I'm coming clean on this. My collection consists primarily of high condition pre-80's and I shoot them. I'm meticulous about not exacerbating cylinder turn lines by always carefully closing the cylinder onto a notch. So as far as observable wear, on many of my revolvers the only evidence besides a minor partial turn line is finish worn ejector rod.

So I'm asking if any of you bother to carefully touch-up ejector rod bluing loss with a quality cold blue from time to time. I do use several Brownell products on other firearms with good results. And I'm hesitant to touch-up blue ejector rods as I don't wish to disassemble and therefore don't want any cold bluing entering the sleeve and doing damage.

Thoughts? Should I just get over it and carry on? I'm no spring chicken and I'm not taking them with me. Just curious.

Thanks,
Eric

I say ignore it and carry on. Properly lubricated I would not expect much wear at all on the ejector rods.

Any gun that gets carried or shot during its lifetime will have some sort of wear indicative of that. The only way you'll keep a gun mark-free is to keep it wrapped in a soft cloth and stored in its box. What's the fun in that? Normal wear from use, to me, is a sign the gun has been enjoyed. Gouges and scratches, rust and oxidation, are what you want to avoid. Don't fix the normal wear stuff.

Thank you for your advice about aligning the notch while closing the cylinder. I had not thought of that. I will sparingly try to smooth the leading edge of the cylinder bolt so that it may not drag abrasively on the cylinder body. I try not to unnecessarily plunge the ejector rod so as to not wear too much. I handle my S&W's with love and kindness. I shoot an experienced m10 without guilt, while I hoard my others. I had not thought about cold bluing and I agree of the concern to not allow any chemical into the shroud. I have experienced the risk that disassembling the cylinder and rod assembly sooner than later will bend and wobble the rod.

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"Don't Give Up the Ship"

I agree and do in fact make sure all is lubed. But I've seen, like I'm sure you have too, the difference between assembly and fit between revolvers. I've got early sixties K frames, even some well use Model 10's, that barely show a turn line and never will. Likewise, some of these same old revolvers show barely a shade loss of blue on the ejector rods.

I just figured this was about the only place I could bring up such a ridiculous subject

I’ve touched up a few with Perma Blue with great results.

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213th FBINA

A touch of cold blue keeps them looking better. You learn what to do after years of shooting. I clean mine after ever outing. I wipe with alcohol and match the finish and oil down.

If you start altering the dimensions of the fitted pieces, you'll likely start having lockup issues. It won't matter if the edge of the cylinder bolt is sharp or not, as far as leaving a wear mark on the cylinder, but it has a sharp edge for a reason. Honestly, for value, the cylinder wear ring doesn't detract. Shoot it or save it, you can't do both.

I do use a little "Vans" to touch up on some of my old ones, but not on ejector rods. I look at ejector rod wear to help judge usage on potential purchases.....

My model 14 has seen a lot of use. In ISSF competition and practice that is.

The finish is still almost flawless, except for the ejection rod that has no finish left so to speak.

Do I care about it? Nope. Am I going to touch it up? Nope.

Exibit A:

Attached Images

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Expect the unexpected

Interesting point about the ejector rod wear. Most of my guns are in very high condition. Some show hardly any blue wear on the ejector rod, others have a lot of blue wear on the rod. I have always attributed that to minor variations in the dimensions of the rod or the hole in the cylinder. Or maybe barely perceptible runout on the rod causing wear when it is pressed. If the rod is pretty tight when it leaves the factory, it will likely develop wear a lot faster than the gun will develop a turn line or signs of firing on the recoil shield.

I might Perma Blue the ejection Rod if I was going to sell that revolver, just for curb appeal. Otherwise, nah.

I may or may not have removed some of my ejector rods and cold blued them, I have OCD.

If ever so slightly rounding the sharp top forward corner of the cylinder bolt causes it to skip a chamber, you have bigger fish to fry. than said corner. The important width dimension of the stop, the cylinders slot and stops window in frame is not altered'

The bolt is the part that is slide forward by the thumb piece BTW

I don't mind what I consider normal fading/wear of blue, it's going to happen unless the thing sits in the safe and never is used. One of the reasons (Don't get me started) I buy used and older guns is they already have a nick or two and I don't have to worry about causing the first one by being stupid.

all misguided. A honest well cared for revolver always shows better than one that has been tricked with. You going to reblue the recoil shield after every trip too?

There are certain parts of a Revolver that even though they are wear - I do NOT consider them wear - if that makes sense.

* Ejector Rod
* Cylinder (turn line)
* Cylinder face
* Recoil Shield
* Tip of bbl.

These areas start to wear before the gun leaves the Factory and will continue to wear as soon as the gun is played with, shot or carried. Once this is accepted by the owner, all is better.

put touch up blue on the rod and sleep better.....

Unless it is to be a designated Safe Queen, touch up cold bluing won't really last long. Think about it....... even hot blue doesn't last long on the ER. Just one of those things......

Many Collectors can spot a Cold Blue enhancement and will be turned off and won't consider buying that gun. Some consider it misrepresenting the actual condition. If you just want your carry gun to look a little better and to protect it go ahead, but don't look to sell it for anything better than a shooter grade.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Great dialogue, thank you all. What am I leaning towards now? The do nothing option. When it comes to meticulous fine finish work, metal or walnut, I am good. However, I would NOT want any work I did with cold blue on an ejector rod to be detectable. I'd much rather have the honest wear. Thanks again