How to protect finish of gun?

K

Kazaam

New member
Is there anything I should put on the outside of the gun to protect its finish (stainless p226)? I see some people use silicon wipes to wipe off and protect the finish of their gun, but the item description of those wipes also says it polishes the gun. I definitely don't want the matte finish to be polished. :eek:

Any advice? Thanks!
 
Just keep it wiped off with a clean cloth. A light spray of RemOil will be good for times when it sits in one spot for a long time. Stainless is very low maintenance.
 
Remoil is a lubricant. I'm not entirely sure what you're looking to do, but really silicon will protect the "finish" of a SS gun from rust, corrosion, etc. As far as wear, etc. the only thing that will protect it is not carrying or shooting it and babying it. You'll get wear on a gun if you use it. It ads character. You're not going to hurt the gun by normal use, though.
 
Use a rag with gun oil or hoppes and just give it a quick wipe down after shooting. When black residue stops coming off your good to go. Even if you get wear marks on the matte finish it's still stainless all the way through so it's not like it will be more prone to rust like with a blued gun.
 
The best protection I have found for blued or stainless finishes is Renaissance wax. It is great for all metal and wood, and will keep fingerprints off. The 7 ounce can will last a long long time as it takes very little to cover a firearm. I apply with my fingers and buff it with a clean microfiber cloth. I believe I bought mine from Midway USA several years ago.

Bimmer
 
On a stainless gun there is no "finish". The only thing you have to be concerned with is removing anything that can attack the steel. The sweat from your fingers (or your friend's fingers) can be very corrosive if left on the metal for more than a few hours. Some people's fingerprints can be permanently etched into the metal if you don't wipe it down before putting it away. A rag that is slightly oily will take it off. You're not going to "damage" the matte texture of your gun with a rag. Just use a light grade of oil and wipe, don't try to polish the finish. Breakfree CLP and Collector have protected all of my guns for many years, including the blued ones. There are also products on the market that will neutralize any acids from your fingerprints. Birchwood Casey's "Sheath" is one. On metal surfaces that are checkered or serrated a small artists brush will get the oil down into the crevices where a rag won't go and allows you to get right up next to the grips without coating them with oil. Don't use WD 40 or any "silicone" type oils except in an emergency when you don't have anything else. WD 40 will exaporate off and leave a gummy film behind and silicone is almost impossible to remove from the grips. You don't want silicone on the surfaces you grip the gun with or on your hands. Wax works well for a safe queen or wall hangar that dos not get handled and stays in an air conditioned environment but doesn't provide much protection when the temperature goes above about 90 degrees, it will evaporate away. It will be worn off pretty quickly on a gun that is being handled much. But in a glass case in a museum it works very well.
 
Last edited:
According to Ed Harris (wrote for the American Rifleman years ago) you shouldn't use WD40 on stainless steel. He was a QC engineer for Ruger when they found that some of the guns stored in boxes for awhile in the warehouse had cracked barrels where they were threaded into the frame.

He discovered that WD40 had something in it that was corrosive to one element of the stainless steel. Nickle I believe because he also said not to use it on nickle plated guns. The smiths had lubricated the threads on the barrels as they screwed them into the frames. He said WD40 was not allowed through the gates at Ruger when he left.

I had met him at a GUNS chat room on IRC. He was quite a knowledgeable man. I haven't heard from or of him for several years.
 
Last edited:
Jim, I too have read that and absolutely agree. Shortly some folks will come along here and testify how they have used WD 40 for EVERYTHING all of their lives and never had any issues. The ONLY thing I would ever use WD 40 for would be to dry out a wet distributor in an emergency and then I would tear it down and rebuild it as soon as I could to get that crap out of there. It's good that Ruger had enough sense to ban it from their facility. I wish I had a nickle for every .22 pistol or rifle some customer brought in and claimed it was "broke". 90% of the were full of WD 40 "varnish" and worked perfectly after they were stripped and cleaned and lubed with REAL oil. In the shop we called it "Bubba spray".
 
Last edited:
Wiping it down with a oil rag will pretty much protect the steel. It's stainless so there isn't really a finish like on blued guns. Shoot it, clean it, wipe down occasionally and that will keep your gun in pretty good shape.
 
Last edited:
On the outside of the gun ...a wipe down with an oily rag....or spritz some RemOil ...or Rig #2 Oil on the guns from their spray cans - and then wipe them down with a soft rag....Rig #2 is my personal favorite if you can find it...

( on the inside of my all stainless 226's I use Break Free as a lube ).

SIG 226 Stainless .40S&W and 9mm.jpg


These two all stainless 226's are about 6 yrs old now ...one in 9mm / one in .40S&W ....and they each have at least 10,000 rds thru them ....

Here is a Sig 226 X-Five ...I treat the same way ...another all stainless Sig 226 ....
http://thefiringline.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=83002&d=1344296606
 
All you need is a light coat of oil for storage, thats it. Stainless steel does not need to be coated in anything to protect it.
 
I like to know this also. I really don't care about my carry guns as they will fade over time. I just use rem oil on my carry guns and never had problems. Plan to replace a carry gun every 10 years or so..


I guess to protect the finish just don't use it and use rust preventer to keep the rest away.
 
All of my guns are blued, and here's my formula that has worked for me for over fifty years:

I use a 50/50 mix of automotive motor oil and Three-In-One machine oil. I lightly coat the bore and chambers. Then, with the cylinder either swung out or removed, heavily coat the gun using an oil soaked patch. This will leave it far too oily. Then wipe down the gun with a Scott paper shop towel, those blue ones from Auto Zone or Home Depot. Motor oil continues to break down carbon, so after a week or mor of non-use, wipe down the bore and chambers again.

Maybe so there are "better" products, but I haven't found them.

Bob Wright
 
Rig #2 has been my go-to light oil for many yrs..../ Rig was purchased by Birchwood Casey a couple of yrs ago ....so this is what the current packaging looks like....

http://sport.birchwoodcasey.com/RIG/RIGDetails.aspx?ProductID=d9297a35-d809-437f-8869-8195cb71808f

I use a light coat of Rig #2 ....on the springs, action, firing pins inside my Over Under shotguns..../ on the trigger groups inside my semi-auto shotguns .../ inside my revolvers and semi-auto handguns - where something like Break Free is a little too heavy ...( like in the trigger group, leaf springs on a 1911 ) .....and as a wipe down on all of my guns before I put them back in the safe.

I think Rem-Oil is a decent product as well ....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top