Model 642 finish is peeling off. Is this a regular problem with this model ?

Yep. Very common. Some guys have gotten lucky but most haven't. I bought a 642 10 years ago and only owned it a year. Sent it back twice to get refinished. I know it's a carry gun and looks shouldn't matter but to me they do. And such an old and respected company should address it and stop using the clear coating that flakes off. S&w told me not to use solvents to clean the gun, but just to use oil. So Hoppes was out.

I hear the 442 has a better finish. I might be getting a j frame again. The 442 will be the one.

Try Hoppes Elite. It won't take the finish off and it is odorless.

Stu

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NRA Benefactor/Cert Instructor

My 642 is decades old.

I believe the finish of the aluminum, was anodized, at that time, not cleat coated.

My almost daily carry 642, is still pristine, although it wears a Renaissance Wax coating at all times.

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NRA Instructor

It's the clear coat that peels. I don't know when they started using it, but that is the culprit. I wish I had picked up one before it was clear coated.

Hey partner, several recent threads on just this topic. Just from reading, it may be that S&W has used different 'generations' (proper term?) of finish on these guns. On mine, only one has a 5mm square patch of finish missing on the sideplate. That's it, and it's carried almost daily. The others are pristine, despite regular carry. All were bought 4 or more years ago.

Only my 342 purchased "pre-owned" had a problem with a ClearKote finish, peeling off after being flushed out with GunScrubber, something I use on all my guns.

Stay safe, partner.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

P.S. I see you posted 2 years ago on the same issue with a 638. What happened back then with S&W?

Two Shops I worked at sent 642s back to S&W for that same problem. Some were replaced some, I think were refinished.

The 442 trades that problem for another--rust.

I wipe my EDC 442 each day with a cloth, but one particularly humid day that I was sweating a lot outside it got surface rust on the cylinder. In one day. Cleaned it off. I still really like the gun; over 500 problem-free rounds through it.

Never heard of one waxed and cleaned with gentle solvents (I use CLP) having this issue. Mine looks almost perfect after years of use.

This is my 642-1 after ~4.5 years of use (carrying, dry fire practice drills, shooting at the range). The finish started showing wear pretty quickly. The only "solvent" I've used is Break-Free CLP and the only wear spots are high-contact areas. I thought about sending it back to S&W early on but since the gun was still working well I decided not to deal with the hassle.



I thought about getting a 442-1 because the finish is supposed to be better but the higher vulnerability to rust is the biggest sticking point for me. Even though the wear on the aluminum frame is worn through to the primer in high-contact areas the stainless steel components are still in excellent shape with no rust issues at all. I wipe it down with a patch with 1 drop of CLP followed by a dry rag when I clean the gun, which is after range visits or every 1-2 months, whichever comes first. The rest of the time I wipe it down with a dry rag at the end of the day.

For low maintenance, if I were going to get another airweight J-frame it'd be another 642-1, even with the finish issues. I'd probably start using wax, though.