Ruger coating problem

K

KEYBEAR

New member
I got one of my Rugers a Super Blackhawk coated with DuraCoat last week . (Black)
Today after 75 rounds of 240,gr lead the finish is gone around the front side of the cylinder ? The DuraCoat is gone a very small spot at each chamber on the outside front and not in the front but side of the cylinder About the size of a small button and all six chambers are the same .

And yes the Coating is gone not real bad yet but after only 75 shots . What will it look like after 1,000 or 2,000 rounds .

Not Happy
 
There is something about the gas flow that hits that area. I have blue and stainless guns with stubborn powder burns and hard fouling there.

I don't know of anything to do to prevent it and it is going to be hard on that soft coating. It may be self limiting and not get larger than a button.
 
I thought at first it was heavy powder Fouling (Unique) but after cleaning the side of the cylinder with things that should take off any Powder Fouling and lead I see it is not . If the spots do not get larger it is not a big problem ?

Just kind of disappointed in the coating .
 
I got one of my Rugers a Super Blackhawk coated with DuraCoat last week . (Black)
Click to expand...

I've never seen a Ruger Blackhawk with this finish before. Only blued and stainless. IIRC the only Ruger revolver I've ever seen with any type of coating is the Super Redhawk chambered in .454, it had a matte gray finish either in DuraCoat or Cerakote not sure which one.

Edit. Reread your post and realized you said you had it coated. Misunderstood thinking you said you bought it that way new. Anyways on a revolver anywhere the flame exits around the cylinder gap will burn off any paint/baked on coating.
 
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Duracoat is not the toughest applied finish
As already stated the gas cutting will cut metal so a finish even more.
 
Unless it was you, I would have a ...talk.. with whomever applied the finish.

If the finish is unsuitable for your gun, they should have told you that. The customer isn't always right just because they think they are.

OR the finish wasn't properly applied.

OR, you can accept the explanation that 'the gas flow on some guns does this".

I wouldn't, but its your gun. To my way of thinking, if the gas flow eats your finish, its the wrong finish for that area.
 
All revolvers have the inherent problem of hot gas leaking from the gap between the barrel and the cylinder. It's according to how well aligned the two are, and the design of the forcing cone at the start of the rifling. The design and alignment might cause one to even spit a little lead with the gas. No matter the gun finish, you'll get some discoloration at the front of the cylinder, around each chamber. I doubt that any baked on paint would hold up to this after so many rounds.

Also, I could see the paint being over sprayed over into the chambers, and when a bullet comes out, peel off any paint with it, if only a small amount. I've never really seen any painted revolver cylinders to know what they may do.

If you've ever seen any time lapse photos of revolvers being fired at night, you'll see the red hot gas coming out of the cylinder gap, such as the one below.

boom.jpg


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On sites and in direct conversation, I have used the word "paint" for such coatings. And been told in no uncertain terms that those coatings will stand up to any firing, any abuse, that they are harder than chrome, more durable than bluing, resist corrosion better than stainless steel, etc. Sorry, true believers, it is good, but it is still paint.

Jim
 
Dixie Gunsmithing

The Coating is coming off the SIDE of the cylinder not the front ?
More to the point it is coming off the side at each chamber starting at the front and working back .

After close to 1000 rounds of 240gr. lead in the last two weeks the spots (6) each on the side of the cylinder are small . But will grow with more shooting .

Really not a big deal the Ruger (a three screw 4.5/8 barrel) will be junk in a year or so anyway .
 
Burning off the cylinder face and the muzzle is a given. If its starting to peel anywhere else its from the surface not being properly prepped. After the surface is media blasted it needs to be cleaned and degreased. After that even the slightest finger print can eventually cause the coating to flake or peel.
Not knocking it in any way but it is what it is. Oh and when applied properly they hold up quit well. Heres a couple of mine I had cerakoted. Friend of mine does it as a hobby and must say each gun has gets fired regularly and the finishes are holding up just fine.

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KEYBEAR, If it is the cylinder's side, which I must have not caught, thinking you meant front side, then the surface may not have been prepared correctly for the paint to stick, I would think. The chambers do not get hot enough to burn the paint on the side. However, when a cylinder heats up, if the rounds were fired fast, the cylinder will expand, which could possibly make paint break loose from its base. This could happen over the cylinder expanding and contracting over it heating and cooling, after firing off many rounds. If it were this, I would think it would start where the cartridge ends in the chambers, which would be the hottest points around the cylinder.
 
Dixie Gunsmithing

The Coating is coming off at the very end of the cylinder and I have some powder blow back . When I clean the Blow back off I seen the coating is gone .
At it time it is a small spot at each chamber .
 
It could be the paint just not adhering to the base metal of the cylinder, and the gas blowing it off. That gas is hot out to the outer edge of the cylinder, as can be seen in the snub nose being shot.

Have you ever checked to see if it is spitting any lead? If not, you can hold a piece of paper against the front of the cylinder, when firing, and it will hit the paper.

One guess is it is the gas burning the paint, on the front end edge. However, any gas that escapes upward from the gap, will be directed back, somewhat, by the top strap. What does the bottom of the top strap look like now? If it hasn't cut the paint underneath it, and the cylinder is the only place showing, then it could have been something wrong with preparing the cylinder for paint, and it is not adhering well over it.
 
Dixie Gunsmithing

The cylinder gap is very small and timing is spot on .
Cylinder is tight with almost zero end play . The revolver is not spitting lead . I would say this old Ruger is in very good shooting condition .
 
If I understand correctly what Keybear means by the "end" of the cylinder is the cylinder face; the surface that includes the holes that are the business ends of the chamber throats. If so, I think it's just normal gas and particle cutting. It'll even wear nickel plating off a gun eventually.

I put a mirror polish on the crown of an M1 Garand with lapping and polishing compounds one time, just because I could. The polished portion ran right up to the inside edge of the crown. That crown edge was so sharp it cut any patch I tried to push through from the muzzle, leaving all but a disc of the flannel behind. I had to clean it from the breech end with an Otis pull-through flex rod to avoid that. A couple of hundred rounds later, though, and that wasn't true any longer. A little more shooting and not only was the edge of the crown no longer sharp, but there were matte markings radially outward along it where gas first escaped at the corners of the rifling lands with the grooves the bullet exited and before a boat tail had completely cleared it. If chrome-moly barrel steel can't remain polished in the presence of gas and particle cutting, no mere finish is going to handle it.
 
Unclenick

No not the cylinder face ? I know the coating would never last on the front of the cylinder ?
The coating is gone on the side of the cylinder at the very front of the cylinder. It is six very small spots but will grow as it is shot more .
 
The Coating is coming off the SIDE of the cylinder not the front ?
More to the point it is coming off the side at each chamber starting at the front and working back .

The coating is gone on the side of the cylinder at the very front of the cylinder
Click to expand...
You posted that it was coming off of the SIDE...three times.

Then you say it is coming off the END.

Dixie Gunsmithing

The Coating is coming off at the very end of the cylinder and I have some powder blow back
Click to expand...

Kind of confusing while trying to understand exactly WHERE it is coming off....:confused:
 
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My Blackhawk in 357 is blued and has a couple thousand rounds through it and it still looks very nice with no noticeable bluing loss. Its dirty when it gets home from the range but still cleans up nicely. Ceracote looks good but it is a painted on product.
 
shootniron

Very happy you pointed that out it really helps my problem .
I reason I changed from side to whatever is one poster thought I was talking about the front of the cylinder .

Again Thank You
 
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