French Gray Finish from E.Brown

[stratocaster]

I thinking of having my bolt action rifle done in their french gray finish.  It's a blued ADL.  They claim the french gray is better at preventing rust and corosion than stainless.  My only concerns is how well this finish holds up (ie how durable is it).  Anyone have any experience with it?

[WLB]

I have the French Gray finish on my C Sharps and it has so far held up well.  The dealer I got the gun from said that the French Gray was a baked on space age lacquer.  
Bill

[gunnut69]

French gray seems to have become more of a look than an actual process.  Origianlly it was a procedure similar to parkarizing without the color.  But has since come to mean a frosted bright metal finish..  Most bead blast the bare metal then coat with clear poly to prevent rust..  Some processes even use a satin finished chroming to produce the effect..  While the original was probably the best they still had to be protected vigorously to prevent rust..

[stratocaster]

Thanks for the feedback.  Do you think the process E. Brown uses is as weather/rust resistant as claimed on his website?  Bottom line, is it worth the $159 and 2-6 weeks he requires or is it all just a waste of time and money?  I would hate to do all this only to have the finish wear off.

[gunnut69]

I don't know the process Mr.Brown uses but have much respect for many of his products...  I suspect he uses some type of satin finished plating and would then probably be as rust proof as stainless.  I suggest you contact them and ask the details of the process they use.  Remember stainless steel will rust it just is a bit slower process.  A friend who builds custom rifles has the actions hard chromed when one was not available is SS and the customer specified the action(i.e. the old style Sako actions).  They are bead blasted and hardchromed and seemed as rust proof as the stainless barrels..  from the gunnut69

[thomas]

Is a Nickle finsh.
Properly applied will outlast the firearm.
many colt pythons used this but in a polished finish
 so as to look like chrome plating
tom

[gunnut69]

Electroless nickle in a satin finish is not really 'french gray' but remember it has come to be a 'look' rather than a process..  Nickle finished firearms are most deffinately not a new thing..  If properly done they will last a long time.  Nickle is a fairly soft metal and I would suspect the satin finish will polish on the edges and where one normally finds holster wear.  Also if not properly applied it can peel, although I would suspect MR. Brown knows quite well what he is doing...  Good luck from the gunnut69

[thomas]

Not wanting to argue or ruffle feathers But french grey is electroless nickle.
These words come from EA brown.
As far as the worthiness?? No problem with the colts done that way.
They(eabrown) get the matt type finish by bead blasting the surfase in some way.
I have four barrels and two frames done this way by them.
Also a Winchester long gun as well as a Winchester lever 94
no peeling no problems at all.

Like I said Words from EA is Electroless Nickle.
If you do a search on the interenet the same story comes up about it.
Maybe I did not understand correctly.
Just my thoughts
tom

[gunnut69]

First please let me clarify....  I agree that Mr.Browns finish is electroless nickle..  A process he did not invent and which is available to the gunsmithing trade through Brownells(among others I'm sure).  It is very unlikely to peel..  Nickle can also be applied via the electroplating process.  A much older process and which if incorrectly done can and will peel...  None of these plating processes are what is a traditional 'french grey' finish.  The original french grey finish was created by the application of acids and other chemicals to the steel.  The resulting surface was a very fine satin grey or frosted in appearance.  While they both look similar the orignal process was little protection for steel from rust.  About the level of protection provided by most modern hot blues.  It (french grey finish) was routinely coated with various materials such as lacquer or wax in an attempt to prevent rusting..  I hope by what I've said you can see that while is a very good finish it is 'french grey' only by description.. Mr.Brown's.  And that is no slam towards anyone...