SW 642 Finish Peeling

[kkebs]

After reading a lot of forums on both the 642 and 442, the question of the finish peeling off the 642 is of concern to me. Is it that bad or just over reaction of
the folks who have the 642 and are using the wrong cleaning solvents. What type of finish problems have been experienced with the 442. I will be buying either one or the other in the next week or so and as of now I am more inclined to go with the 442.

 

[Ala Dan]

The Smith & Wesson model 637 and 642 finish peeling problems have to date,
been corrected. This is no longer a major concern; unless you are buying an
older weapon~!

 

[cpirtle]

Just be careful not to use a caustic cleaner like Gun Scrubber and you will be okay like Ala Dan says.

Most of these new aerosol super cleaners wreak havoc on coatings like clearcoat and fake case hardening. I have heard they can also weaken a press fit barrel joint but have not seen proof of that firsthand.

 

[alde]

I use Break Free on my 642 and it cleans well with no problems. Mine is from the period when there were problems reported and the finish still looks ok. It's not perfect but it is carried alot and shot quite a bit. I don't worry because it's not a show piece but a tool. They are great little guns.

 

[AZAndy]

My 642-2, bought in April, has a 1/2-dime sized patch of the clear finish missing from the high area of the backstrap. As the sides of the gun are fine, I presume that this is from recoil against my hand. (The non-stainless parts of the gun never experience cleaners other than a faint wipe of CLP.) It's 37 shy of 2000 rounds, so I'm not extremely surprised, nor dissatisfied.

I use the small wooden grips and a high hold. With the original rubber grips, this wear might not have occurred.

Postscript: Forget the wear on the gun, you should see the wear on my hand.

 

[Phydeaux642]

I believe that S&W will refinish any that have unusual wear. I have a few spots coming off on mine, but I'm fine with it. It gives it character.

 

[cpirtle]

I believe that S&W will refinish any that have unusual wear

True.. I called about one of mine and they didn't even ask, just said "send it in and we'll recoat it, even though it doesn't really serve a purpose."

I don't know about Break Free but Gun Scrubber did a number on one of my airweights. Same cleaning session I set my Beretta Stampede down on the rag that wiped down the airweight and it ate into the fake case hardening.

 

[xring]

Be prepared to wait a while. My Gunsmith sent in an older NIB Smith for recoating since it was accidently scratched. It was returned well over 2 mos. later. When it arrived, it then had a brand new (very prominant) scratch in a different area. Nice service yes? Back it went. It's been 2.5 mos. now and they still have it. The company is on my sh!+ list for sure. I'd call and rag all over them, but my Gunsmith sent it and I don't want to get them in the middle. They've been calling them...

 

[symr00]

I believe that S&W will refinish any that have unusual wear. I have a few spots coming off on mine, but I'm fine with it. It gives it character.

My 642 peeled quite a bit. I bought it used and the finish was close to 100%. I only used Break-Free to clean it. I called S&W and they told me they would refinish it for free but I had to pay shipping to them. A month later I got a bill in for $350 for refinishing the handgun. When I called them, they said they only warranty the finish for one year, but they would not refinish it until I paid them. They also wanted me to pay return shipping. I refused the $350 refinish job and had to speak to a supervisor to get free return shipping. I was pretty pissed at S&W because I paid $50 out of my own pocket for shipping and they lied to me. Needless to say, I sold the gun at a loss and don't plan to give them my money anymore.

 

[WNC Seabee]

Just got my 642 back from S&W. I took it home NIB a month or so ago and found a small nick on the cylinder. Sent it to them 2 weeks ago and got it back today. Not bad turn around and they replaced the cylinder.

My only complaint is that it came back FILTHY. Like it had 50 rounds put through it to test the new cylinder. It was spotless clean when I sent it.