Revolver Cleaning Question

[ISCS Yoda]

All of the cleaning arguments aside, shooting a gun once, 50 times, or 500, does NOT cause a gun to rust. Iron and steel rust due to moisture, not gunpwder.

The non-technical side is that rust, also called ferrous oxide or iron oxide, occurs when iron or an iron alloy (think steel) is exposed to moisture for a long time, even if it's air dried or put into a safe or a drawer, whatever. The oxygen in the water combines with the iron in the metal as a chemical reaction - it's atoms and atoms that are happy to be together - and the result is iron oxide.

For those of you more technically interested, the process of rusting is actually called oxidation. Fe (iron) and O2 (oxygen) are oppositely charged so they can actively seek each other out and combine chemically. When they combine, the iron loses electrons to oxygen atoms. The product is ferrous oxide. Maybe it's ferric oxide; I am uncertain of the precise name or if it matters. The chemical formula is Fe2O3.

Commonly called rust.

All the cleaning in the world will not prevent rust if you allow moisture to be left on the iron parts of a gun. Wiping a gun down with an oil rag or a silicone impregnated rag before being put away will avoid rusting, regardless of whether you clean the gun or not.

Just as an aside, gun cleaning fanatics are never wrong. You should do it, you're careless and disrespectful if you put your guns away dirty after a hunting season or a range session. On the other hand, if you're not shooting blackpowder or corrosive ammunition, putting your guns away dirty is no big deal. An old cowboy once told me to clean my guns in February and if I forget there is always next February.

 

[Gunner Guy]

(1) Get a safe. Even if you've only the one gun, you can store important documents, cash, and other valuables in it if you really need to justify the cost. It doesn't have to be big, just big enough, and secured so it can't be stolen whole.

(2) Get a small dehumidifier, made for gun safes.

(3) Not to be too harsh, but if the finish on the hammer was the issue, don't you think we'd all have rust on our J-frames?

I have gun safes, I'll look into dehumidifiers I guess. I don't think the lack of finish on the hammer was the only problem, obviously what I did to the gun plus the lack of finish is why it has rust. It's just why doesn't it have finish? I mean there must be a reason.
Subcompacts like the shield, xds etc. Are of similar size to j frames and I'm definitely considering them. Though if what you say about not having to take off the side plate to clean the revolver is true I'd consider sticking with a j frame. Though it seems to me you'd eventually have to clean in there and there are just simpler options.

 

[Gunner Guy]

On the other hand, if you're not shooting blackpowder or corrosive ammunition, putting your guns away dirty is no big deal. An old cowboy once told me to clean my guns in February and if I forget there is always next February.

Was American Eagle 38spl rounds.

 

[BUFF]

Your hammer has a finish, the same finish as on the trigger. It's called "color case hardening." It's the result of heat treatment to give those parts their wear resistance. No, it's not a very corrosion-resistant finish, but lots of guns by many makers used it. Colt Single Action Armies have color case hardened frames, as did many Winchester lever action rifles.

Worse to some folks is that many of the internal parts of a S&W revolver are just plain bare steel.

Bluing, your gun's main finish, is a form of oxidation. Left unattended, it will rust, too. Some folks' skin will make a blued gun rust due to whatever their skin gives off. Most people's perspiration will rust a gun, if not wiped down and given a little bit of oil or something occasionally.

One of my early sergeants, when he found a dry and dirty gun during unannounced inspections, would yell in the deputy's face, "OIL!!! CHEAP!!! DAYS OFF!!! EXPENSIVE!!!"

 

[Redlegvzv]

I bought a 686 that had some rough loving. Plenty of rust on the hammer. Always clean your gun, even if you only fire one round. And your vehicle is both a very bad and irresponsible place to store your gun. Please don't do this!

This. And additionally, a holster is a lousy place to store a gun, whether in the bedroom, gunroom, or a car (and I agree--never store a gun in a car). Holsters attract mosture which leads to rust. Many times I have had friends show me guns that they stored in their gunrooms in holsters whereby rust attacked the gun where it was touching the holster.

 

[retiredbadge8091]

Watch makers used to make a good living cleaning and repairing fine pocket watches and later, wrist watches. Most modern wrist watches are plastic and are simply thrown away and replaced when they stop working. And that's if the individual even bothers to wear a watch now days.

Revolvers are great guns but it does require a certain amount of refinement and dedication to own and care for one. Put away wet, and stuffed in a leather holster will surely lead to rust and deterioration.

Some are just more suited to plastic watches and plastic guns. (Before you start thinking I'm getting all snitty, let me say I own and use Casio watches and GLOCK pistols.)

To answer you question, however, if those who choose revolvers wanted to pay for guns wearing GLOCK like finishes and there were sufficient numbers to purchase them I suppose the gun manufacturers would produce them.

 

[Arc Angel]

Frankly, I don't understand?

Three, recently returned, United States Marine Corps combat veterans taught me how to use, handle, and maintain guns. I started shooting with these men when I was only 9 years of age; I'm presently 73 years old; and, in all this time, (with the exception of only a time or two like when I was shot) none of my fired guns have ever gone for more than 3 days without getting a good cleaning - Never!

I'll frequently clean a gun BEFORE I leave the range - Especially if it happens to be a carry piece! In recent years I've sold off many of my older guns. Every one of them went for a very good price; so, the condition of these firearms spoke for itself! I've still got 40 + year old guns in the safe, right now, that I KNOW would also sell for top dollar if I were to put them up for sale. (They're not just clean; they're immaculate and carefully preserved against things like rust and fingerprint damage.)

I was always taught that the condition of my weapon, along with my acquired ability to use it well could make the difference between me either living, or dying. Maybe I take things too seriously; but, then again, maybe I'm something of a, 'dirt magnet' too. Throughout my long life none of the armed confrontations that I've been involved in were anticipated - None!

All of a sudden I simply found myself smack in the middle of a potentially deadly situation that, somehow, I'd managed to blithely walk into like, 'Ferdinand, the flower-sniffing bull'. (Which is NOT to say that I wasn't paying attention. I'm still here; so I must have, at the very least, been paying attention!)

Guess that I just don't get it? On occasion I've had close to 50 guns in the house - Every one of them immaculate and in perfect working order! Then again, I'm older now than I ever was before; and, truly, I just don't get what's going on in America today? Perhaps dirty guns, like dirty politics and declining public morality, are becoming America's new national norms; I really don't know?

 

[arjay]

No feelings hurt here. I'm fully aware I should have cleaned it, wasn't aware it would hurt the gun to keep it in a holster though. As I said I absolutely clean my guns well now so the lecture isn't really necessary. I guess what I can take away from this is I'm not a revolver guy because my glock seems to have held up superbly under bad circumstances as well.

It wasn't so much that it was dirty,it was the temp changes in the car that caused the rust.When the steel is cooler than the air temp,moisture condenses on it.
Also,it only takes a second to smash a side window in a vehicle and ten more to rifle through everything in there.Thieves work that fast.

 

[Gunner Guy]

Frankly, I don't understand?

Three, recently returned, United States Marine Corps combat veterans taught me how to use, handle, and maintain guns. I started shooting with these men when I was only 9 years of age; I'm presently 73 years old

Yeah that right there, that's why you don't understand. That's wonderful that three combat veterans taught you how to handle and maintain guns from such a young age. You were literally raised on guns it sounds like! That's awesome. My grandad was also a Marine who served in the Korean War, unfortunately he died when I was very young and was unable to pass on such knowledge to me. I've had to pick things up bit by bit as I go. This isn't some instance of me having no morals, being abusive (haha like I'm hitting my wife or something sheesh), or being disrespectful (I paid for the gun and this is America.) This is just a simple boneheaded move, learn from your mistakes kind of a situation. To hear some of you talk it's like you've never made a mistake in your life.
To all those who passed on some useful information and opinions I truly thank you, you have given me some things to think about.

 

[Gunner Guy]

It wasn't so much that it was dirty,it was the temp changes in the car that caused the rust.When the steel is cooler than the air temp,moisture condenses on it.
Also,it only takes a second to smash a side window in a vehicle and ten more to rifle through everything in there.Thieves work that fast.

Yeah definitely seems like it's the humidity and heat that did it. I live in a nice neighborhood with a garage and the gun is in a nifty little biometric safe and I don't leave it in there when I'm parked elsewhere (it's in my pocket at that point.) At this point I'll probably just lug it inside and do overnight etc storage in my safe inside that I'll probably get the dehumidifier for as Wise_A suggested.

 

[4011]

What model,J frame is yours. A small Blem ain't all that bad. These guys would faint if they saw my model 38 exterior condition. I sweat and Texas is hot these days. But if you carry it it's gonna look a bit carried. This is just my opinion!

 

[Arc Angel]

Yeah that right there, that's why you don't understand. That's wonderful that three combat veterans taught you how to handle and maintain guns from such a young age. You were literally raised on guns it sounds like! That's awesome. My grandad was also a Marine who served in the Korean War, unfortunately he died when I was very young and was unable to pass on such knowledge to me. I've had to pick things up bit by bit as I go. This isn't some instance of me having no morals, being abusive (haha like I'm hitting my wife or something sheesh), or being disrespectful (I paid for the gun and this is America.) This is just a simple boneheaded move, learn from your mistakes kind of a situation. To hear some of you talk it's like you've never made a mistake in your life.
To all those who passed on some useful information and opinions I truly thank you, you have given me some things to think about.

Oh, wow! I think you took my reply much too personally.

Next time wait until I preface a remark with something like, 'Hey, Gunner Guy, .......' before you just let yourself go like that. I, also, agree with you: This IS America; and, within reason, you can do whatever you like with either your wife, or your gun.

(By the way, a lot - but not all - rust will also polish out with something like toothpaste and a felt pad, or 0000 steel wool and oil.)

 

[Gunner Guy]

Oh, wow! I think you took my reply much too personally.

Next time wait until I preface a remark with something like, 'Hey, Gunner Guy, .......' before you just let yourself go like that. I, also, agree with you: This IS America; and, within reason, you can do whatever you like with either your wife, or your gun.

(By the way, a lot - but not all - rust will also polish out with something like toothpaste and a felt pad, or 0000 steel wool and oil.)

Sorry bud the way I wrote that does seem far more anti Arc Angel than it was intended to be. The latter half was referring to multiple posts further up I didn't use multi quote cause I'm on a phone. Thanks for the tip about rust removal.

 

[Gunner Guy]

What model,J frame is yours. A small Blem ain't all that bad. These guys would faint if they saw my model 38 exterior condition. I sweat and Texas is hot these days. But if you carry it it's gonna look a bit carried. This is just my opinion!

It's a 637 it was kind of an impulse buy. I got off work one summer day, had just gotten paid and decided I needed to go get something smaller for a more comfortable carry option in the heat without delay. It's a good little gun but if I had put the research into it that I do now I wouldn't have bought it. At this point if I was trading it I'd go with an xds, shield, or maybe a internal hammer revolver chambered for 357 magnum. Although I've heard it said that the extra "power" of the 357 mag is mostly wasted in a 2 inch barrel. I don't know if that's entirely true or not.

 

[BUFF]

Regardless of barrel length, a .357 Mag round will be faster than a .38 Special round with the same weight bullet. A 2 inch barrel .357 is generally always slower than a 6 inch .357. Short barrels always rob you of velocity, no matter what the cartridge. .357 Magnums are just too hard kicking in small, aluminum frame revolvers for me and many others. Shoot one before purchase if you can.

Your 637 is an excellent compromise for what you bought it to be, lightweight pocket carry.

 

[susieqz]

this stuff about leather holsters is for humid areas, right?
my guns live in their leather holsters here on the high plains.
after cleaning, i remove as much oil as i can because they run better.
little oil protection.
but, no rust either.

 

[BUFF]

Suzieqz, some folks believe that the blue gets removed by contact with the leather and the resulting friction, sort of like really fine sandpaper. Others believe it's the result of the chemicals used to tan the leather. Humidity might also be a factor, but I have seen guns with the blue wear that have sat in holsters here in Utah, where we don't have humidity. My WAG is that it may be a combination of all of them.

 

[Arc Angel]

Sorry bud the way I wrote that does seem far more anti Arc Angel than it was intended to be. The latter half was referring to multiple posts further up I didn't use multi quote cause I'm on a phone. Thanks for the tip about rust removal.

'Anti Arc Angel' Now, that's one I haven't seen before! (Would that be like, say, the 'Anti Christ'?)

Listen, I got 'a tip for ya! One that I think you can use: Years ago - and, other than hand oil, I have no idea how - I got several small rust spots on the hammer of an older S&W Model 27. I tried polishing it out; but, in strong light, I could still see them.

So, I took the gun to a well-known gunsmith, told him that it was one of my favorite pieces, and asked him for help. Know what he did? He jeweled the hammer! It came out beautiful; and the rust was completely gone. Cost me less than $65.00, too!

I still have this S&W Model 27. Austin Behlert, 'glass-beaded' the action; and it's been plated with SS Armoloy. It's a nice 'n tight, well-timed, and beautiful revolver that I have absolutely no desire to sell. The jeweled hammer not only solved a problem that never should have happened; but it, also, restored the (nearly) pristine condition of a truly fine gun!

 

[Gunner Guy]

Regardless of barrel length, a .357 Mag round will be faster than a .38 Special round with the same weight bullet. A 2 inch barrel .357 is generally always slower than a 6 inch .357. Short barrels always rob you of velocity, no matter what the cartridge. .357 Magnums are just too hard kicking in small, aluminum frame revolvers for me and many others. Shoot one before purchase if you can.

Your 637 is an excellent compromise for what you bought it to be, lightweight pocket carry.

Yeah I'd definitely shoot a short barrel 357 mag before getting one and if I did I'd get an all stainless model like the model 640, Ruger sp101, or dare I say it? Kimber K6s.
Only recently discovered the k6s and I have to say it looks like it might be the gun for me. One huge problem of course is as we all know Kimber quality control is kind of garbage lately. I mean the solo debacle is unnerving to say the least, but as this is their first revolver I'm rather reluctant to be one of the first people to buy one.
The lightweight 637 has a good bit of recoil because it's so light and I really wouldn't mind an all stainless revolver's increased weight since that means less felt recoil. Even if I only shoot 38 +P. If 357 mag is truly "worth" the extra recoil I could see my self training with the hotter loads in a snub nose.

 

[Gunner Guy]

'Anti Arc Angel' Now, that's one I haven't seen before! (Would that be like, say, the 'Anti Christ'?)

Listen, I got 'a tip for ya! One that I think you can use: Years ago - and, other than hand oil, I have no idea how - I got several small rust spots on the hammer of an older S&W Model 27. I tried polishing it out; but, in strong light, I could still see them.

So, I took the gun to a well-known gunsmith, told him that it was one of my favorite pieces, and asked him for help. Know what he did? He jeweled the hammer! It came out beautiful; and the rust was completely gone. Cost me less than $65.00, too!

I still have this S&W Model 27. Austin Behlert, 'glass-beaded' the action; and it's been plated with SS Armoloy. It's a nice 'n tight, well-timed, and beautiful revolver that I have absolutely no desire to sell. The jeweled hammer not only solved a problem that never should have happened; but it, also, restored the (nearly) pristine condition of a truly fine gun!

Interesting solution. For me I think internal hammer is the way to go. Sounds like a gorgeous revolver though.