Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Opinions of finishes for blued guns...

Am looking for experiences on firearms finishes for a blued gun to make it as rust resistant both in the bore and outside as stainless.

The only process I have ever tried is hard chrome for handguns and it has been EXCELLENT to say the least...

Just looking for other options...

Thanks...Bob Makowski

Hot blue has been around for 100 years and it still works better than any sort of coating if you want it look good. Parkerizing of course works, but it's ugly in my opinion. Coatings chip, flake and scratch off, especially on parts that wear against eachother.
Teflon looks pretty good, but it wears off.
I haven't used Cerakote or Duracoat, but I suspect the results won't differ much.
Just an opinion.

Oil

hot blue gets my vote. with a little care it will easily outlast you.

Yup, every time.

Von Gruff.

CeraKote is more weatherproof than stainless and comes in a variety of colors. I had an NIB Wby Mk V CeraKoted in Graphite Black. THe day I picked it up it was raining cats & dogs. I gave it the ultimate test. I went home and placed it outside on the patio table in the rain and left it all day. Put it in the safe muzzle down and left it there a week. Opened the safe the following week and pulled it out. It had nary a spot of corrosion on it.

That gun has since endured many foul weather conditions with zero adversity.

I would prefer hard chrome to stainless any day.

the higher the grit polish the less they wear, rust and pit. the matte blue guns seem to be the worst offenders while i have seen 50 year old weatherbys that look great.

Probably the most expensive solution is titanium nitride coating, but it's not something you can do at home.

Thanks for all the replies. I spoke to the owner of Accurate Plating yesterday and he really likes the CereKote that his company has been applying. I have had several 1911s hard chromed by Accurate and Checkmate and I could no be more pleased with the durability of the finish....I don't however really want a silver barrel on the gunbut since I have killed several deer at close range with stainless guns as have my friends, I guess it really doesn't make any difference.

My biggest concern is the bore. The last thing I want to happen is a rusty bore and yes one should wipe the bore down after being wet but I have found that will also change the rifles first round impact point. On my Remington 700 LTRs in .223 and .308, if I don't clean the bore after shooting no matter how long after the last shooting session the gun will print a round right where the last round went. If the bore is cleaned it will not.... In my case it really isn't that important as 99% of my shots are under 100 yards where I hunt...

Thanks again...Bob

CeraKote is the direction I am heading. Will be offering it to others when I get the shop set... Yes, I have an FFL...