My M&P rusted on me.

Status
Not open for further replies.
That rust on the MP is a shame. I think one of the posters hit the nail on the head. It has a lot to do with body chemistry. I knew a guy that could put his hand on a gun and it would rust overnight if not wiped down afterwards. I, luckily, have never had that problem. I would send the pics to S&W and see if you couldn't get them to refinish the gun. Their Lifetime Warranty and Customer Service is great.
 
Take this up with S&W and let us know how they respond. I have taken a NIB stainless Kahr pistol home to discover rust spots all over the slide.

In the future, covering your pistol with good car wax or Ren wax can help prevent this type of rusting.
 
Thanks for the photos. Mayber S&W will get the slide replaced.
Melonite® vs. Tennifer, I choose Tennifer.

Doc, I think you just need to wash your hands after supper. :D
 
Last edited:
That sucks... I also know have a friend that can rust anything he touches (I clean after he comes around).

I have stainless pistols that rust for no reason and I have glocks that never rust despite sitting IWB everyday. Who knows what's next!
 
I had my M&P "Stainless" refinished, ie melonite off brushed stainless on. I got it, it looked great, wiped it down and into the safe it went. Six days later when I went to retrieve it for a uspsa shoot it was brown and nasty looking. The stainless they use is very inferior. It now sports a hard chromed finish.

MPStippled.gif
 
I'm not too keen on sending it away. I need it to carry. The rust is disappointing but doesn't affect the function of the gun, so I think I'm stuck with living with it.
 
I'm guessing you are sweating right on the gun. If you have acidic sweat, you will destroy a regularly finished carry gun in a month or two; maybe a bit longer for a Glock and a stainless gun can last six months or so.

There is only one option for people with acidic sweat who want to carry the gun close to their body: refinish the gun in Teflon-based finishes. Gunsmiths like SIG-master TJ will put a black Teflon on your gun. Robar does terrific finishes; I have used their NP3 on my SIG 210 magazines and it is outstandingly tough. Arizona Response Systems also does a teflon based finish; I'm currently waiting on some magazines to evaluate it.

M&P's are crappy pistols anyway; Smith's 3rd gen pistols are decent. Ditch that suckah, get a new pistol, and send it to Robar or someone else doing those finishes.
 
Just because one stainless will rust easier does not mean it's inferior. Just inferior at rust resistance.

S&W may have chose the steel they're using for other properties, giving up a little rust resistance. That's for them to know us to find out.

Some stainless will rust like crazy until it's heat treated, others cannot be heat treated and could sit in the rain for months and not rust.

Interested in this thread though because I carry an M&Pc often and live in good ole humid Ohio.
 
Looks like S&W went to bottom of the barrel with their stainless.
Click to expand...

And you base this on the few M&P's that have rusted out of the thousands currently on the market? Name any gun with a factory finish, and I'd be willing to bet that there are examples that have rusted at some point in time. Stainless steels have corrosion resistant properties; no one claims them to be corrosion proof except those late-night, wonder knife infomercials.
 
The strongest rust resistant finish is probably NP3 - I am a hard chrome fan because of it being harder to wear hard chrome - but for rust protection, NP3 would be the way to go.

But, now that ya have rust on it - do as everyone else said - call S&W.

Its just gonna get worse.
 
I'm reading these post that seem to defend the M&P "stainless" not being "inferior". I understand the stoutness of the metal is not in question just the "stainless" question. At what point is "Stainless" no longer stainless? I shoot uspsa every week so I use my guns a lot. My Para P16 "stainless" has never ever shown the first sign of rust or discoloration. In fact it was sitting next to the "stainless" M&P as the M&P turned into a brown nasty crappy looking mess. I had the slide refinished because the M&P is advertised as stainless...I don't think my expectation was too high to think that the finish would be like my para. I don't think I was aware there are different levels of "stainless". If that is true I'd be interested in knowing what "level" or grade of stainless S&W decided to use and why. I was disappointed that the M&P rusted but I don't think S&W owes me anything. In fact I'm sure they don't...Heck, I had the factory finish removed thinking the gun would look good without the melonite...which it did for a day! Live and learn.
 
Heck, I had the factory finish removed thinking the gun would look good without the melonite...which it did for a day! Live and learn.
Click to expand...

Now, I'm going to preface this with a warning that I am no expert, and I could certainly be wrong about this. But with that being said:

I don't think you had the Melonite removed. You had the blued finish removed (seemingly by a bead blast of some sort). The Melonite, as I understand it, is similar to Tennifer in that it is a treated in the metal itself, not the "finish." Thus, by beadblasting your pistol, the only thing that was removed was the coloring. The protective layer of Melonite should still have been intact.

This is what I have read in the past. Maybe some others can either verify this or stone me if I'm incorrect.

Either way, I agree with your initial assertion that the rust that occurred on the OP's pistol should have not happened, regardless. I urge him to contact Smith to notify them of the problem.

I have had no problems with either of my M&Ps, but they haven't drawn daily carry duty yet.
 
This is sad, something is very wrong with this picture. I carry an HK every day in humid high heat which has a similar finish to the Glock's and I would assume to the M&P's as well. I have also carried a Glock 30 in the past for 9 hours a night in a very crowded humid sticky night club where I was sweating constantly and the heat and sweat from 2500 other people created quite a hot sticky environment, and never did I experience any rust. This has to be a QA issue, and no the standard, S&W needs to be notified and you should receive a brand new pistol!
 
"At what point is "Stainless" no longer stainless"

Technically: It takes a minimum of 10.5% Chromium to qualify as stainless.


I am not defending the M&P but metallurgists choose steel based on certain properties. Just like a doctor they have to weigh the pro's and cons on each.

If steel is 10.5% chromium it possibly has a higher tensile strength than a stainless steel with 18 or 20% Chromium. This is one of the reason carbon steel is most often used in high strength applications.
 
I should also add,,, you could possibly have a bad heat treat on your slide which would reduce the stainless capabilities (among other things).

My guess is S&W will realize this and replace the slide.
 
Man, that's not cool... but I'm used to it.

I'm the guy who makes everything he touches rust, pit and fall apart. It's hell trying to keep nice firearms. I ruined the finish on a stainless Taurus 65 about 10 years ago.. it's a pitted mess. I've done some damage to stainless 1911's.. so far CZ's polycoat finish is holding up without any issues.

I also go through underwear like crazy because the elastic waistbands lose their elasticity. Apple isn't too happy with me either, and I'm about to bring my Mac in for another case replacement (warranty). I wish they'd offer to send a case out to someone to have it coated with something more durable.

Good luck.. I'm very interested to hear how S&W handles this one.

Steve
 
If you have toxic sweat, there isn't much you can do.

Here's the deal with the M&P as explianed to me when I had some pinhead rust spots from a match in the rain (didn't get it as dry as I thought I did after).

The gun is stainless with a melonite finish. There are three types of melonite, Q, QP, and QPQ. QPQ is the only one that enhances corrosion resistance. However according to the guys who do the finish "Enhanced Corrosion Resistance (Not suitable for stainless)." Which means that is not what is on the gun.

THe corrosion resistance of the M&P comes from whatever the black finish is and the stainless properties of the stainless steel. You will notice the two prime examples here are whree there is holsters wear, and where someone stripped off the black coating. My pinhead rust was likely due to dust on the gun when the black finish was applied.

And YES, there are a whole LOT of varieties of stainless steel. The only ones that might stand up to killer sweat have a LOT of chromium in them, and are too brittle for something you might want to contain the results of a double charged round. Steel alloys are a compromise amongst a set of desirable features, and NONE are rust proof.

If you REALLY want a coating that looks nice, stands up to holster wear, and inhibits corrosion, I suggest checking out the new spiffy diamond like coatings, or get a good hard chrome done on your gun.
 
A diet change might be in order to counter the effects of the acid touch. Drinking more water (read: gallon a day) and trying to balance out the body's pH levels would surely help.

My hands sweat a lot but I don't rust everything I touch, but to be safe I wipe down the slide after every use with some type of oil.
 
rust is good

otherwise Im tired of seeing firearms pristine, NIB etc.
Rust is good. clean it up with 0000 grit, you used it didnt
you? :banghead:
 
That's a shame about your pistol. I wouldn't hesitate to call Smith & Wesson. Most people say they have their guns back in about a week's time if they do go back for warranty work.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

C
  • Locked
M&P rust problem
Replies
4
Views
950
ZeSpectre
Z
Magic_Man
  • Locked
The slide on my M&P is rusting
2 3 4 5
Replies
121
Views
7K
Confederate
Confederate
J
  • Locked
Follow up to rusty m&p 40
2 3
Replies
65
Views
4K
tydephan
T
M
  • Locked
Anyone switch from M&P to XD?
2
Replies
30
Views
1K
saenzrich
S
G
  • Locked
Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm
Replies
8
Views
570
gypseylee2
G
Back
Top