressure steam ripening can occur with in an hour. Pre-heat the metal prior to introduction to the steam to prevent spotting.
- When a fine layer of reddish-brown rust has formed (looks like reddish-brown fuzz), remove the metal, boil for 15 minutes in deionized distilled water or steam for 10 min. Then card with 000 -0000 steel wool, degreased in naptha or acetone. The word carding means to scrub off the loose oxide. Each of these cycles is called a 'pass'. Repeat as many times as you need to get the color you want. This will usually be 2-4 times. Small Parts – boil in deionized distilled water or steam with tap water suspended in a 4 qt covered saucepan for 10 minutes. Larger parts such as barrels can be boiled in special tanks available from Brownells or you can make a steam pipe apparatus** from PVC pipe and fittings obtained from a local home improvement store.
- When satisfied, you can apply oil, wax, lacquer or boiled linseed oil to seal the metal pores.
Complete directions for the steam pipe come with each order.
* Damp cabinet/dry heater – A damp cabinet is any box or container that has a source of moisture in it. It is like a big humidor. But just for gun parts and not cigars! A great damp cabinet can be made from a clothing wardrobe available from a moving company. Simply place a source of moisture in the bottom (a wet towel works well as does a pan of water) and hang your work on the cross bar. A shower can be used by hanging the metal from the shower curtain rod and suspending it over a tub of water. Wait 6-12 hours for the rust to form. A one room steam vaporizer is the best way to get a fast rust. Just place the vaporizer in the box, vent the top and steam for 30-45 minutes or until you get a ripe rust. Small clothing steamers work well too. The damp cabinet box can also double as a dry heater by using a small electric space heater in place of the vaporizer or steamer.
**If you build the steam pipe apparatus, a barreled action can be suspended inside the pipe, then covered and allowed to rust using it as a damp cabinet. All you need is a 3-4 ft length of cellular core PVC (used for sewer pipe), a flat-lidded pot, wooden dowel, 3 in toilet flange and a gas burner. Punch some holes in the pot lid and screw the toilet flange to it. Notch one end of the pipe to accept a length of dowel. Boil tap water in the pot, place the pipe over the flange and hang the barrel/barreled action from the dowel. Cover the top with a towel or aluminum foil and steam for 10 minutes. For small parts, placing them in a covered pot with a small amount of water in the bottom does the trick. Place the parts in the pipe over cold water and use it as a damp cabinet to hasten rusting. Don't leave it more than 8 hrs or you could get pitting.
When you are exploring the world of Rust, you might come across what looks like a locked door in a Monument. The only way for you to get inside these doors is if you complete a small objective and find a certain item. These items are Keycards. Keycards can be found in certain places and you can use them to open up the doors. The only downside to this is that there is a rarity to each card and getting them can be challenging sometimes.
There is a rarity for each of the cards with Green being the easiest to get, while Red is the hardest to get. Blue is in the middle so if you are going to get the Keycards, I would start with the Green cards if you can. There are 3 doors that you can open and each of the doors is opened with its respective Keycard color. Make sure you do everything right or else the door will not open for you when you finally use the card on the door. Here is an explanation of all the Keycards.
Related: Ultimate Guide to PvP in Rust
Complete directions for the steam pipe come with each order.
* Damp cabinet/dry heater – A damp cabinet is any box or container that has a source of moisture in it. It is like a big humidor. But just for gun parts and not cigars! A great damp cabinet can be made from a clothing wardrobe available from a moving company. Simply place a source of moisture in the bottom (a wet towel works well as does a pan of water) and hang your work on the cross bar. A shower can be used by hanging the metal from the shower curtain rod and suspending it over a tub of water. Wait 6-12 hours for the rust to form. A one room steam vaporizer is the best way to get a fast rust. Just place the vaporizer in the box, vent the top and steam for 30-45 minutes or until you get a ripe rust. Small clothing steamers work well too. The damp cabinet box can also double as a dry heater by using a small electric space heater in place of the vaporizer or steamer.
**If you build the steam pipe apparatus, a barreled action can be suspended inside the pipe, then covered and allowed to rust using it as a damp cabinet. All you need is a 3-4 ft length of cellular core PVC (used for sewer pipe), a flat-lidded pot, wooden dowel, 3 in toilet flange and a gas burner. Punch some holes in the pot lid and screw the toilet flange to it. Notch one end of the pipe to accept a length of dowel. Boil tap water in the pot, place the pipe over the flange and hang the barrel/barreled action from the dowel. Cover the top with a towel or aluminum foil and steam for 10 minutes. For small parts, placing them in a covered pot with a small amount of water in the bottom does the trick. Place the parts in the pipe over cold water and use it as a damp cabinet to hasten rusting. Don't leave it more than 8 hrs or you could get pitting.
When you are exploring the world of Rust, you might come across what looks like a locked door in a Monument. The only way for you to get inside these doors is if you complete a small objective and find a certain item. These items are Keycards. Keycards can be found in certain places and you can use them to open up the doors. The only downside to this is that there is a rarity to each card and getting them can be challenging sometimes.
There is a rarity for each of the cards with Green being the easiest to get, while Red is the hardest to get. Blue is in the middle so if you are going to get the Keycards, I would start with the Green cards if you can. There are 3 doors that you can open and each of the doors is opened with its respective Keycard color. Make sure you do everything right or else the door will not open for you when you finally use the card on the door. Here is an explanation of all the Keycards.
Related: Ultimate Guide to PvP in Rust
Page Contents
Monument Puzzles
These puzzles need to be completed before you can use any Keycard on a door, but it is not that easy to complete. The Green Monument Puzzles are the easiest to complete but require you to flip a few switches around the Monument and then place a Fuse inside a Fuse Box. You can then go and open the Green door with your Keycard. The Blue Monument Puzzles are kind of hard to complete because the area in which you must complete the puzzle is a lot bigger than normal. It consists of turning on more power and Fuse switches so that you can get the door open.
It is a lot harder than Green because there is more stuff you have to do for it. The Red Monument Puzzles are the hardest to complete because they are the biggest puzzles to complete in the game. Not only are you running around in a very high radiation area, but you are also in an area that has many Scientists that are trying to kill you at the same time. Even though the Red doors are very hard to get into, the loot you get is totally worth your time and effort in the end.
Green Doors/Green Keycards
Green Doors are the easiest to get into and they give you some items that help in getting you into the next tiered door. There are a total of five Monuments that you can find these Green Keycards and they are the Lighthouse, Oxum's Gas Station, Junkyard, Abandoned Supermarket, and Abandoned Cabins. You can also find one on a Scientist if you can take one out at a smaller Monument.
The puzzles are very simple to get into the Green Doors and is a good way to get some decent loot in the beginning of your adventure. Basically, if you wear a Radiation suit the entire time you do any Monument Puzzle in the entire game, then you will be safe from Radiation, but you should keep some Radiation Pills and Healing items just in case anything happens.
Blue Doors/Blue Keycards
Easy Blue Card Rust
Blue Doors are the medium puzzles in the game because it has the perfect loot for an average player. These Blue Cards can be found on Scientists or through the Green Doors in Harbor, Satellite Dish, and Sewer Branch. You can also purchase a Blue Keycard at an Outpost for 100 Scrap if you want to do that. Once you have a Blue Keycard, you may then go and open the Blue Doors once you complete the Puzzle before.
All you have to do is try to power the door with electricity and you may swipe the card and steal the loot. Remember that while you are trying to complete the puzzles, there may be an enemy waiting in the shadows for you to finish the puzzle and open the door so they can kill you and take everything you have and the loot inside the door has. Always be cautious of your surroundings because you could lose everything you have.
How To Get A Blue Card Rust
Red Doors/Red Keycards
Red Doors are the hardest door to get into because of the dangers before and all that you need to do to get in. The Red Cards can be found very rarely on Scientists or through the Blue Doors in Water Treatment Plant, Airfield, Power Plant, and Train Yard. You can get lucky if another player is selling it at the Bandit Camp, but it is up to them to how much people can buy it for. Remember that whenever you use a Keycard on a locked door to open it, it takes damage and is not infinite, so be cautious of how and when you use it.
The reason the Red Doors are soo hard to get into is that you need all three Keycards to actually open up the Red Doors. Also, you will need a Fuse to complete every Monument Puzzle there is to reroute the power to the door that you want to open. Remember that to actually get a Red Card, you actually have to complete many puzzles before it so don't expect to open up a Red Door as soon as you start the game.
What does each door give you?
Each of the doors has a certain amount of loot hidden behind them. If you can get the door open, then you can take everything that is inside. It is not easy to get into each one, but it is totally worth it in the end. Here is what is behind each of the doors:
Green Doors – These doors contain 1-4 Normal Crates and a Blue Keycard in each one
Power Plant Rust Red Card
Blue Doors – These doors contain 6-9 Normal Crates with a possibility for a Military Crate, and a Red Key Card in each one
Red Doors – These doors contains 2-3 Elite Crates, 2-3 Military Crates, and 2-3 Normal Crates
How many Monuments have these locked doors?
Where To Use Red Card In Rust
There are a total of 4 Monuments that have a Green Door, and they are Satellite Dish, Harbor 1, Harbor 2, and Sewer Branch. These have Easy Puzzles. There are a total of 4 Monuments that have a Blue Door, and they are Power Plant, Airfield, Trainyard, and Water Treatment Plant. These have Medium Puzzles. There are a total of 2 Monuments that have a Red Door, and they are Launch Site and Military Tunnels. These have Hard Puzzles. Every one of these Monuments has puzzles for you to complete and loot for you to get at the end. Make sure you are also looting the surrounding area for extra loot as well.
Blue Card Rust Labs
Why should I take the time to get into these doors?
Well, you could just play through the game while only using the natural areas for loot, but you can only get the extent of the items that you would be getting if you risked a lot to get into one of these doors. When you have all three of the Keycards, there is just something about it that makes you want to try and get to the Red Doors. All I am saying is if you want a rush of adventure and danger, then you should at least try to get into the Monuments and get the good loot, it is the least you could do.
Harbor Blue Card Rust
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Keycard system is actually a really good addition to Rust. It helps you figure more out and it makes you feel better about actually putting the time in to get the loot. If you play Rust and you have not tried to get into the doors, I would highly recommend doing so to get better loot and unlock new blueprints. Just make sure that you unlock a blueprint first before using it because it could be gone and you have to find another one of those items.
