What a great project, I really like it! I had a long conversation with Adam Weatherby at an NRA convention about the then new at the time, stainless Weatherby Mark V's. He swore that for purely taking abuse in horrific conditions, the old Weatherby Alaskans had it all over the new stainless steel models. These were essentially coated with electroless nickel. The same as Metaloy, Armaloy, and the other electroless nickel coating purveyors. This stuff is super slick, and supposedly more rust resistant than stainless steel. If I were trying to weather proof a blued rifle, that is the route I would strongly consider.
