Stainless tarnishing

[sartac]

Guys,

Have others here run into issues with stainless firearms tarnishing from frequent carry and exposure to sweat?

One that comes to mind is a Kahr I used to have. I'm not sure if they've changed alloys since their early days, but I've seen a few tarnished pistols floating around. That, along with the brass deformation, kind of turns me off of Kahr's, in general.

Do other makes have issues when exposed to these conditions? If so, which ones?
I am considering SS 1911's for carry.

What do you do when your fancy stainless piece starts spotting up... Break out the Flitz?

Thanks for reading.

 

[Wallace's]

I have seen several Kimber 1911's do that. Remember that SS isn't technically stainless/stain proof. You still need to clean/take care of it.

 

[mtdawg169]

Stain "less", not stain proof.

 

[Hayata]

Yeah, Flitz is stainless' best friend!

 

[Junior_357]

I've seen stainless Smiths that actually pit behind the grips. I have one that is in that condition - but hey, it was a security guard gun for a while at some point in its life, and it's not like most of them take care of their guns.

But yeah...stainless isn't sweat-proof, just a lot more sweat-resistant than a lot of other gun finishes.

 

[RamRoddoc]

Yeah, Flitz is stainless' best friend!

Yep, I second this. You have to be careful with this stuff and paper towel. Before you know it will get to a mirror like finish. But if you like shiny?

A glass bead blast makes for a bright non-glare surface that is really nice on a gun as well.

 

[jeep78]

Clean it well and put some paste wax on it. Do it several times a month, more in summer, and it will not turn cruddy on you.

What you call tarnish is rust. And it will pit if in a hidden area and enough moisture is present.

 

[sartac]

Good good, thanks guys! I've had various mfg SS guns but haven't carried most for extended periods.

Had a SS Dan Wesson 1911 once with a discolored grip safety.. The rest of the gun was clean. That was how I got it - don't think it was especially well protected, as far as external finish, but the darkened grip safety added a bit of character.

Paste wax makes a lot of sense.

I was reading that Colt moved toward higher carbon stainless alloys at some point in effort to minimize or eliminate galling, so there appears to be this trade off between corrosion resistance and running into issues with galling.

 

[1006]

Stainless steel requires exposure to air to remain rust proof. Behind the grips is a common area for rust.

A general wipe down to keep it dry will help as much as anything.