This is my opinion and I am sure there will be some disagreement but here goes anyway. I have been refinishing for almost 10 years; mostly spray on and bake finishes, camo, and parkerizing. A couple of years ago I started bluing pistols. Bluing is the most attractive (to me) finish on a well prepped firearm. Bluing, as beautiful as it is, does not take rough handling nearly as well as the other finishes I use. I have tried a few cold blue processes like Birchwood Casey and rust blue. It is my opinion that they do not hold up as well as the hot blue process. Just personal observations from the refinishing projects I have worked with. Of the DIY blued finishes, I do like rust blue the best. Remember that the trick to a really nice bluing job is polishing the steel. Prep work is king when refinishing.