Durability of a blued finish?

[dasanii19]

I'm just curious how durable a blued finish is compared to a parkerized finish? I'm speaking in reference to a Remington 870 police magnum.

Thanks

 

[dfariswheel]

Bluing is not a durable as parkerizing.

One reason is, the rough parkerized finish "soaks" up lubricants and forms a rust resistant coating that lasts.
Bluing is too smooth and the lube will rub off as soon as its handled.

Plus, parkerizing is just a tougher coating than bluing.
Remington says its 60% more durable than even bead blasted bluing.

 

[Youngster]

Parkerizing isn't all that more scratch resistant but it is a lot more rust resistant if it's holding a lot of oil. Blueing is a lot easier to touch up if you do have a problem with it though.

 

[dasanii19]

Any other opinions here?

 

[oneounceload]

Bluing IS a form of rust.......

 

[Fred Fuller]

Bright blue is prettier, but a phosphate finish will hold up better on a working gun. Blue is awfully 'thin' and wears through quickly, plus it seems less resistant to rust overall to me. If you plan on using a blued gun in harsh conditions, multiple light coats of a good hard wax (carnauba, johnsons paste wax etc) will help preserve the finish some. That means wood and metal both, I usually pull off the furniture on a new-to-me gun and heavily coat the unfinished ends/insides with wax to seal the grain and protect the metal it comes in contact with. Just leave a coat of wax on the gun and let it dry without polishing before you go out, it will dull the bright finish some and will polish right off when you want the gun shiny again.

Look in some of the tool catalogs etc and see what wax they offer for woodworkers to use on saw blades and other tools- those will work too.

lpl

 

[dasanii19]

Bright blue is prettier, but a phosphate finish will hold up better on a working gun. Blue is awfully 'thin' and wears through quickly, plus it seems less resistant to rust overall to me. If you plan on using a blued gun in harsh conditions, multiple light coats of a good hard wax (carnauba, johnsons paste wax etc) will help preserve the finish some. That means wood and metal both, I usually pull off the furniture on a new-to-me gun and heavily coat the unfinished ends/insides with wax to seal the grain and protect the metal it comes in contact with. Just leave a coat of wax on the gun and let it dry without polishing before you go out, it will dull the bright finish some and will polish right off when you want the gun shiny again.

Look in some of the tool catalogs etc and see what wax they offer for woodworkers to use on saw blades and other tools- those will work too.

lpl

Wax? alright thank you. Sounds like a good idea, ill check out brownells and some other websites.

 

[inthelineofire]

I never knew you could wax a blued gun. Wow.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Just do a search on wax and "blued guns" as a phrase, using your favorite search engine. It isn't exactly a new idea- I learned it from my grandfather in the 1950s.

lpl

 

[Virginian]

Hard to beat automobile wax, too.

 

[natman]

I never knew you could wax a blued gun. Wow.

Works great. I took my JC Higgins Model 50 (FN Mauser action, Hi Standard chrome-lined barrel) on a week long elk hunt. I gave all the metal a couple of coats of Johnson's Paste Wax beforehand and it shrugged off rain, sleet and snow without a speck of rust. Works great on the wood too.

 

[machappe]

Okay you learn something new everyday!! I have never thought about waxing my guns before, but it makes complete sense.

I have two Remington 870 Express shotguns, one is blued and one is parkerized. I prefer to hunt Deer and Turkey with the parkerized for two main reasons. One it is not as shiny as the the blued and doesn't gleam in sunlight. Two it seems to hold up better in the rough Illinois weather during the Deer and Turkey seasons.

Although, after hearing about waxing the gun, I may take my blued on out this year because I could set one up for birds and one for my deer and turkey hunting.

Thanks for the tips!!

 

[TXHORNS]

I can wax my guns? Thats some good info right there. My upland hunts get rather wet sometimes, prefect time to try it out for myself.

 

[dfariswheel]

DON'T USE CAR WAX.

Many auto waxes contain abrasives to polish the paint and can damage or thin a blued finish.

A good one to use is Johnson's Paste wax available in most hardware and Walmart stores.