bluing on a revolver a hassle?

tmtyler24

tmtyler24

Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2014
Messages
14
Reaction score
7
Location
illinois
I'm trying to decide between a 586 and 686 and i love to 586 more than the 686 on looks but i feel like the bluing on the 586 will be a hassle to keep clean and i will have worry about nicking it or brushing off the bluing went i clean it? i don't want to have to worry about most of these.:o
 
Register to hide this ad
Bluing is tougher than you think. It doesn't just brush off. Check out blued guns that have decades of daily use, they still retain at least 50% of their bluing. I wouldn't worry about it unless you plan to wipe your gun 5 times a day with some serious elbow grease

Stainless gets scratched too and also eventually looses it's shine.

Keeping the outside clean is the same for all guns.

Also what's the point of it? Shoot or collect?
 
Last edited:
I had blued revolvers for years. I used the suede lined holsters so the blueing never wore off. I do like stainless for carry sometimes. You can buff stainless with the Simi chrome polish. You save the used Simi chrome polish to buff the blue finishes when they get dull.

I had a teacher in grammar school that was so old she taught both my parents too.
She was like 70 years old when she taught me. She was a fire cracker for an old gal
She also had wisdom. She said never put all your eggs in one basket. She meant spread your money around with different investments.
I translate it to don't buy just one finish in guns buy all the others too don't limit ourselves.
 
Last edited:
thing is i kind of like cleaning my gun but it don't want to jack up the nice bluing for example like the carbon build up on the front of the cylinder if i brush it to hard will it take some of the bluing off? i haven't owned any blued revolver but i have shot one and i loved the way it looked in person.
 
Blued guns are a thing of beauty,especially when accompanied by a set of Finley figured wood stocks. Half the joy of owning one is the caring for one.Stainless is no doubt more durable, but lacks the personay of its blued brother.Just keep it cleaned and oiled and enjoy many years with that finish.
 
tmtyler24 said:
thing is i kind of like cleaning my gun but it don't want to jack up the nice bluing for example like the carbon build up on the front of the cylinder if i brush it to hard will it take some of the bluing off? i haven't owned any blued revolver but i have shot one and i loved the way it looked in person.
Click to expand...

Wax the cylinder face, most of the residue will easily wipe off after shooting
 
It's not hard to keep a blued gun minty looking if it's not holstered and carried a lot. A hard case and careful cleaning is all you need. Personally, I don't mind the looks of a blued working gun with a worn finish as long as it was well cared for. They have a look and feel that a stainless version will never have.
 
The stainless is a more practical finish. If it will see holster carry, I would go with that.

If it will be just a range gun then the blue is fine. I had a number of S&W with the presentation case in blue. They never saw a holster and the blue held up fine. I always used the case for transport to the range.
 
Last edited:
We all carried blued revolvers early in our career and they required a lot of upkeep to keep the rust off, carried out in all sorts of weather. When they were replaced w/stainless life got a bit easier.
 
actually I prefer the old USGI parkerized finish on a carry pistol/duty pistol, it takes very little maintenance & lasts forever. It's not as pretty....... as nice bluing, but is den sure hardier........
 
tmtyler24 said:
. . . but i feel like the bluing on the 586 will be a hassle to keep clean and i will have worry about nicking it or brushing off the bluing went i clean it?
Click to expand...

Bluing does not "brush off."

Using PROPER cleaning equipment and solvents and oils, bluing will not be harmed.

Bluing is harmed through the use of an abrasive, which has no place in gun cleaning.

Use Hoppes No. 9 solvent, Break Free CLP lube, a brass bristle brush inside the bore and each charge hole, and a nylon type of tooth brush (preferably not the one you use on your teeth) for surfaces such as cylinder face, under the ejector star, in the cylinder window, around the barrel shank, etc., and you will not have any trouble.

A revolver with some bluing missing around the edges, but otherwise fine implies honest use and proper care. It is not a museum piece (presumably).

General Patton's Registered Magnum IS a museum piece. You should see the finish on that revolver! :)
 
I have a model 15-2 that was in pretty sad shape from the time I got it (back in the late 70's). It was involved in a suicide and I figure the blood maybe damaged the bluing in various places on the gun. So I tried rebluing it when I was back in high school, but failed miserably. I had to take it to a gunsmith in a nearby town to have it reblued. I got the gun back and was never happy with the bluing that I had paid for. The barrel was a brownish tint and it had buff marks that looked like tigerstriping. I ended up letting a buddy try to duracoat it, and that was a big mistake. Some would say a crime, and looking back I have to agree with them. Anyway I had it media blasted and all the duracoating removed. I sanded and polished and then cold blued it using Birchwood Casey Super Blue. It turned out pretty good for all that it's been through, and actually looks better than it ever has. I am not opposed to honest holster wear but mine was more than that. I have 32 bucks wrapped up in getting a decent bluing back on it.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    50.7 KB · Views: 64
yeah i don't plan on carrying it at all, it will a range gun and my babied gun :D . its the gun i will take excellent care of and hope to pass it down from generations i love bluing and wood
 
Our son bought a like-new 4" Model 19-4 from a friend and I cleaned the cylinder face with a toothbrush and Iosso GunBrite polish. Just that one cleaning thinned the bluing a little.

If you ever have a gun reblued, be sure to look at some of the shop's previous work. My father left me a Colt Official Police revolver that had been given to him by the Pennsylvania State Police armorer. I made a poor decision 20 years or so ago and had it reblued.

It was done by a well-established shop with a good reputation but it came back in matte blue instead of its original gloss blue. The shop owner told me that the only way to get a glossy finish is to polish the metal and that doing so would wear the rollmarkings shallow and round the edges. Yes, gloss finishes come from shiny metal but I've come to learn that a gloss finish can be restored if done properly. Unfortunately, when I found someone who could restore my father's old gun correctly, he was afraid that removing the second blue finish might cause some of that damage.

I tell that story as a caution to owners of blued guns thinking about having them restored. My son is wisely keeping his Model 19 as a safe queen for it has S&W's old deep glossy bluing without a mark on it and has every factory production option - target hammer, target trigger, checkered target stocks, trigger stop and red ramp/white outline sights. We have plenty of stainless steel Model 66s to shoot.

Ed
 
tmtyler24 said:
yeah i don't plan on carrying it at all, it will a range gun and my babied gun :D . its the gun i will take excellent care of and hope to pass it down from generations i love bluing and wood
Click to expand...
You should not ever (well maybe in three lifetimes!) hurt the finish by wiping down the weapon with a lightly oiled, clean cloth, which is all it needs. Get yourself an M16 toothbrush (or two) for scrubbing cylinder face, nooks & crannies and you should be all set (along with your basic cleaning kit.) Oh yes...and avoid the stainless brushes...far too aggressive on a blued gun.
Enjoy that 586!
Jim
 
Last edited:
As for the scorch marks on the cylinder face, I don't consider them anything to worry about.

Just wipe the cylinder face gently to get any built up crud off, and then don't worry about it.

The black scorch marks don't show up much on blue guns anyway. They look worse on stainless guns.

Just don't use a lead away cloth on a blue gun, because it is reputed to take the blue off.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

4
586 L Comp
Replies
3
Views
540
madmikeb
madmikeb
T
1st Time S&W Buyer 686 Plus or 586 L Comp
2
Replies
21
Views
3K
71vette
7
SE31193
Hello from Tucson, AZ
2 3
Replies
52
Views
1K
Roofuss
R
T
Re-Bluing a Model 13 Cylinder
Replies
9
Views
321
T112-4
T112-4
N
New to me SW 686-4 with 6 inch tube.
Replies
4
Views
180
biku324
biku324

Latest posts

Back
Top