Titanium, Coatings, and Corrosion

B

boing

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Posts in this thread mention that titanium cylinders have a coating that when scratched can open the way for corrosion...?

Is this coating only on the cylinder face, or is it on all the Ti parts? I thought Ti guns were exceptionally corrosion resistant?

I'm looking for a lightweight "knockabout" snubbie .38, and this would probably be a deal breaker for me.

Where's my coffee...
 
I was one of the guys who...

..left a post on that thread. As far as I know, the whole titanium pistol or even the whole cylinder is not coated. I believe the coating is just on the front of the cylinder. The corrosion problem seems to come up when shorter cartridges are used. Like .38 specials in a .357 magnum or .32 longs in a .32 H&R magnum. Using a shorter cartridge causes caustic "gunk" to build up on the front of the cylinder and if the clear coating has been scratched off, corrosion starts. (It would probably even happen if you used the proper cartridges and the protective coating was gone.) However, I wouldn't let it bother me if I were you. I've been assured by two factories and several dealers that normal cleaning products will do nothing to the protective coating. But, you can remove the protective coating yourself with steel wool or even Scotch-Brite. So, the moral of the story is, just don't use anything abrasive on the front of the cylinder and you'll be fine. My wife and I both have pistols with titanium cylinders and have had no problems. She's had her's (Taurus Total Ti +P .38 Special) for over two years and with regular practice the front of her titanium cylinder is still perfect. A LOT of rounds have gone downrange!
Titanium is a pretty inert substance. I have a LEO friend who has been carrying a Taurus Ti on his ankle for a long time. Sweat, water, or anything else has absolutely no effect. All in all, it's pretty neat stuff.
What model are you looking at?

KR
 
Many Thanks, KR. :)

Smiths are out (for me), so I've been looking at a hammerless Taurus. Low weight is a priority for this gun's role (pocket, etc...), so titanium looks good, but I don't care for ports. I've been round the Taurus website several times, but I get dizzy quick...I don't recall being able to find a Ti Taurus that's hammerless and portless. Maybe I missed something.

I've read the customer service horror stories: yours, the poly autos cracking "Why...this is the first we've heard of it!" :rolleyes: Makes me a little leery, but Taurus still seems to be the front-runner at this time.
 
Boing...

That new Taurus CIA. It's hammerless and (I think) comes in both steel and titanium. I'm not sure, but it might not have the ports on the titanium model. Can you get a good picture of it on the Taurus website? In any case, being a gunshop owner, Tamara will know. Maybe she'll see this thread and tell you for sure. I've stood behind and to the side as my wife practiced in a fairly dark inside range and I couldn't detect anything coming from the ports, however something obviously was, because when we got home and cleaned our guns there were black stripes on her front sight. I remember the ad's for the CIA that showed someone firing from inside a coat pocket. It doesn't seem like ports would be the right thing to have for that little maneuver!

KR
 
Exactly. Firing from inside a coat pocket is one reason I don't want ports. Same goes for the Concealed Hammer Tauri, they could be a problem in that situation.

Yes, the CIA is the model that caught my eye, but from the specs on their website it doesn't look like ports are optional on the Ti models, just the steel models. I'll have to play with a steel one some more to guage the weight difference. Maybe it would work OK for my applications.
 
What about an older aluminum frame snubby like Colt Agent or Colt Cobra?

Light weight and you get six shots rather than five.

I also recomend installing a hammer shroud rather than bobbing that hammer spur as you may desire the option of SA mode for when aimed shots rather than instictive point shooting is necessary.
 
I like the idea of bein able to cock the weapon but my double action shooting is definately not point shooting........mostly.

With decent trigger pull and practice one can do quite respectable bullseye shooting double action.

Sam
 
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