Flat matte or traditional shiny bluing?

Super-Dave · January 19, 2010, 04:42 PM

Okay this is not a vs thread.

This is an or thread so that Hogdogs wont get upset.

Does the traditional shinny bluing last as long as the new trended matte bluing?

hogdogs · January 19, 2010, 05:00 PM

I think longer... The matte finish on many is not a different chemical, it is due to an unpolished surface. If that is the case, moisture has more nooks and crannies to hold moisture allowing rust. Thus the Rem express and rust issues...
Brent

Brian Pfleuger · January 19, 2010, 05:35 PM

From what I've seen, the matte finish lasts longer. If my shiny blue guns get wet and I don't immediately dry them then they will have rust in the morning. My matte finish 11-87 does not have that problem.

xm21 · January 19, 2010, 07:09 PM

Two weeks after I got my 870 Express me and a buddy drove the three hours north to the farm in Virginia for a weekend of shooting pistols and shotguns during the day and drinking Jim Beam and sitting around a fire and howling at the moon at night.It was about 10 degrees at night and I laid the gun on the floor of the tent and the next morning it had some discoloration all down the side of the barrel and reciever where it had contacted the tent floor,my friends brand new Maverick 88 didn't have any after laying in his tent all night.

I was a little hung over and a little ****** when I saw the corrosion the next morning.I rubbed some CLP on it and the rust wiped off and it looked OK again.

When I got home I did a search on here and another forum and discovered that it was a blued finish,not parkerized, and followed the advice given about soaking the finish with oil(I used CLP and a blow dryer to really get the oil into the pores)and wiped off the excess.It has been rained on and spent plenty of nights on a tent floor since then and I haven't had a problem with rust since.It has even had beer spewed all over it once and was not wiped down untill the next day and it didn't rust.

I wipe it down with a good coat of Ballistol these days when it is put away.Like hogdogs said the rough finish with all the nooks and crannies does allow it to hold moisture and it will rust before your very eyes if the above mentioned initial soaking with a heavy coat of oil is not done.

The only gun I have with a shiny blued finish to compare it to is a 1977 Colt Combat Commander in Super .38 and I would have to say that the shiny blue is easier to maintain but my Express is not the rust bucket that some folks would have you believe.

hogdogs · January 19, 2010, 07:21 PM

Here is 20 plus years of little care... It was locked away in an evidence room for 11 years with finger prints of both the criminal and LEO's all over it and no rust formed... It has a few spots likely created by beer and soda spills in the cab of the trucks it resided in. It has seen temp extremes galore as well...

Brent

xm21 · January 20, 2010, 01:33 AM

Uh....okay..........and your point is what......aluminum and paint don't rust?

Super-Dave · January 20, 2010, 05:52 PM

Seriously guys I really need to know.

Which lasts longer?

Which keeps the rust away the most?

hogdogs · January 20, 2010, 06:00 PM

XM, The barrel is blued... that was the point.

And good condition for it's age.
Brent

xm21 · January 20, 2010, 08:46 PM

Hogdogs I was just rakin' yer fur backward.I think it is a lot like a knife with a blade that ain't stainless,the more polished it is the harder it is for rust to start.

SD definitely the smooth shiny blue,some of that rough finished stuff is parkerized,which is a whole different animal which will be a hardier finish than bluing.

bswiv · January 21, 2010, 06:08 AM

Louann has a Mossberg with the black Phosphate finih, Parkerized I guess you would call it. Has held up very well.

Mine is very UGLY, has some sort of painted type fisish over what was a mat blue to begin with.

No rust on either, even though we get them wet all the time and I am not to careful with oiling them.

What it seems is that the rougher surface soakes up a lot more oil in the pores of the finsh.

That said my old Marlin has a standard finish on it, a finish that is 40 + years old, and it's wore very thin in a number of places. Still with just a little oild now and then it has no rust.........

January 19, 2010, 04:42 PM	#1
Super-Dave Senior Member Join Date: February 1, 2008 Location: Florida Posts: 795	Flat matte or traditional shiny bluing? Okay this is not a vs thread. This is an or thread so that Hogdogs wont get upset. Does the traditional shinny bluing last as long as the new trended matte bluing? __________________ If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever. George Orwell

January 19, 2010, 05:35 PM	#3
Brian Pfleuger Moderator Emeritus Join Date: June 25, 2008 Location: Austin, CO Posts: 19,578	From what I've seen, the matte finish lasts longer. If my shiny blue guns get wet and I don't immediately dry them then they will have rust in the morning. My matte finish 11-87 does not have that problem. __________________ Nobody plans to screw up their lives... ...they just don't plan not to. -Andy Stanley

January 19, 2010, 07:21 PM	#5
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	Here is 20 plus years of little care... It was locked away in an evidence room for 11 years with finger prints of both the criminal and LEO's all over it and no rust formed... It has a few spots likely created by beer and soda spills in the cab of the trucks it resided in. It has seen temp extremes galore as well... Brent Last edited by hogdogs; January 19, 2010 at 07:37 PM.

January 20, 2010, 05:52 PM	#7
Super-Dave Senior Member Join Date: February 1, 2008 Location: Florida Posts: 795	Seriously guys I really need to know. Which lasts longer? Which keeps the rust away the most? __________________ If you want a vision of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever. George Orwell

January 19, 2010, 05:00 PM	#2
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	I think longer... The matte finish on many is not a different chemical, it is due to an unpolished surface. If that is the case, moisture has more nooks and crannies to hold moisture allowing rust. Thus the Rem express and rust issues... Brent

January 19, 2010, 07:09 PM	#4
xm21 Senior Member Join Date: April 29, 2008 Posts: 177	Two weeks after I got my 870 Express me and a buddy drove the three hours north to the farm in Virginia for a weekend of shooting pistols and shotguns during the day and drinking Jim Beam and sitting around a fire and howling at the moon at night.It was about 10 degrees at night and I laid the gun on the floor of the tent and the next morning it had some discoloration all down the side of the barrel and reciever where it had contacted the tent floor,my friends brand new Maverick 88 didn't have any after laying in his tent all night. I was a little hung over and a little ****** when I saw the corrosion the next morning.I rubbed some CLP on it and the rust wiped off and it looked OK again. When I got home I did a search on here and another forum and discovered that it was a blued finish,not parkerized, and followed the advice given about soaking the finish with oil(I used CLP and a blow dryer to really get the oil into the pores)and wiped off the excess.It has been rained on and spent plenty of nights on a tent floor since then and I haven't had a problem with rust since.It has even had beer spewed all over it once and was not wiped down untill the next day and it didn't rust. I wipe it down with a good coat of Ballistol these days when it is put away.Like hogdogs said the rough finish with all the nooks and crannies does allow it to hold moisture and it will rust before your very eyes if the above mentioned initial soaking with a heavy coat of oil is not done. The only gun I have with a shiny blued finish to compare it to is a 1977 Colt Combat Commander in Super .38 and I would have to say that the shiny blue is easier to maintain but my Express is not the rust bucket that some folks would have you believe.

January 20, 2010, 01:33 AM	#6
xm21 Senior Member Join Date: April 29, 2008 Posts: 177	Uh....okay..........and your point is what......aluminum and paint don't rust?

January 20, 2010, 06:00 PM	#8
hogdogs Staff In Memoriam Join Date: October 31, 2007 Location: Western Florida panhandle Posts: 11,069	XM, The barrel is blued... that was the point. And good condition for it's age. Brent

January 20, 2010, 08:46 PM	#9
xm21 Senior Member Join Date: April 29, 2008 Posts: 177	Hogdogs I was just rakin' yer fur backward.I think it is a lot like a knife with a blade that ain't stainless,the more polished it is the harder it is for rust to start. SD definitely the smooth shiny blue,some of that rough finished stuff is parkerized,which is a whole different animal which will be a hardier finish than bluing.

January 21, 2010, 06:08 AM	#10
bswiv Senior Member Join Date: June 4, 2006 Location: NE FL....... Posts: 1,081	Louann has a Mossberg with the black Phosphate finih, Parkerized I guess you would call it. Has held up very well. Mine is very UGLY, has some sort of painted type fisish over what was a mat blue to begin with. No rust on either, even though we get them wet all the time and I am not to careful with oiling them. What it seems is that the rougher surface soakes up a lot more oil in the pores of the finsh. That said my old Marlin has a standard finish on it, a finish that is 40 + years old, and it's wore very thin in a number of places. Still with just a little oild now and then it has no rust.........