Color case hardening,,rust protection?

P

PPQ226guy

New member
Hi All,

i havea question regarding cch... does it provide any greater rust protection than bluing? I am pondering picking up Beretta Stampede at a lgs that has a cch frame (Uberti made, I think) anf was curious. Thanks in advance!
 
I would say it is slightly less than bluing....

I don't see a lot of difference.

But I think the way to approach the finish on a firearm of the character that I shoot, is that neither the bluing, nor the case hardening is intended to provide prootection.

Clean it thoroughly as quickly after shooting as you can manage. Use oil and/or another surface protectant to protect the finish.
 
I have a Centaure that has some pitting on the cylinder and barrel, none on the case hardened frame so that would indicate at least some level of rust protection. How much? Who can say... I've seen CCH frames with deep pits as well.
 
True for the old Vaquero, not true for Uberti, can't say about Pietta.

The color case hardening on Ubertis is truly a bone charcoal finish. Also on my Rugers done by Doug Turnbull.

The original advertising for the Great Western revolvers stated that the case hardened frame "could not be cut with a file."

Bob Wright
 
The color case hardening on Ubertis is truly a bone charcoal finish.
Click to expand...

On the 73's it is. AFAIK unless they changed the C&B's are still acid washed. N/M I just noticed he said Uberti Stampede.
 
I have found spots of rust the day after a shoot where I was unable (read that as too lazy) to do more cleaning than a Windex/ammonia flush.

I've done this twice... I promise I will not do it a third time.

Case Hardened or blued... clean your dang guns right away. BP is not forgiving.
 
Stoeger/Uberti still lists their cap and ball 1851 Navy and !860 Army Models as "Case Hardened", not sure about the Walker.

There is a finish called "Original Finish" that is an acid wash. Seems it depends on the importer.

Bob Wright
 
My Stoeger Uberti nor my Cimarron Uberti had/have a bone/charcoal case hardening. The Stoeger frame was almost white with just a few yellow pastels. The Cimarron has better colors but are very dark.

truckstuff008.jpg
 
This is my Stoger/Uberti Flat Top .45 Colt:

100_0088.jpg


And my Cimarron Model P .44 Special:

101_0002.jpg


The Flat Top was bought used, so no idea what it looked like when new.

Bob Wright
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_hardening

The resulting case hardened part may show distinct surface discoloration. The steel darkens significantly, and shows a mottled pattern of black, blue and purple, caused by the various compounds formed from impurities in the bone and charcoal. This oxide surface works similarly to bluing, providing a degree of corrosion resistance, as well as an attractive finish. Case coloring refers to this pattern and is commonly encountered as a decorative finish on replica historic firearms.
Click to expand...

As has been noted, many "color case hardened" finishes applied to firearms today are fake finishes designed to look like traditional case hardened steel, but are not the result of real case hardening. Many modern firearms are often made from homogenous carbon steel and thus the entire component can be heat treated rather than just a hardened outer surface. This can negate the need for case hardening just the outer layer of the object. In this case, an artificial case hardening finish is applied for a historical appearance.

Steve
 
True bone color case hardening, USFA .45 colt (top) .44 special (bottom).
 

Attachments

  • 44sp cch 007resize.jpg
    44sp cch 007resize.jpg
    45.3 KB · Views: 91
True case hardening leaves the steel an overall grey color, as in the case of files. Charcoal, bone, and leather, and at one time cyanide, was used to impart color.

The process is pretty much the same today, using lower temperatures, so that no surface hardening occurs. The hammers and triggers of S&W revolvers were case hardened, as has been the hammers and triggers of some of my Rugers, to give a longer lasting engagement surface.

I have one Ruger Blackhawk with the hammer and trigger case hardened in 1989, and there is no indication of wear nor change since then.

Bob Wright
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top