Painted vs bluing/stainless or nickel finishes.

[1911crazy]

You may think this is stupid but were seeing some of the new 1911's that are being painted now.  Could this be the new trend for finishes on new guns?  Its got me kind of worried that all the other manufacturers may follow the painted trend too.  Could it be painted vs bluing in cost cutting in the near future?  CZY

[williamlayton]

Well, the trend is not all that new---the gamers have been doing this a few years now.
I have seen a couple that were home made and they looked pretty good.
I really think it is a matter of choice.
I have a 9x23 that Ford's Hard Chromned for me years ago- For a field gun, there is no better finish.
I like deep hot blueing---some do it well and some, well, you know. prettiest finish IMO.
I do not like Nickel---by any name. It is old school but Hard Chrome beats it in any catagory.
I have a couple of professionly done shake and bake finishes---they are almost as durable as hard chrome---almost.
If I were a gamer--I would take to painting---easier and less expensive. These guns are work horses and are not pretty by any standards except beauty in function and durability.
Blessings

[Brett]

I have to agree with William,  nothing looks better (IMO) than a deep rich bluing but it is definitely not the most durable finish available today.  My two daily carry guns are stainless and hard chromed respectively.  And as William said some of the new shake and bake finishes rival hard chrome and stainless for durability.   

[coyotejoe]

The only painted guns I've owned were military, a CZ82, an Enfield revolver and an Enfield rifle and certainly none of those were at all durable.

[dbriannelson]

The S&W "brushed stainless" finish here is actually paint.  I stripped the same stuff off one of their aluminum and stainless j-frames a few years back with aircraft stripper.  While I like bare stainless, the paint does hide the machining marks that S&W can no longer afford to have skilled craftsmen polish off.

It sure seems durable. 

-Don

[williamlayton]

There is a difference between the applied, shake and bake finishes and the painted finishes.
The painted finishes are actually applied with a paint brush--using epoxy paints.
Blessings

[MGMorden]

We've long seen such a trend on guns that are going for utility over looks.  My CZ-82 was painted - former police surplus.  I noticed that the Israeli Hi Powers that are being imported now also have painted finishes.  Also police guns.  Heck my SMLE No4 Mk1 has a painted finish.

Overall, I have to say that I don't personally like it.  When they're brand new, the difference is less obvious.  Bluing still looks better, but it's sort of subjective.  My problem is in how they wear.  Paint tends to "chip" off in small areas.  A fleck here, a fleck there, but it's tiny pieces of the finish that just go missing.  To me, bluing wears much better.  Rather than coming off in flecks, bluing wears very evenly, typically on corners and areas of the gun that see a lot of friction.  It's a gradual wearing though that blends back into the bluing as you leave the worn area. 

Just personally I think we're just going to see more stainless in the days to come, but I have to say that I'm not a fan of the painting.  Matter of fact I was (and still kinda am) debating on buying one of those painted Hi Powers, but after I noticed the painted finish I found myself looking into how much it would cost to have them stripped and then blued. 

[Lloyd Smale]

I had a mossberg rifle duracoated in cammo. It looked cool but rust started seaping out of the paint is spots. The rifle was cleaned real well and degreased before application so im guessing it was impuritys trapped in the metal that were comming out but it looked like crap after spending some time in a case in the truck.

[Ken ONeill]

Paint. BARFFF !!!

[williamlayton]

I don't like asparagus either.
Blessings