Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Why can't stainless be blue?

One afterthough -

Some of that fantasy - and unbelievable - stuff we saw on "Star Trek" many years ago are now functioning realities of everyday life. Right?

VAnimrod -

If you will explain MOS, I will attempt an answer.

You're an "exmarine", right?

What was your MOS? Job, in the Corps?

Actually, I believe that Ruger's "Target Gray" is not just a surface finish. It is my understanding that the coloration is ingrained or present throughout this stainless steel variation. At least that's the way that I've seen Ruger advertise it on their site. It is a dark gray stainless steel from what I have read. It's not black or dark blue, but it is certainly much darker than standard stainless.

What you are after is a far cry from flip phones <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />!

Hey, I think it finally dawned on me - military occupational specialty? If this is your question, I was an 0300 then a 2771 and finally a 2773.

Was my guess correct?

Yep.

0352, myself.

Just read your follow up post and I guess I figured it out on my own. At my age such happy events are major accomplishments in the memory department.

You did the actual heavy lifting. Although I was FMF 1st Division, I can tell no real seastories. Just happy to have survived Boot Camp in 1958 and still proud that I served. Its about the only identity I have left these days.

Me neither (seastories, that is).

The ones that did the heavy lifting are those like MontanaMarine. Shane is in your neck of the woods, and is a Marine to the core (and the Corps).

I may have spoken too soon. I just re-read an article by Jeff Quinn and reviewed the Ruger site. Both refer to "Target Gray" as a low-glare stainless finish. Does anyone with a Ruger in Target Gray know whether this finish scratches off like blue or matte black?

It scratches.

BLACKENING OF STAINLESS STEEL
Robar is able to blacken stainless steel through the use of oxidizing type blacking compounds. This process produces black coatings on stainless steel and alloy steels by a "conversion" process. The chrome in the stainless steel is involved in a chemical reaction with the oxidizers in the solution producing chrome-sulfide. The application of the black finish is dependent upon the surface treatment of the steel. Bead blasted surfaces will have a satin black appearance while a surface blasted with aluminum oxide will be matte in nature. Importantly, dimensional changes involved in blackening are extremely small, less than 0.0001 Mil. This thickness of the black oxide type coating ranges from 0.00006-0.0001 Mil depending on the type of alloy being treated. Blackening of stainless steel not only makes the weapon more attractive but adds to its corrosion resistance (96 hours salt spray per Mil-C-13924B) and aids in preventing galling, common in stainless steel guns.

.....from ROBARs website.



I had Robar's treatment of NP3 internals/Black exterior of my ULA 300WSM. It has a stainess Douglas barrel that is now black. They did a good job - I'm well pleased.



Jeff

Thanks for the explanation. A local gunsmith is set up to do stainless steel so I know it can be done.

Things that would be cool --

If gun steel could be anodized like aluminum arrows used to be. Man, whatever that stuff was lasted great. I couldn't get it off.

If you could specify gun steel color mix like you can a Mickey stock. Of course, then the Alaskan crowd would have completely pink rifles. Maybe in yellow stocks.

Being a metalurgist, or even being able to spell it. I tried to take the class, but there must have been a computer error. The class I got in had nothing to do with guns, but now I can forecast the weather.

Talus. Anodizing turns thr outer surface of aluminum to aluminum oxide. ie ceramic

exmarinejensen: I suspect that if the right minds tackled the job it could become a reality. If it for some reason was to become a high enough priorty, it would likely be accomplished in a year. Heck, men have flown, landed on the moon, split the atom, made diamonds better than mother nature's, decoded DNA, and figured out how fire flies work. Blue or black steel ought to be easy?? 1Minute

I agree 1minute.. now to get that goverment grant to get the scientists busy so we can have different colored barrels.....

Hey 1minute & Joel steenstra,

Thanks for providing a supportive and comforting measure of optimism for my far-out idea, and wish, for this specific metal development in firearms technology.

I also accept the premise that a preceived market need must usually preceed and drive innovative technology.

Thanks to all others as well. It has been a fun - and I learned much more than I bargined for.

emjensen, I think that you will find that many of the better coatings like ceracoat are easily as durable as traditional blueing. I think that the Robar finish in the picture looks great also. You might check out Empire rifles, their rifles even with wood stocks are stainless/coated/. It might be a wave of the future.
The only way that you might come close to having the finish all the way through is going to be on one of the Carbon-Fibre wrapped barrels................DJ