Sand blasting on ruger vaquero?

[Einar84]

I've just bought a stainless Ruger vaquero .44mag and i love it but i wish remove the shiny effect of "high gloss stainless" finishing; Any suggestions? I'm thinking about sand blasting but i'm scared of rust, can a rough surface lose stainless attributes and become rusty in a wet ambient? I'll use it also for home/ranch defence and my country is very rainy
thanks

[James K]

No, sandblasted stainless steel won't rust. Unlike nickel or chrome plating, there is nothing to remove; the gun is stainless all the way through.

Jim

[Scorch]

Magnetic "stainless" (which is what your Ruger is made of) will indeed rust, especially if you roughen the surface, and especially if you use sand, which will create a very rough surface. If you just want to get rid of the gloss finish, you can have someone bead blast it with 100 grit or finer glass bead (which will give you a satin finish), or you could have someone grain the finish (sand it with fine wet/dry paper so that the sanding scratches or "grain" all run the same direction).

[Slopemeno]

You're going to want the gunsmith to use the finest beads he has. Most bead blast finishes are too coarse, and show scratches quite easily.

My only beef with the bright finishes on stainless Ruger single actions is the shiny front sight... my eyes, my eyes.

[Pahoo]

There are many grades of stainless and to date, have not seen one that absolutely will not rust. Definitely not the usual rust pattern but it is rust and will eat your revolver. I know that ruger has some kind of acid wash and the advice on small glass beads is good. You can then rub is with a scotch bright. .... ;)


Be Safe !!!

[dahermit]

...Magnetic "stainless" (which is what your Ruger is made of) will indeed rust, especially if you roughen the surface, and especially if you use sand...There are three general classifications for stainless steels. Ferritic, Austenitic, and Martinsetic. Within those three classifications, there are over 30 AISI types of stainless steels. The hardenable type is Martinsetic, which is the magnetic type. Although it is possible for Martinsetic stainless steel to rust, I have never seen the blade of a knife made from 440C (Martinsetic)stainless steel rust. Unless the poster who I quoted can site some evidence that roughening the surface, "...especially if you use sand...", will cause rust, I respond with a hardy and intemperate, B.S.

I stand corrected:

From the link below referencing pitting corrosion:

Alloys most susceptible to pitting corrosion are usually the ones where corrosion resistance is caused by a passivation layer: stainless steels, nickel alloys, aluminum alloys. Metals that are susceptible to uniform corrosion in turn do not tend to suffer from pitting. Thus, a regular carbon steel will corrode uniformly in sea water, while stainless steel will pit. Additions of about 2% of molybdenum increases pitting resistance of stainless steels.

Thank you for the information and correcting me.

[mapsjanhere]

dahermit, maybe you should read up on Pitting corrosion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitting_corrosion), which, oddly enough, is promoted by pre-existing pitting (like the impact of sand).

[brickeyee]

Unless you passivate the surface you may have problems.
Machining and shaping stainless leaves iron exposed.
Passivisation removes any iron that is no longer in the crystal structure correctly and leaves a more corrosion resistant surface behind.

[Pahoo]

maybe you should read up on Pitting corrosion,
Well, I never put a name on it but this is exactly the condition I have seen and yes, it was on a Ruger Single-Six. Up till now, I have been calling it worn hole rust. .... :)


Be Safe !!!

[Ideal Tool]

Hello, Back in the late 70's or early 80's, The American Rifleman magazine had an article on stainless steel black-powder firearms. They found stainless more susceptible to pitting than carbon steels.

[Pahoo]

Hello, Back in the late 70's or early 80's, The American Rifleman magazine had an article on stainless steel black-powder firearms.
I have an all SS, .50 M/L and I really have to watch the barrel. I don't shoot BP or Pyro and I still see some spots, from time to time. Now, the trim is non-magnetic but the barrel is certainly magnetic. ..... :)

I believe the term is Ferris Vs. Non-Ferris ??

Be Safe !!!

[dahermit]

I believe the term is Ferris Vs. Non-Ferris ??Ferrous metal is a metal that contains iron. Nonferrous metals are those that do not contain iron. All stainless steels are ferrous...to be steel, it must contain iron and carbon. Iron is Ferrite Chemical symbol, Fe.
Still reeling and red-faced from my previous error about pits causing rust in stainless steels.

[Pahoo]

Still reeling and red-faced from my previous error about pits causing rust in stainless steels.
I only know of one perfect man that ever walked the face of this earth. ...;)


Be Safe !!!

[Jim Watson]

A guy here had a Vaquero with the topstrap and front sight matte finished. Very handsome and practical to kill glare when aiming as best you can with the hog wallow sights. I don't know if it was done with glass bead or fine grit blasting but it was not at all rough to the touch.

Rust?
No.
Scratches?
Few.
The owner shot it regularly but he also took care of it.

[brickeyee]

Hello, Back in the late 70's or early 80's, The American Rifleman magazine had an article on stainless steel black-powder firearms. They found stainless more susceptible to pitting than carbon steels.

While stainless has numerous grades with different level of susceptibility to corrosion, chloride ions make a mess of almost every type.

It may be more resistant to rust and corrosion, but it is 'stain-less', not 'stain-none.'

[mapsjanhere]

While stainless has numerous grades with different level of susceptibility to corrosion, chloride ions make a mess of almost every type.
Are percussion caps build with chlorate primer compound? Because otherwise there's no chloride in blackpowder.

[Jim Watson]

No, but some of the fake powders contain chlorates or perchlorates to oxidize their vitamin C. Really, gunpowder with ascorbic acid as the fuel and potassium chlorate or perchlorate as oxidizer.

[mapsjanhere]

And there they say playing with guns isn't good for you. Thanks for the titbit for the obscure knowledge file.

[jmr40]

Lots of folks have been bead blasting guns to get rid of the shiny finish. I've had a couple done and have seen many others. As long as the person doing the work knows what they are doing they turn out fine.

It works great if you have a lot of small scratches on a stainless gun that could not otherwise be removed. S&W made a limited run of stainless 686's a few years back, but coated them with a black finish. One of our local gunshops was broken into years ago and one of these guns was stolen, placed in a gym bag full of about a dozen other guns where they were all scratched up badly. The thief was arrested within hours trying to sell guns from a convience store parking lot and all guns were recovered. I bought this S&W cheap, paid a smith $40 to bead blast off the badly scratched black finish and had a unique looking, functional gun for very little money.

Before Ruger changed to the Hawkeye with it's matte finish bead blasting the stainless MK-II's to get rid of the shine was quite common. I've seen several of those done. As long as the finish is not left too rough you won't have any problems.