Mossberg shotgun question

[Slater]

Browsing Mossberg's 2005 catalog, I noticed that the 500 and 590 series shotguns are available in a "matte blue" finish as well as regular blue. Didn't a Parkerized finish used to be previously an option? Isn't the "matte blue" the same as the finish on some of Remington's lineup, which is bluing over a beadblasted finish?

 

[Arub]

I just bought a 590 w/parkerized finish. Apparently they still make them.

 

[New_geezer]

The receiver of the 500 and 590 are aluminum, and parkerized only applies to steel components - so the barrel may in fact be parkerized but the receiver has something else hence they settled for the "matte blue" description.

 

[Moonclip]

What always made me curious is why parkerized finish on a Mossberg costs more than the blue model. Is'nt parkerizing one of the cheapest finishes you can put on a gun after a stoved or paint finish?