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blueing to Stainless finish
- Thread starter pad3006
- Start date
Not the same. SS usually has no finish on it at all. Just bare metal. The metal is rust and stain resistant with no other coatings. You will find different looks depending on how well polished the SS is. Some companies polish to a bright shine, others bead blast to prevent reflection. Some companies put a black coating over the SS that makes it look like a matte blue.
You can have a carbon steel gun blued, parkerized, nickel plated or covered with some of the modern coatings such as Cerakote. Done right many of these coatings are very good and rival SS for protection. Plus they are offered in a large variety of colors.
You can have a carbon steel gun blued, parkerized, nickel plated or covered with some of the modern coatings such as Cerakote. Done right many of these coatings are very good and rival SS for protection. Plus they are offered in a large variety of colors.
KeeperOath
New member
Blued to Stainless:
This can only be done if the steel under the Blue is Stainless Steel. The firearms I've seen like this is marked Stainless on the slide.
This can only be done if the steel under the Blue is Stainless Steel. The firearms I've seen like this is marked Stainless on the slide.
Jim Watson
New member
The best way to get a stainless looking surface finish is to have the gun plated with hard chrome. Cerakote and Gunkote "stainless" are just gray paint.
Dfariswheel
New member
As above, Cerakote and other such finishes are just an epoxy paint.
The closest you can get a blued gun to be like stainless is to have it hard chrome plated.
This it NOT like "bumper chrome", hard chrome is bonded directly to the steel and can't chip, crack, or peel off.
It's one of the few gun finishes that's considered to be a true lifetime finish.
It's extremely hard, and actually makes the trigger and action smoother.
In appearance it ranges from a satin light gray, to a brushed stainless steel look, to a bright polish.
There are a number of top professional companies offering hard chrome for guns, one of the best is APW/Cogan.
http://www.apwcogan.com/
There are others that are also very good, like Ford's, Armoloy, Metaloy, TechPlate, Elite Custom Guns, etc.
The closest you can get a blued gun to be like stainless is to have it hard chrome plated.
This it NOT like "bumper chrome", hard chrome is bonded directly to the steel and can't chip, crack, or peel off.
It's one of the few gun finishes that's considered to be a true lifetime finish.
It's extremely hard, and actually makes the trigger and action smoother.
In appearance it ranges from a satin light gray, to a brushed stainless steel look, to a bright polish.
There are a number of top professional companies offering hard chrome for guns, one of the best is APW/Cogan.
http://www.apwcogan.com/
There are others that are also very good, like Ford's, Armoloy, Metaloy, TechPlate, Elite Custom Guns, etc.
Electroplating is much of an art. To be successful it must be bonded to the metal .This is done by first 'reverse plating' which takes of dirt , oxide etc .It is then plated.Problem comes when trying to plate a hole !!
I watched a 1911 jamb in a match because plating peeled off next to the trigger. This is where a GOOD plater is needed.
Nickel can be plated without electricity eliminating the problem.
IIRC nickel can be plated with teflon included.
I've heard but not seen that stainless steel can be hot blued which gives it a nice grey color.Do research before you go ahead.
I watched a 1911 jamb in a match because plating peeled off next to the trigger. This is where a GOOD plater is needed.
Nickel can be plated without electricity eliminating the problem.
IIRC nickel can be plated with teflon included.
I've heard but not seen that stainless steel can be hot blued which gives it a nice grey color.Do research before you go ahead.