KelleyCrafts suggested that maybe this plane would look good if it were blued. I thought that was a great idea! Blued steel looks nice usually and it provides good corrosion prevention.

So I gave it a shot last night using the "No 45" section as a test bed.

Here you can see where I applied the blueing solution. I let the solution sit like this for about 30 seconds:

After 30 seconds, I rinsed the area with cold water to remove the solution then blew it dry with compressed air:

Then I took some 0000 steel wool and buffed the area a bit:

You can't really tell any difference in the photos but the steel wool did knock down the high spots a bit and add a little depth in person. But, even in person, the difference is pretty negligible.

So, I'm looking for some feedback. I'm not gonna give my opinion yet because I don't want to skew anyone else's. What do you think? Should I blue the depressed areas? Should I blue the entire plane? Or should I leave the bare steel? Inquiring mind wants to know ;-)