I have a S&W 442 that I carry in my pocket. I noticed the gun had some rust developing on it. I cleaned it and it seems to be gone. I emailed Smith and Wesson but have not heard back from them and it has been several weeks. Does anyone have an email contact for someone at Smith and Wesson?

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s&w 686+, s&w 442, m&p pro 9mm

Sorry, can't help with your question, but here is recent thread about this very subject if you haven't already read it.

Anyone have a gun rust in your pocket?

Blued steel will rust. Especially if carried in a moist, salty environment. With due care and diligence it can be prevented, but it will require a little upkeep and the use of some rust preventative products.

I just don't see this as a warranty issue. But, then again, perhaps I'm misunderstanding the circumstances. Good luck with your revolver.

Thanks for your opinion on this being a warranty issue or not, I wasnt asking you that. The gun is six months old and if thats the "quality" s&w puts out, its sad.

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s&w 686+, s&w 442, m&p pro 9mm

I have a 442 and it does not have any rust, been pocket carried alot but i wipe it down about once a week with one of those silicone gun wipes.

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Chewy

tallen00- do you pocket carry your revolver in a holster, or just shove it into your pocket? I've found that carrying my revolvers in a thin nylon holster helps to keep the gun isolated from sweaty hands and other dampness. And, like the other Forum members mentioned, a quick wipe down with a silicone cloth really helps. I also wax periodically (Renaissance Wax). I don't think this is a warranty issue, it's just a fact of life with blued guns. BTW: I actually started carrying stainless or aluminum frame (642) guns for that very reason. Down here in Florida, salt, sand, and humidity are a year round problem.

Penetrating finishes like bluing offer very little in the way of rust protection, depending rather on the frequent application of a rust preventive oil or wax.

Rusting on a blued gun has little to do with quality control and everything to do with maintenance. It is not a warranty issue.

Various salt spray tests on different gun finishes I have read over the years give support to my point of view. One hundred degree salty water sprayed over unprotected blued gun finishes encouraged rust to appear in as little as 30 minutes! Other finishes, such as stainless and chrome lasted 50 to 60 hours with no rust, with nickel lasting a little longer that that. Some of the newer, high-tech finishes may last 100 - 1000 hours or more.

Blued guns just require great amounts of care when used as carry guns. That said, I carry a blued SW1911PD. I wipe it down with CLP on a regular basis and experience no rust. Carrying a blued handgun in a pocket will require even more care, especially if you are one of those with caustic sweat.

Smith and Wesson may not have answered you promptly because they don't know exactly what to say to you and be polite about it. You never know, though, they may even help you out in the name of 'customer relations.'

Now, all that said, I have seen a few RARE samples of rifles where something when wrong with the factory bluing process and rust appeared in a matter of days rather spontaneously even under coats of some of the most reputable rust preventives produced. RARE, but not impossible.

Remember, bluing is nothing but a staining of the metal - not a protective coating.

I've done quite a bit of testing on black oxide finishes which are essentially the same as bluing. Mil spec black ox carries a salt spray (B1117) rating of 100+ hours, but that is when it is dripping with oil. When we tumbled off the excess oil the parts failed before the first 2 hour inspection. With no oil the parts were rusting by the time they arrived from the finisher. By comparison nickel plating gets about 25 hours; zinc plating about 95 hours; chrome about the same as nickel.
If you are going to carry a blued gun close to your body, especially in the summer, then you should plan on wiping it down with an oily rag daily. I don't guarantee a lot of things, but I will guarantee this: If you don't maintain it, it will rust.

I guess this is a fair question: If bluing is such a lousy finish, why do the gun makers use it?

1. It is traditional.
2. It is attractive.
3. It is cheap.
4. It is a penetrating finish.

The last point is crucial. Applied finishes add from 0.0002" to 0.003" to dimensions making precision fitting problematic. Worse, most finishes (excepting electroless nickel and hard chrome) vary in thickness over the surface complicating matters immensely.

Re: the issue of S&W not returning an email my experience has been hit and miss. Sometimes they answer in about a week and other times you never hear from them. Most of my email requests have been about the DOB of something I recently aquired and they usually answer quickly - other times never.

Your issue of rust has been adequately addressed here. Get yourself a silocone cloth and pocket holster (if you don't already have one) and use both. All finishes rust if ignored long enough.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

Blued guns will rust...stainless steel guns will rust too if not cared for. Stainless guns will stand a lot more use and abuse than blued guns though.

Nothing to keep a blued gun from rusting except the owner's diligance in wiping it down.

Well, I was going to reply, but it looks as though this question has already been put to rest.

As has been stated, it may be a quality issue but I don't think this is so much a warranty matter as it is user maintenance.
Carbon steels require more diligent care to prevent rust unless treated or coated with an appropriate process; ie, melonite, armorkote, tennifer, etc.
Blueing, black ox, etc. aren't very good options for corrosion resistance. Hence stainless steels popularity.
Although an improvement IMO, even parkerizing has limitations.

Keeping an actively used ferrous metal, blued steel revolver or pistol free of rust is very difficult. Lots of variables in how you can best protect such firearms, but, in point of fact, the best solution is not to use blued sidearms for "serious" service use. Acquiring a stainless handgun, or putting some chemical or metal coating on the blued sidearm you now own, is your only viable options.

Just wanted to let all you experts know that the gun was covered under warranty

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s&w 686+, s&w 442, m&p pro 9mm

Well, while they may have covered it, I'd say that was more of a good will gesture on S&W's part than a true warranty resolution. Rusting of blued steel is in no way a quality issue. It's simply a fact of life. It doesn't matter the manufacturer, a blued finish on carbon steel is more cosmetic than anything. Always was. Good luck with the new one. But, whatever the cause, I'd say that unless they replaced it with SS parts, and unless you change something about your maintenance habits, it'll end up the same in a similar time frame.

What's your point?

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Jack C

With all due respect, a blued gun will rust overnight if exposed to bad conditions and not properly cared for. In a salt air environment, a wet, humid environment or a seaport, or on a boat, or if exposed to salt water, or if exposed to perspiration, a blued gun can literally rust overnight. On the other hand, if left in a dry, low humidity environment, it can go for a long time with little care.

It has absolutely nothing to do with quality of manufacture. It has to do with blueing, and the fact that a blued finish requires care.

I am sorry to say that firearms rust because of neglect by the owner, not because of quality of manufacture. On the other hand, a blued firearm does not have to rust, if given care equal to the conditions to which it is exposed.

I have seen many revolvers used as holster guns carried out in the open subject to the environment or closer to the sweat and perspiration of the body by detectives for an entire career that have absolutely no rust on them because the officers who carried them actually maintained them.

I am trying to be sincere about this when I say that perhaps you should either plan on appropriate maintenance; or, if you are not able or willing to do more maintenance, then get a revolver, such as the Model 642, which is more forgiving of user neglect because it has stainless steel parts instead of blued carbon steel parts like your Model 442.

If you like your 442, then another option is an aftermarket finish by a reputable company such as Robar or Walter Birdsong's Black-T finish or something similar (not a spray can do-it-yourself) from one of those online companies.

Again, to blame S&W because YOUR revolver rusted in YOUR possession betrays an unfortunate misunderstanding of your role and responsibility in the care of your firearm.

That's right. When I carried blued guns they rusted all the time in the summer if they were up against my skin IWB. I almost will not use a blue gun any more they are such a pain in the butt. The ones I do I don't care if they rust some. You can't prevent it. Rust doesn't really hurt them. They still work fine. It is just part of life.

Bluing (steel) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

My EDC is a M36 Chief's Special, and I can tell you from personal experience that a periodic wipe down with Break-Free CLP goes a long way towards preventing "warranty issues" like the one you described.

Imagine the U.S. Navys' discovery in WWII, that multi million dollar battleships rust!Must be a quality control issued....huh? Nick

Yep. I don't own too many handguns with traditional blued finishes, mainly for this very reason. I do like the look of a blued revolver, but just prefer stainless because I don't like worrying about rust. but I do keep a small microfiber towel lightly soaked in CLP, in a plastic baggie, near by. I try to use it fairly consistently to wipe down my blued guns after use or handling.

Parkerized finishes are the same way for the most part. Dry park will rust pretty quickly too. The only real advantage that is has over bluing is that it forms a very porous crystalline lattice, on the surface of the steel, that allows it to trap and retain the oil that helps block the corrosives.

Great news!

Maybe you'll take care of this one...

Noobs say the funniest things.

I carry a 442 OWB in a Burns Martin style holster but the grip rides against my skin above the waist band. I wipe it down often with a silicone treated cloth and clean and oil it about once a month. The only rust I've gotten is the screw that holds the grip on. Figure I'll just replace it once in a while.

The only thing that's going to rust on a 442 is the cylinder, barrel and screws. And that's assuming you have one of the 442's with the carbon steel cylinder and barrel. You might want to take care of the grip screw as they can be difficult to find.

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Centennial Every Day

I would think holding a maker responsible because a blued gun rusted, is sort of like blaming a bike tire maker when an owner runs over thorns and gets a flat.

My 442 rusts on the crane if I don't keep it wiped down daily with a silicone cloth. I carry in a leather/kydex IWB holster with a back shield that keeps metal from touching skin, but the humidity will often end up as visible drops of moisture on the frame/crane surfaces when I swing the cylinder out. So far the cylinder, thumb piece and screw, and barrel haven't shown any rust spots (but the grip screw isn't doing so well.)

As others have said, it appears to be the nature of the materials.

I have a beautiful Colt Government .380 purchased in 1990, not one bit of rust anywhere, but I do lightly oil it once in awhile then wipe it done. The finish is exactly the same as the day I purchased it.

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Doesn't hasta call me Johnson

I hear ya!

I have to keep my M36-2 wiped down, especially in the summer, or rust will form.



If not for the fact that it's probably the most accurate gun I have I
would strictly be a stainless kinda guy when it comes to carry guns .

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Ogy

It's also a darn "purty" gun....especially with no rust.

What's that "T" mark below the "marcas registradas" ?
Along with the usual holster wear, my EDC model 36 has some knicks in the bluing in the cylinder latch area and with my preferred IWB carry they were quick to develop rust. I touched them up with a little oxpho blue, and now wipe the gun down with WD40 every evening when I un-pack. It's a good idea to take the grips off fairly often & check under there, I've seen photo's of airweights that were horribly corroded under the grips from sweat.

That's optional when having a gun worked by pistolsmith, Teddy Jacobson, Actions by "T".

Not only is that Model 36 accurate, Teddy re-cut the crown, but the action is smooth as silk.

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Ogy

Second that. Stainless is nice, but there's just something classy about a blued firearm, especially when it's cared for properly.



So not only do you have a fine looking Chief's Special, you also have a masterpiece!

If you pocket carry a blued Model 36 without a holster, fall in a creek from time to time, go 72 hours without changing clothes and sweat them through a half-dozen times a day every so often, after 40 years it might look like this.


It is still fine on the inside, though. It is about time for the yearly disassembly, cleaning, and 24 hour diesel fuel soak. I might even replace the springs after 40 years.

Oh, do you reckon S&W would refinish it under warranty?

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Georgia On My Mind

Red. For a sidearm, a true sidearm that actually lives at your side, that is beauty.

Looks like you snapped off the hammer spur on one of those creek falls, and there's some serious moss growing between the grip and the trigger guard.

Why can't S&W build these things better? Right back to the factory -- under warranty -- and if they don't remember selling you the gun forty years ago, customer service has gone down the drain.

You guys are great. I know I would have got in trouble if I said what I wanted to say.... a picture truly is worth a thousand words!!!

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Jack C

Finally got tired of the rusted screw and took a shot. Home Depot has the exact screw in stainless steel; socket drive, button head 8-32 X 3/4". 2 for $1.50.

I had a grip screw rust on a Colt Cobra. I used rust remover and a bronze tooth type brush to get it almost white. Then I heated it really hot and quenched it in oil, presto! A new blue finish-it really works. Hint, do NOT hold the screw in your fingers when you heat it.

So, if you bought a new Mercedes, and then parked it under the local pigeon roost without washing for a week, are you going to make a warranty claim against the manufacturer for "quality issues"?

You have a blued-steel gun. It will rust literally within hours under adverse conditions without regular maintenance. This is not S&W's fault; it's just the way things are and ever have been with blued guns.

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Pisgah

Actually, they are experts despite your impertinent post implying otherwise; Smith & Wesson covered that problem with your gun...maintenance...to show goodwill and further a good relationship with their customers, which one of the experts already noted.

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Ralph J.

You cannot reasonably expect that any item made of steel and continually subected to a moist and salty environment won't rust. Really ?