I carried my 642 for a few months, mostly in a pocket holster, sometimes in a waistband with no holster. Despite looking like new with no scratches when I started, it didn't look so good after a few months. Is there some plating, preferably a dark color, that would make it sweat proof? Anything I can do to my 342 to keep this from happening when I carry it?

Attached Images

IMG_20200606_193551.jpg (59.8 KB, 742 views)

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Mark

Mark, you might try using Renaissance Wax on it.

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Ed

I had to send the one I bought approx 3 years ago back to S&W be re-finished. The coating began to corrode and come off almost immediately after purchase. The finish on these (and I assume, every other S&W) is only warranted for 1 year, according to S&W Customer Service.
I was not charged for the re-finish work, and subsequently sold the gun when it was returned about two months later.

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

Looks like standard carry wear from here. The 642 is not known for a particularly robust finish on the alloy frame. That shouldn't affect its ultimate effectiveness, however.

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Some collect art; I shoot it!

Don't keep it in a leather holster, it attracts moisture. I always wipe mine down after carrying and put a light protect on it when being stored short term. I have a 637-2 and no signs of corrosion. Keeping fingers crossed

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I carried a Glock for a number of years, leather IWB holster or no holster, and it looks like new. The 342 is so much prettier I'd like to keep it that way if possible, while still using it. If I could spend a couple of hundred dollars and have the 342 as corrosion resistant as a Glock I'd be happy to do it. Does anyone know of a finish that would work? Should I resign myself to a functional but ugly gun?

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Mark

The Rogaurd/NP3 finish would be attractive and wears very well. I’ve got a Hi-Power refinished in Roguard and it still looks like new. I think chrome is about the only finish tougher but don’t know how it would work with scandium. Though it works with aluminum so .


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You might look around for one of the original 442s in electroless nickel. They are pretty hardy little guns, but I suppose depending on your level of care, even one of those will eventually corrode, if ignored. Industrial chrome is a bit more durable. You might be able to find someone who hard-chromes aluminum, and maybe not. About anything like this is going to be better than S&W’s clear coat. What a (bad) joke that idea is...

More than likely it's the clear-coat coming off. It's fairly common with the recent 642s. I've had two 642-1s and they both had finish issues.

Personally, it's a carry gun. I'm not worried about the finish as long as it's functional.

If you really want to have it refinished, you might want to check out CCR. I believe they have finish options for alloy-framed guns. I don't know if they can refinish a 342 or deal with the flaky finish on the recent 642s, but you could always contact them and see what they say.

A shop I worked at sent a couple 642s to Smith because the finish flaked away. They refinished one and replaced the other. The 442 finish lasted much better. As long as the cylinder & yoke, barrel, and cylinder thumb latch are wiped with oil.

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Two Handguns every day

I just got a sticky holster that covers the gun pretty well. I suppose the reasonable thing is to just try using it with the 342, and then if the finish is damaged send it off to get plated with something. Factory nickel on a 442 sounds appealing too. The way the 642 looks doesn't really bother me, but the 342 is essentially new, and I like how it looks. Funny, I don't care how the Glocks look, and they're almost indestructable.

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Mark

Mine did the same... NP3 Plus instead of dealing with it.

Why do you have a lasermax and a crimson trace grip?

LaserMax is a weapon light...

How long have you carried it? It looks new. How much did it cost?

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Mark

My brother bought this M642-1 new back in 2008.
It was his back-up and off duty for 6 years. He carried it in an ankle holster.

This what it looked like when he gave it to my in 2014.
It has been my EDC ever since. It replaced my M640-1 .357 Magnum.



I carry it in an OWB holster and it hasn't changed since the day he gave it to me.

I've never had an interest in having it refinished. Never knew they could.

I wouldn't even have it refinished if they did it for free.

Looks like it needs a good cleaning.

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Kenny
Endeavor to persevere.

That picture was after I got it done... but it’s been converted to 9mm for 5ish years. Carried on/off for about six, heavier the past three or so years. Probably did the refinishing 7 years back.

I’ll have to check the paperwork, but I did it with a Remington 870P when Robar did a special on refinishing. Probably in the $300s, want to say low end ($305 is sort of bouncing around my mind).

Robar is closed, but Wright Armory does both NP3 and NP3 Plus... looking at revolvers on their price list, $345 and $395 respectively. But they are also going to have to chemically strip the anodizing. Robar also had to redo the serial number because the stripping lightened it up too much. The scroll work on the sides, can barely see. I like that, as it gives it a more utilitarian look.

Waxing with a good paste wax occasionally does wonders in preserving the 642 type frame finish. You have to wear away the wax before the lacquer can begin to wear. Has worked for me for many years.

I pocket carry my revolver and I second the Renaissance wax recommendation. I also wipe it down daily with a silicone impregnated fleece on sheepskin wipe I picked up from Brownells.

In the summer the leather pocket holster can be damp with sweat. I have gotten in the habit of keeping the gun out of the holster overnight.

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U.S. Coast Guard, retired CPO

Call John Norrell I’d bet he’s got a MolyResin color that works for you. It’s mighty tough and impervious to chemicals according to John. I know for a fact MEK won’t touch it once cured. Long as yer wife don’t kill yeh for baking it in the house it’s all good. Very easy to use at home. Started using it years ago when I converted my Saiga-12.

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R/S
J.D.

Smith would be better off with no clear coat just just anodized aluminum. Will it pit over time sure but if you wipe it down from time to time it will look brand new again. You can also buffet it with very fine steel wool and it will come back to life again. The clear coat that they use sucks. Not much they can do with the barrel and crane. There would be a difference in color from the barrel and the frame but I’d rather have that I can live with that.

I think I'll try waxing the 342 and seeing how the finish holds up. I've waxed some of guns in the past, usually with some paste wax meant for floors. Is Renaissance Wax much better?

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Mark

Looks interesting. I wonder why S&W doesn't use something more like it. I think a lot of people would be willing to pay a few dollars more for a finish that would wear well.

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Mark

My 642 looks worse than any shown so far. 18 years of on-duty carry in an ankle rig + off duty pocket carry will do that. I'm leaving it as is. It's functionally perfect and has earned its scars. (I didn't age so well either)

I can't say if Renaissance Wax is better than a paste wax but I've been using it on my firearms for quite a while now and it really protects them. Renaissance is a Micro-Crystalline Wax Polish that was developed for the British Museum and it's used on metal, wood, leather products and some paintings as well. I have a 7 oz jar that I brought about 3 or so years ago and I've used just a bit over half in that time. All I can say is that it works for me.

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Ed

I have use Renaissance for decades, I recommend it.

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U.S. Coast Guard, retired CPO

I discovered Ren wax last year and now I use it on most of my guns & knives, especially on carry guns.

My 638 is pretty beat from years of carry, but hte finish laquer is still good from constant TLC and holster removal. The Ren wax allows me to be lazier and go much longer between PM.

Thanks to the wonders of Amazon I should have some Ren wax tomorrow. I'll wax the 342 carefully and see how it holds up. I carried my 642 for a few hours on Saturday in a kydex IWB holster, and when I took it off sweat had run under the shield and the side of the gun was wet. The sticky holster looks like it will have better coverage, but it may just act like a little container for my sweat to fill.

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Mark

I had a 638 that the lacquer had chipped off of almost completely. I took the blunt end of a chopstick and what little lacquer remained literally popped off the gun in less than 5 minutes. I carried it for another few years in my pocket in Texas before I gave it to my father. It is still new looking after all of that. I think the lacquer is unnecessary.

Surfer

I've used Ren wax on all my guns with the exception of three.

My M642-1 because its past the point of being waxed.
M60-14 because its only been fired at the factory.
And my M&P .45 auto.

Its good stuff.

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Kenny
Endeavor to persevere.

The Ren wax showed up today, a day early. I took the grips off the 342 and waxed everything, I'll probably start carrying it tomorrow. I tried carrying it in the sticky holster around the house, it was very comfortable, concealed very well. Might be different in the heat and humidity outside, I'll find out over the next few days.

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Mark

A friend of mine had the same problem on a 642 it was an older one it had mim parts but it was an older one. It almost look like they clearcoated the finish and flaked off and he was not using Harsh chemicals to clean the gun. I just think they were using a bad finish depending on the years came out or I had some kind of contamination that messed up the finishes on certain runs. I know many people that have newer 642s for three or four years of carrying them all the time and they have normal wear marks not flaking off. I think my buddy send it to metalife in Pennsylvania Ron Mahovsky’s Metal life gun refinishing not sure if he hard chrome that or nickel boron. I’m pretty sure metal life could hard chrome it over the aluminum I think they Parkerise it first so it sticks to it I’m not 100% sure give them a call. I would first try to call Smith and Wesson there usually pretty good on that kind of stuff.

My 638 has a good amount of nicks and blemishes. That's why my 36 is a safe queen and range gun.

I asked a gunsmith friend about this. He started there was some years of production that the finish was faulty. He said he couldn’t remember the exact years of production but S&W was refinishing them free if it was those years of production he thought.


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You can use the Ren wax on the holster too. It does great things for leather.

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Ed

Does anyone have a photo of the CCR Nikote finish that they had done to the alloy frame guns? Looking at the website, this looks interesting but I see it is pricey to have a gun coated.

Ive carried my 342 concealed with a clip grip in the Arizona deserts while undercover wearing just jeans and a light shirt. Sometimes a T shirt. Yes the finish is spotted and the aluminum parts look worn. The titanium is still like new. I have qualified in the years that I had to and shot a lot of wad cutters through it along with some +P. Ill cary it till I die. I love it.

I've been carrying my 342 a few times a week for the last few months, always in a Sticky holster. All the care I've given it is to wipe the sweat off and occasionally wipe it down with a silicon cloth.

I took the grips off to clean it well this morning, and found dried sweat underneath, shown in the first pic.

After wiping it down with FP10, drying, and putting on a new coat of Renwax it looks perfect.

Thanks for suggesting the Renwax, I think it really helps.

Attached Images

	sweat.jpg (75.8 KB, 64 views)
	clean.jpg (75.6 KB, 54 views)

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Mark