Stainless vs Blued

[Simple Ed]

I've got a Taurus semi-auto with a blued slide. Not much to look at.

I'm impressed with the looks of revolvers. they seem as much like art as a weapon. Stainless looks most impressive to me. Blued...so-so.

Dad has a Ruger gp100, blued. Sharp, but...

Is the finish in the eye of the beholder? Should I train my eye to see blued as beautiful? Is one finish superior to the other?

 

[rockhopper46038]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but some finishes outperform other finishes in different ways. And not all bluing is equal, either. Stainless isn't really a finish per se - it's a base material of course. But it is a fine performer. Some trade-offs for it are that it isn't particularly hard, cosmetically it can show scuffs pretty easily depending on the polish, it is more easily noticeable than darker colored finishes, it isn't 100% corrosion proof even though it's "stainless". I happen to like it, but I have also applied finishes over the stainless to further protect the firearm.

 

[rhart]

After fighting some rust on a few of my firearms over the years, I vowed to slowly replace most of them with SST. It is more expensive but well worth it in my opinion.

 

[snapping turtle]

To me it belongs in what the use is going to be. For looking at shooting something blued "like the colt/smith deep blue" . Carry and glovebox is going to be stainless for me and so would a hunting gun that would be out in any bad weather. Then again if it was 45 degree day and sunny one of the blued looking guns would be fine. If it was raining and 45 then stainless.

One of favorite finishes is the look of honest wear you get with guns that have been used and worn. Then I would be less sad if they got a little more used. I can see the interest in Mil surps that some have with honest use. I do have any surplus arms but a few well used guns that have that been here before feel to them.

 

[Simple Ed]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but some finishes outperform other finishes in different ways. And not all bluing is equal, either. Stainless isn't really a finish per se - it's a base material of course. But it is a fine performer. Some trade-offs for it are that it isn't particularly hard, cosmetically it can show scuffs pretty easily depending on the polish, it is more easily noticeable than darker colored finishes, it isn't 100% corrosion proof even though it's "stainless". I happen to like it, but I have also applied finishes over the stainless to further protect the firearm.

Is there something liquid to "paint" over? And when it corrodes...rust? I didn't realize stainless is less durable.

 

[Simple Ed]

To me it belongs in what the use is going to be. For looking at shooting something blued "like the colt/smith deep blue" . Carry and glovebox is going to be stainless for me and so would a hunting gun that would be out in any bad weather. Then again if it was 45 degree day and sunny one of the blued looking guns would be fine. If it was raining and 45 then stainless.

One of favorite finishes is the look of honest wear you get with guns that have been used and worn. Then I would be less sad if they got a little more used. I can see the interest in Mil surps that some have with honest use. I do have any surplus arms but a few well used guns that have that been here before feel to them.

So you prefer blued? Sounds like you'd reserve stainless for wetter conditions and use blued when you can. You mention colt/smith deep blue... is this a preference based on tradition, authenticity and the like...or is there something related to performance with a blued gun?

 

[WestSider]

Depends on the gun. Only stainless gun I have is my matte stainless CZ 75B and I think it looks 100x better than the regular version.

 

[IndyLongColt]

I like blued guns myself, just personal preference......but some are pretty thin....hint one Taurus I own seems to get a new beauty mark every time I pull the trigger lol....cerakote coming in the future.

 

[88E30M50]

I think it's a personal preference. I like stainless guns and have a couple, but there is also a lot of appeal to a nicely blued gun. Painted firearms are great but tend to wear into more of a shabby look than blued guns which gather more of a patina with age. Stainless can get scuffed or scratched but a 20 year old stainless 1911 can be brought back to near new looks with very little effort. Here's a couple of shots of guns in my collection. The top is a painted CZ 75 as bought. It's since been refinished, but the photo shows what it looked like after about 20 years of regular carry. The second photo is a 1944 1911 that has had almost all of the parkerization worn off. Blued and parkerized gun wear nicely but painted just looks beat. Stainless does not really age though.

 

[VN Vet]

After years of preferring Stainless Steel, I find myself missing the nice patina a Blued handgun can get. My next 1911 will be in Carbon Steel.

 

[seedubs1]

I love a nice blued gun. Not a stainless fan.

 

[Slawburger]

I really like the looks of a stainless or nickel finish on a "show" firearm. When I think of a "beautiful" handgun it is stainless.

I prefer a blued finish for EDC or something I might not want reflecting light in the dark. I view blued finishes as the "classic" look of a firearm (particularly for rifles/shotguns).

I haven't warmed up to the Cerakote or Duracoat finishes. I appreciate their utility and durability but they make a firearm look cheap and ugly to me. They have a use for firearms that are "tools" but I wouldn't describe a firearm finished in this manner to be beautiful or a work of art.

 

[cmamath13]

I like them both, but lean toward blued. The next purchase I make will be blued.

 

[Hookeye]

I think the Colt Python looks best in blued, but I want my next one in stainless so I can hunt with it more (holster wear, rain etc).

 

[hoostalbrian]

Have always liked stainless steel. Recently, I picked up a Colt New Agent that is blued.....love it!

~ Brian

 

[WebSnyper]

I like stainless of the 2 you mentioned, but then I'm generally a black & polymer kind of guy. There are many guns that have stainless slides and then have a finish applied to them.

 

[8th SPS USAF]

SS if the price is right or a rare gun. Blue normally .

 

[Latewatch]

I tend to like dark colored handguns but have no aversion to stainless/hard chrome as long as the sights are not stainless. Silver colored sights are worthless and should be avoided!!

 

[Simple Ed]

SS if the price is right or a rare gun. Blue normally .

So... functionally there's no difference. Stainless if I like shiny or will be around moisture, blued for less flashy and greater resistance to scratching (and typically cost less.)

Am I missing anything?

 

[SubUrbanCamo317]

So... functionally there's no difference. Stainless if I like shiny or will be around moisture, blued for less flashy and greater resistance to scratching (and typically cost less.)

Am I missing anything?

I think you've got the hang of it.