Cylinder on Pre-27 (1955) finish loss due to heat?

[THREEDFLYER]

One of my pre-27's that I acquired from a friend has a near perfect finish with very bright blue EXCEPT on the cylinder......the finish appears to have slightly faded and my friend suspects it could have been from the heat of firing full house factory loads during his qualifying days on the PD.

They had to fire multiple rounds in quick successions at times.

The barrel, forcing cone, etc look perfect, just some fading on the cylinder.

Curious if others have had this happen??

 

[Pizza Bob]

Or perhaps using ammoniated cleaners on the exterior, such as Hoppe's #9. Smith warns against this in the "manual" that comes with the guns. Not sure if this affected the type of bluing used on this gun, but will on the currently manufactured blued guns.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

 

[THREEDFLYER]

Or perhaps using ammoniated cleaners on the exterior, such as Hoppe's #9. Smith warns against this in the "manual" that comes with the guns. Not sure if this affected the type of bluing used on this gun, but will on the currently manufactured blued guns.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

I know Hoppe's #9 will do harm to nickel guns, but have never hear of this being an issue on blue.....at least not on S&W's

That said, you would think the finish would be faded on the rest of the gun if it was cleaned with the stuff.

 

[delta-419]

Cylinder Finish

I have noticed that the finish on some of my S&W revolvers, that have never been refinished, have a faded purple coloration. I have a "new in the box" 1903 that has a spot where the finish has "peeled". Maybe it was exposed to chemicals during storage.???

 

[Fullmetaljacket]

I've read a few things on this topic over the years. The consensus seems to be the steel alloy and / or heat treating of the cylinder is or was slightly different that the frame, yoke, sideplate, etc. The bluing ages a little differently than the rest of the gun hence the slight color difference. I had a late '50's 4-screw pre-29 with a slightly plum / purplish cast to the cylinder as compared to the rest of the parts. I don't recall the specific time frame that this condition supposedly occurred but the ones I've noticed all seemed to be '50's and early 60's? I don't think it's a result of heating from rapid fire or any particular chemical cleaner. My .02 worth.

 

[Hair Trigger]

One of my pre-27's that I acquired from a friend has a near perfect finish with very bright blue EXCEPT on the cylinder......the finish appears to have slightly faded and my friend suspects it could have been from the heat of firing full house factory loads during his qualifying days on the PD.

They had to fire multiple rounds in quick successions at times.

The barrel, forcing cone, etc look perfect, just some fading on the cylinder.

Curious if others have had this happen??

I've don't pay much attention to it, but I've never really noticed the cylinder being substantially hotter than the barrel after a few quick cylinder reloads. The barrel gets as much hot gas down it as the chambers do; more, really. I'd also think that some sort of cleaning solution would affect the entire gun, since you usually clean everything and not just the cylinder.

I think in this case it may be that the bluing process on the cylinder wasn't as well done as on the frame and barrel, maybe inadequate metal preparation or not enough time in the bath.

 

[gunbarrel]

Hoppe's No. 9 bore cleaner does not contain ammonia. See attached MSDS. However, like a lot of other people back then, 45-50 years ago I used WD-40 on my Remington 1100. It damaged the blueing on the shotgun. Ask him if he used WD-40 on the revolver.

 

[THREEDFLYER]

The cylinder is definetely NOT a plum/purple color, it just looks like the finish is thin/faded from the rest of the gun. The barrel looks perfect as does the rest of the frame, etc.

 

[Pisgah]

Wow! A treasure trove of mythology and erroneous folklore, all in one thread! Outstanding...

 

[stansdds]

Or perhaps using ammoniated cleaners on the exterior, such as Hoppe's #9. Smith warns against this in the "manual" that comes with the guns. Not sure if this affected the type of bluing used on this gun, but will on the currently manufactured blued guns.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

I know Hoppe's #9 will do harm to nickel guns, but have never hear of this being an issue on blue.....at least not on S&W's

That said, you would think the finish would be faded on the rest of the gun if it was cleaned with the stuff.

The warning about ammonia and blued finishes applies to the modern S&W black oxide (blue) finish, which S&W switched to around year 2000.

 

[THREEDFLYER]

On the plus side....the "COKES" on this one are in fantastic shape with a gorgeous grain!

My other 6.5" Pre-27 that shipped in 1956 shows NO issues with the finish but I have no idea of it's history or how much use/cleaning it has seen.

 

[handejector]

The edges on the flutes look a bit "soft" to me. Is the cylinder reblued?

 

[RKmesa]

The cylinder is definetely NOT a plum/purple color, it just looks like the finish is thin/faded from the rest of the gun. The barrel looks perfect as does the rest of the frame, etc.

Tom:

It looks to me like the cylinder has been "cleaned" and polished repeatedly with a "mild" abrasive like Flitz or Mothers, especially since it looks like the worst thinning is on all of the edges. Both Flitz, Mothers and other abrasive cleaners (bore cleaners as well) do get the carbon off of the cylinder, but with the side effect of thinning the blue.

It also looks similar to this Model 19 that has been refinished at least once... maybe more...





... it gets shot often.

My thoughts,

 

[THREEDFLYER]

The previous owner, who is a long time SWCA member, tells me that he purchased this one back in the 1980's and while in his possesion did not use anything abrasive to clean the cylinder.

But the previous owner certainly may have done so.

Not a big deal, I plan to shoot this one and enjoy it regardless.

 

[MSD2343]

Not a big deal, I plan to shoot this one and enjoy it regardless.

Excellent strategy, sir.

 

[TheHobbyist]

No big deal, it's been used and the minor difference is from actually using the revolver...nothing is wrong or of concern. Enjoy.