I do a lot of Hunting in the rain or a light drizzle - as long as the Lightning isn't popping. And I Hunt a lot when the Temperature is high(92-102deg), coupled with a lot of Humidity(90-100%RH) which apparently causes me to sweat a LOT of Salt. Due to those conditions, Blue Steel tends to come down with the dreaded Brown Measles. That has the potential to give the impression I don't properly maintain my rifles. So I've welcomed, Parkerizing, Teflon coating and Stainless rifles.

Question:
Which do you prefer? And if you care to share the details in a post - Why?

Choices:
Traditional high-luster, deep, Blue.
Matte or Brushed Blue.
Parkerize, Teflon or another Coating.
Case Hardening.
Polished Stainless.
Matte or Brushed Stainless.
Other.

 

I hunt in fairly similar conditions, and also apparently have highly corrosive sweat. I also have examples of all of the finishes you nominate, and they all have their pros and cons, but IMHO for sheer durability and practicality a good coated finish is the way to go, followed by Parkerising.

The stainless typically used in firearms (usually 416) is a bit more resistant to corrosion than blued CrMo steel, but still not that great. It will certainly rust, and sweat or blood will pit it, and so it does need looking after. Gloss stainless is a bit better for corrosion resistance, but spooks game. Stainless offers better resistance to erosion in higher intensity calibres too, but tends to be a bit "stickier" and so the stainless steel actions never operate as smoothly as a well-finished blued action - especially one with carburised surfaces.

Blued steel of course can stand up if well-done and well maintained, but you really do have to look after it when hunting in foul conditions (I find carnauba wax works pretty well as a shield against rain etc), and IMHO matt blue generally has less resistance than good quality gloss bluing.

Colour case hardening is no more than decoration really, and doesn't protect well or last well. Looks great while it lasts though.

Far in front of any of these are modern coated finishes, and Parkerising is pretty close to these. Some of these modern finishes have been tested to standards that literally destroy uncoated steel - even 416 stainless - and they stand up admirably. Personally I've found that, perhaps looks aside, these sort of finishes are way out in front. Electroless nickel or electroless nickel/teflon is also a great option.

I found a product called KEL, looks like a cross between cosmoline, WD40, with a bit of lanoline thrown in for good measure. I use on everything and nothing rusts.
Jim

Hey Dan, I still have one Parkerized rifle and one that is Teflon coated. Both are wonderful rifles that will stay with me until I can no longer shoot.

I take the stock off the Parkerized rifle each year, put a coat of Shooter's Choice "Synthetic Grease" on it, set it out in the sun and let the Phosphate soake it up. So far no Rust on it.

The Teflon rifle has been through some very tough Salt Water Environment conditions and it looks like it was just put on the rifle. I think it was done by Z-Coat in Florida.

So, I like them too.
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Hey Arkypete, Do you do anything special with it when you put it on? Does it rub off when carrying it?

Brent Clifton had Robbie Barkmann do something special to the finish on my 1903 Pseudoscout. It looks like matte blue but it doesn't scuff or rust or acquire character...might be black NP3. To my eye brushed stainless only looks nice on a rifle with a gray or black stock but even it will stain (just "less").

quote:

Originally posted by nordrseta:
... To my eye brushed stainless only looks nice on a rifle with a gray or black stock but even it will stain (just "less").

I've never heard a bad word about that NP3 finish. If I ever buy another Blue firearm, I might just have to try it out. Kind of thinking of a 357Mag Marlin Lever Action and since they don't make it in Stainless, this might be the way to go.
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Blood will eat Stainless just as it does Blue. While cleaning a Deer, I must have rested the palm of my hand on the "Grip" of the revolver which I had with me.

The blood got down in-between the Hogue grips and the grip frame. I discovered it later on, but the blood had etched the stainless under the Hogues. Fortunately it is out of sight and didn't hurt anything important.

Allegheny Vascomax C350

You can't reasonably corrode, scratch, dent, melt, drill, cut, or afford it. Doesn't take any kind of finish except nitriding during heat treating or a cloth cover. More shiny than your 53 Eldorado bumper and tougher than Superman after a supertanker of RedBull!

We make smaller action parts and a few other things with the stuff. It is possible to make a barrel but has to be heat treated after rifling.
About RC35 before and RC55 after. Makes 17-4 and tool steel look like silly putty. If you want the data sheet I can e-mail it to you as .PDF

There's no load hot enough!

quote:

Originally posted by Macifej:
Allegheny Vascomax C350

You can't reasonably corrode, scratch, dent, melt, drill, cut, or afford it. ...

Thanks for the info, but you are probably right about that guess.
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Just took a look at the Poll and was a bit surprised at the diversity.

I coat all of my blue steel rifles and shotguns with TREWAX never had any rust.

I'm partial to SS, just because it's so easy to take care of, and seems more resistant to scratches, etc. I also like synthetic stocks for the same reasons. I don't feel so bad getting a ding on a plastic stock vs. a beautiful piece of walnut either.

An old experienced gunsmith once confided in me and said that bluing was for purely cosmetic reasons and was no better than bare steel in rust prevention. Based upon my experiences, I believe him.

He recommended removing the barrel and giving a prolonged soak Shooters Choice in a wallpaper tray as a long lasting rust prevention measure.

I've teflon coated guns for Alaska hunts in the past and they are okay but the finish is a bit soft and tends to wear off too easily in my opinion

For looks, I'll take rust bluing any day.

For gun protection, I prefer either Armalloy (probably spelled wrong, but hey!) or Robbie Barkman's NP3. I have two guns which have had one or the other finishes on them for the last 15 years (for one, 20 years for the other). One is a BR gun which competed in all weather, several times a month every month for seven of those years. Its finish still looks pretty much like it did the day I got it back from Armalloy in Houston.

The other is an 8-lb. hunting rifle in .404 Barnes Supreme which fell off the back of a Porsche on a sharp curve at 50 miles per hour and was run over by a series of vehicles going the other way, before I even missed it. The muzzle is missing some finish, and the trigger and scope bases were literally ground off via asphalt rash, but the great bulk of that black NP3 is still as nice as it ever was.

So, although I don't use Barkman's for gunsmithing, I sure would get another rifle given the NP3 treatment, if I wanted it to not rust and to be protected generally.

quote:

Originally posted by Alberta Canuck:
...The other is an 8-lb. hunting rifle in .404 Barnes Supreme which fell off the back of a Porsche on a sharp curve at 50 miles per hour and was run over by a series of vehicles going the other way, before I even missed it. ...

Hey AC, Now that does speak VOLUMES for the NP3.

I have a good buddy who did the same thing with a Dodge Truck and a S&S Browning rifle last year. He never found that rifle, but is in the process of replacing it with a Browning Titanium.

Huuummm, maybe he should get this new one NP3-ed so when it "hits the road" it will be a bit better protected - for who ever finds it!

I guess I'd have to say I prefer more than one finish, depending on the use to which the arm will be put. Color case is very nice, especially on single shots, lever actions, and other archaic design types such as double guns and certain traditional ML types. Bright blue has its place, and a subdued matte blue or even stainless is great for reducing flash from a hunting weapon finish. It seems to me that matte or bead-blasted blue surface retain rust protecting substances such as oil or a spray-on antirust such as SHEATH better than some flashier finishes.