Stainless steel vs. blueing - advantages/disadvantages of each? Please help. Thanks

[ColoradoGlockMan]

Title says it all please give me your best advice and issues to think about. I like the way both look so that's a wash for me. Thanks!

 

[Laketime]

There is nothing prettier in a lot of people's opinion than a nicely blued revolver with handsome wood stocks.Stainless is great for a worry free revolver.

 

[DR505]

I like them both...prefer blued for looks, but like stainless for durability of the finish (holster wear, wet weather, etc.). I don't care for nickel guns.

 

[Ashlander]

If you're buying an old beat up cop trade in, stainless is the way to go. You can clean them up in a number of ways (even bead blast) at very limited expense and end up with a great looking gun.

 

[jrm53]

I like both, blue is classier, stainless will only get shinner with use, blue will wear thru around the muzzel if carried in a holster I dont think you could go wrong either way, my solution, get one of each. Jeff

 

[klausinak]

If looks are not an issue, I'd say go stainless every time. I pretty much agree with everything posted so far, with the addition that stainless is not rust-less, it can & will corrode , it just happens a lot slower. Now when it comes to looks, then blued is much nicer IMO.

Just my .02

-Klaus

 

[BigBill]

Doesn't stainless get boring? I did prefer stainless on my ccw and hunting revolvers. Blue is cool, stainless is better but nickel is freaking awesome.
Plus there are less manufactured in nickel finish too.
I've seen stainless have surface finish problems with in the pants holsters in the hot humid summer. Stainless isn't so tough.

If you use a top brand quality leather holster thats suede lined on the inside your blued gun won't wear.

 

[loeman]

Pretty much agree with all that has been said so far. I especially agree with BigBill that "nickel is awesome". However, kind of a basic rule of thumb would be to get stainless for all your heavy users and get blued for your casual shooters and safe queens. However, that doesn't mean that a stainless can't be a queen too. And don't forget "Nickel is Awesome"!

 

[GtownGeorge]

If the gun is well maintained then there is no real functional difference between the two. If it's going into a holster then the blue will show some wear. But.... showing some wear is not really a bad thing. JMHO

 

[SJshooter]

The difference is in finish and the work needed to maintain a perfect looking gun, if that's your thing.

Stainless guns clean up super easy - scratches can be buffed out, the steel can be polished by hand to a high shine, and you can use a few solvents/materials that might damage the bluing on a blue gun.

Now, I can clean up my blued guns to look good as new, but it takes a bit longer, a bit more elbow grease, and they need to be kept oiled down and free of fingerprints (a fingerprint on a blued gun left alone can leave a mark that can be hard to remove).

I love blue guns. They are so gorgeous. But often when I go to the range, I will more often leave the blued ones at home and take the stainless ones to shoot. Mentally I just think, "well, I can shoot them to death and them scrub them as hard as I want," but really it isn't too much harder to clean the blued ones. I also have some blued guns that I will carry, and some that I do not want to damage their pristine finish by holstering/unholstering into a tight leather pancake.

 

[TAROMAN]

I like both, blue is classier, stainless will only get shinner with use, blue will wear thru around the muzzel if carried in a holster I dont think you could go wrong either way, my solution, get one of each. Jeff

What Jeff said! ^^^^^

 

[mg357]

Blued finished guns require much more cleaning because the finish is prone to rusting if its not cared for properly.

Stainless steel does require regular and proper maintenance as well but it can stand up to rust much better

Than a blued finished or nickel finished gun.

 

[Rocket3]

SS vs Blue: Do what I do and have both. I’m probably in the minority but my preference is exactly 50-50. If it’s your first look for one that has been well kept with low miles. Blue or SS. #2 will need to be the other.

 

[BSA1]

Blacken stainless steel such as SIG uses.

 

[BigBill]

They teach here at the ccw course that a shiney gun with a big bore scares the bad guy more because he can see the weapon in the dark better.

I have a mix of all three blue, stainless and that freaking awesome nickel. The world famous S&W nickel finish that is.

 

[BigBill]

They teach here at the ccw course that a shiney gun with a big bore scares the bad guy more because he can see the weapon in the dark better.

I have a mix of all three blue, stainless and that freaking awesome nickel. The world famous S&W nickel finish that is.

That s&w nickel is so dang Purdy.

 

[357-RevolverGuy]

I find advantages to both. My first revolver was a stainless model 67. The finish is easy to maintain and less prone to wear. I like that you can polish up stainless to a mirror finish if you choose to do so, or create a matte finish by bead blasting. It's versatile and looks great in rosewood or with even the more modern laminate woods.

Now when you talk about blued guns, what comes to mind are the revolvers from before the mid 1980s. S&W has gotten lazy with bluing after those years and a lot of what passes for blued these days is really just a matte blued finish (like the model 442). The blued revolvers I like have a glossy finish that when oiled up looks like they were dipped in molten lava. The finish is far more beautiful than stainless and under different lighting conditions you can appreciate it even more. Blued guns belong with wood grips, no question.

Something which I don't think has been mentioned is that blued guns were also somewhat easier to conceal under the shadow of night. They also don't have the glare that sometimes gets in the way of the topstrap when shooting a stainless on a bright sunny day.

 

[RussellD]

Just a shame that S&W never produced guns in hard chrome. I like the surface prep of the older blue steel guns and the durability of the stainless guns.

 

[DR505]

That s&w nickel is so dang Purdy.

I'm of the school, "Lose that nickel plated sissy-pistol..."

I just never took a "shine" to nickel.

 

[CoMF]

I own both. Stainless is a little more tolerant of neglect than blued, but I actually like the well worn patina of an oft-carried blued revolver!

A periodic wipe down with Break-Free CLP has kept my EDC M36 rust free for the entire time I've owned and carried it.