The best finish for a revolver

[Folterung]

Alright, I know I ask a lot of questions, I think 95% of my posts are questions, but here it is.........

What is the best finish, as far as protection and longevity for a revolver? I don't understand why S & W have most of their revolvers in stainless steel. Is it that much better than blued?

I like the new Nightguard series in the matte black finish. Does anyone have experience in how it compares to a regular blued or stainless steel job?

Thanks for answering my endless questions!

 

[kennyb]

i haven't had a problem with the finish on any of my smiths...they range in age from a nickel finished 115 year old 32 cal.lemonsqueezer....to a number of new stainless ones and a number in between,if a blued gun is in and out of a holster a LOT...yes...you can get some holster wear usually at the barrel tip or high point of the cylinder...i have carried blued/stainless/etc.for a lot of years daily...any gun,any finish is subject to some wear like any other tool...clean it after you shoot...wipe it down frequently and yours will be fine!
keep asking questions...great folks here...they dont mind...

 

[GatorFarmer]

Best for actual carry and use? Stainless with some sort of aftermarket finish put over top of that. You'd end up with something like the darkened stainless slide on a P229, ugly, but durable and corrosion resistant.

Blued guns will rust if not cared for, sweated on, rained on, etc. It also wears off. Nickel... well people tend to use Hoppes on it (since it is so readily available) and ruin their finish.

 

[Geno67]

Any finish will work okay as long as you keep it maintained as it should be. Stainless is very corrosion resistant but almost every stainless piece has some carbon steel parts in it that will rust in short order if left dry and exposed to moisture, sweat or salt.

Keep it clean, keep some oil on it and pick the one you like to look at the most.

 

[jkc]

It's hard to beat stainless steel --- it's rust and corrosion resistant, almost maintenance free in terms of protective requirements. SS is a bit heavier than carbon steel, often a good thing in terms of recoil reduction. In my experience, almost every anodized aluminum finish is poor, exhibiting holster wear, scratches, corrosion, etc., after limited EDC use.
SS is good, probably best for most major gun components.

 

[afriqueart]

Kinda like asking: "What's the best ice cream; Vanilla or Chocolate?"

 

[SleazyRider]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but stainless steel is not a "finish," per se, but a different type of steel altogether. This puts it into an entirely different category than bluing or browning, which is, essentially, an oxidation process; or plating, be it nickel, chromium, or gold, which is a thin layer of metal bonded to a parent metal. One might say that the stainless steel gun actually has no finish, other than a polishing job. I'd appreciate your corrections if I'm wrong on this.

There's nothing prettier than a highly polished deep blued barrel with walnut grips in my aesthetic judgement, but they require a bit more care than the stainless. I usually mist a small amount of WD-40 on a soft cotton diaper and wipe down the gun each and every time I handle it (with clean hands), then I put it back in its case without touching it. Some of my oldest and most used firearms look like they're still new in the box. (For lubrication however, I use RemOil.) I enjoy caring for my firearms almost as much as I do using them.

 

[gunlovingirl]

I've always preferred blued guns. But since I bought my Mod 60 for carry, I'm coming around more to stainless. I still love the looks of blued, but I also think stainless is hard to beat for carry and maintenance. As others have said, get what you prefer. Take care of it like it deserves to be taken care of, and it'll outlast you!

 

[safearm]

When I was a working as a patrol officer in northern Illinois, I found the best finish for a duty weapon to be Armoloy. It had a matte gray finish, not unlike stainless steel, and was extremely durable. It cleaned easily after being fired, and I never worried about rust or corrosion.
There are newer finishes, I've used Black T on a Browning Hi-Power, and it was just as good, maybe even better, as Armoloy.

 

[LLN]

--Hard Chrome--

 

[fyimo]

I've always preferred blued guns. But since I bought my Mod 60 for carry, I'm coming around more to stainless. I still love the looks of blued, but I also think stainless is hard to beat for carry and maintenance. As others have said, get what you prefer. Take care of it like it deserves to be taken care of, and it'll outlast you!

gunlovingirl
+1 on your comments.

I prefer Stainless guns for those that I carry or shoot a lot for the ease of cleaning and maintenance. I love the look of blued guns and my favorite guns in pristine condition are nickel plated guns. I bought a nickel 27-2 with 6 inch barrel in mint shape and after cleaning and waxing it I was in love and have since bought several nickel plated guns.

 

[sipowicz]

I like paisley.

 

[Smitty500Mag]

For a carry gun stainless steel is the only way to go if you want to have a gun that continues to look like new. I can take a stainless steel gun that's been carried by a police officer for many years and buff the scratches out and make it look new again in about 15 minutes on a buffing wheel along with a new set of grips. Only thing that takes a lot of time is getting the donut powder out of the cylender.

Smitty

This is the last police trade-in that I brought back from the dead. A Model 66-2.

 

[S/W - Lifer]

Armoloy, which is a hard chrome impregnation of the firearms surface. I like it better than stainless for durability.

 

[Crazy K38]

stainless is corrosion resistant but if you carry it in a good holster you really won't get much wear at all, I have a LNIB 638-3 that was pocket carried daily for 2 years and NO wear at all

 

[GatorFarmer]

I like paisley.

Call Duracoat, they can probably take care of it for you. Black watch plaid would be more manly though.

 

[judge]

For looks, hi-gloss blue. For wear, you can't beat stainless - no finish to worry about. +1 on the Armoloy recommendation - one of the very best.