painting steel?

[justDIY]

I have some steel parts with what as far as I can tell is a "hot black oxide" finish.  I want to paint these parts and I'd like to know if I need to do any prep other than sanding and cleaning?

I plan to use an oil based paint for optimal corrosion resistance in wet enviroments, something like rustoleum metal primer followed up with rustoleum gloss.   I'm not after a see-yourself mirror finish, but I would like it to be as durable as possible.

any input?

[merlinicorpus]

I have no personal experience with painting steel that has undergone bluing.  However, I suspect that if you only do a minimal surface prep and use a primer suitable for bare metal you should be fine

[justDIY]

I gave it a go earlier today, time will tell if I did a good job or not

1) cleaned parts with some mineral spirits
2) sanded throughly using 240 grit on a random orbit
3) cleaned again with spirits
4) hit it with 5-6 light coats of Rustoleum High-Gloss (waited 20-30 min between coats)
5) after paint was no longer sticky, baked in my diy reflow oven at 200F for approx an hour

the finish looks great - very shiny and smooth, except for a few small marks where the paint sorta melted around the wire rack inside the oven.  A good mod for the oven would be some small eye hooks in the roof to hang small parts from using some thin wire... maybe next time.  or, just be patient and let the paint cure for a few days at room temperature.