About Gun Finishes:
Picking out a new gun is a complicated chore. You have caliber, style, size, features, etc. I’ve talked about these subjects before. However, I’ve never really talked about an important aspect of the selection process… The finish. It’s actually an important factor in the gun’s functionality. There are a number of finish options to choose from. Each one has it’s advantages and disadvantages beyond appearance. Stainless, Blued, Nickel, Parkerized, Chrome, Coated… There are more options coming out every time you turn around. Really the question lays with you and how, when and where you are going to be using the firearm. Also, your hygiene. How and how often clean the weapon… Not personal. If you are a slob and really don’t want care about the gun all that much, then blued is not the finish for you and you might want a Stainless or Coated gun. Lets not make any choices just yet. Instead, let’s look at each finish and see what they have to offer.
Blued: This is probably the oldest finish to be found on a gun. Some even say it’s the most attractive finish. What this finish really is, is a carefully controlled oxidation of the surface of the metal. Salts and other chemicals are used to “blue” the gun. Mostly the results are a blackened finish and not actually the color blue by any means… There are two ways of doing this, hot and cold. Professional grade bluing uses the hot methods as it’s a more effective method and cold Bluing is something you can actually do a home to touch up a warn blued finish. The biggest downside to blued is that it offers very little in terms of corrosion protection. The blued finishes that are highly polished are better for that as there is less surface imperfection for moisture to adhere to and take root. This is why you must always wipe a blued gun down with an oil to displace moisture and O2 and provide a barrier against the same. I’ve seen neglected blued guns rust completely on a humidVirginian summer night. It also offers little abrasion protection. Old duty guns with blued finishes often look like hell. With scratches and areas where the finish is worn down to the bare metal.. But then again there is a certain nobility in the worn looking gun that I cannot explain. If the gun is free of corrosion and operates smoothly… The wear can be a sign that the owner has been there and done that with this dependable sidearm. You can always tell the new GI’s from a distance… The are the ones wearing the BDU’s that look like they just came out of the packet. Same thing with a blued gun, really. This is why a blued gun can still be considered in good condition with only 60% of it’s finish left. But that’s another article for another day.
Stainless isn’t really a finish… It’s the material. Stainless Steel. Similar to what you might have in your knife drawer in your kitchen. To understand Stainless, you need to understand Steel. I’m going to over simplify this, so if your a closet metallurgist , please don’t be offended. Steel is a mixture of iron and carbon. The carbon hardens the iron and makes it stronger. There are other elements in there but like I said, I’m wanting simplicity here. The Vikings may have first discovered steel. They had swords that were often called snake blades because of the waves of the lines in the blades… These came about when they hammered the iron blade over coals during the swords forging. This introduced carbon into the metal, transforming some of the iron into steel. Well, today’s steels are a lot more complicated. Stainless is actually an alloy of steel that is given a higher concentration of chromium. Stainless steel is good looking and will easily stay that way longer than
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