Umarex pistols corrosion

[Mark A]

Just had my Beretta out in the sun and have noticed there is some corrosion on the barrel cover and also a few marks on the frame. I have never noticed this before, but the gun is only used rarely and usually inside, so I only really noticed it in the sun. Being alloy I really wasn't expecting it to corrode, especially as its always kept in its case. I'm pretty gutted about this as I rarely use it and mainly kept it as I like the looks of them.

Anyone else had this happen to theirs? Mine is the old shiny blued one and its about 8-9 years old. Anything I can do to stop it getting any worse? Wipe it with 3-in-1 every no and again?

Its mainly on the barrel cover and I notice they sell them at Chambers for £17.99, so I might get a new one of them. The frame isn't too bad really. It sort of looks more realistic with some weathering .

Mark

[Mark A]

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c2...4/DSC_3581.jpg

To be fair it looks worse in the pic. Still a bit of a shock to see it when its been well looked after and hardly used.

[gingernut]

I rarely see a second hand gloss black Umarex without some blemish in the finish.
I blame it on them being kept in the foam box.
I always wrap them up.

But I am not certain because I have never had one to keep from new.
It may just be that the finish degrades with age.

[Mark A]

How does the finish on the new matt black ones stand up? I'm not sure when they started doing the matt finish so don't know if they have been out long enough to really tell. I'm wondering if they switched to a different finish as the shiny finish can corrode over time.

My Cometa 300 is the first airgun I bought in 2000 and the blueing on that is still perfect, yet the Beretta I bought in 2004 is tarnished. I have used the Cometa even fewer times and just wiped it down with 3-in-1 before storage, just like the Beretta. I wonder if it is something to do with the foam case?

Meh, it does still look great. Has a sort of weathered patina that makes it look more realistic.

[Dave1943]

Whenever I return from either taking my air rifles or my pistols out, I always wipe them down on the metal parts with a bit of 4" by 2" impregnated with gun oil before putting away, and I also dry off any moisture that occurs when you put a cold rifle into a warm room. I have had no corrosion problems in over 40 of gun ownership.It only takes a few minutes to do, but it's well worth the trouble.Hope this helps.

[Mark A]

As said my Cometa is still perfect after approx 12 years, so it cant be lack of care. They are made of an alloy rather than plain steel, so I'm wondering if maybe the oil I used on it did it no good? Or as someone else suggested it could be the foam in the box.

Just looked in the manual and it vaguely suggests to wipe it with "gun oil", which in my experience is similar to 3-in-1 or other light machine oils.

[gingernut]

I think Umarex ,foam and gun oil are a bad combination.
The matt finish might be better as the problem on the gloss and nickel looks like some sort of bloom or lacquer deterioration.
Never seen it on the limited edition stainless steel finish.
Have seen it on the 100 year Colt limited edition.

[smallman28]

The matt finish is okay but not good by any means.
I have hardly seen one that doesnt look a bit patchy as if the finish isnt very even.
On mine the barrel almost look grey compared to the rest of the gun.
I didnt keep mine on bare foam either,it was either on display or in a case that had the foam covered over in some micro fibre cloths.
Mine you I didnt take into account how long it had been in the box and on the foam in the shop before I bought it.
I kept is quite well oiled and it did help with the appearence of making it look more even.

[gingernut]

All the Dan Wessons have nice finishes.
It will be interesting to see how they stand the test of time.

[beagle2]

How does the finish on the new matt black ones stand up? I'm not sure when they started doing the matt finish so don't know if they have been out long enough to really tell. I'm wondering if they switched to a different finish as the shiny finish can corrode over time.

My Cometa 300 is the first airgun I bought in 2000 and the blueing on that is still perfect, yet the Beretta I bought in 2004 is tarnished. I have used the Cometa even fewer times and just wiped it down with 3-in-1 before storage, just like the Beretta. I wonder if it is something to do with the foam case?

Meh, it does still look great. Has a sort of weathered patina that makes it look more realistic.

You are comparing chalk with cheese most old style airguns are made of steel and blued compare this to most of the look alike pistols that are made of anything but steel be it cast iron alloy plastic but for the most part they are painted/coated not blued gun oil is the answer as for the others keep them away from the damp.

[Mark A]

I'd have thought an alloy steel would last longer than plain steel used on my Cometa though, that was my point. Both have had the same treatment and the Cometa is older. I don't think the finish is paint on the Umarex guns, it looked like very nice bluing tbh. Now not so much...

[Dave1943]

With regard to the longevity of an alloy steel in place of an ordinary mild steel, an alloy might not neccessarily be more corrosion resistant, the alloyed steel could be harder or tougher, however, to be corrosion resistant, it's usually a mixture of chrome and nickel in various percentages that give it it's resistance: commonly known as stainless steel.
Cast iron is a very brittle high carbon iron that is no use as a method of making modern air pistols, steel is made fron cast iron that has had most of the carbon burnt off in a blast furnace, to bring it to a soft state (less than .02 carbon, if my memory serves me right and I did all this about 50 years ago, so bear with me), by adding small amounts of carbon and other materials, the steel can be made to undergo different properties: ie spring steel, (tough), knives and cutting tools (hard), gun barrels, (tough and strong) etc, the varieties are endless. I would think that the casings are made of a zinc based alloy with just the barrels and mechanisms inside made of steel. When I lectured in the past, we had often cast alloy items brought in for welding: our collective name for them was s**t metal as they were virtually impossible to weld properly. They would be easy cast and cheap to produce, but not that strong and it was easier to scrap and obtain a new one to replace it. Hope this helps a bit, this subject could go on for ages and to greater depth than I have just skimmed on here, and of course there are new properties and alloys that have been discovered since I did my college work on such a long time ago!

[vintage]

With regard to the longevity of an alloy steel in place of an ordinary mild steel, an alloy might not neccessarily be more corrosion resistant, the alloyed steel could be harder or tougher, however, to be corrosion resistant, it's usually a mixture of chrome and nickel in various percentages that give it it's resistance: commonly known as stainless steel.
Cast iron is a very brittle high carbon iron that is no use as a method of making modern air pistols, steel is made fron cast iron that has had most of the carbon burnt off in a blast furnace, to bring it to a soft state (less than .02 carbon, if my memory serves me right and I did all this about 50 years ago, so bear with me), by adding small amounts of carbon and other materials, the steel can be made to undergo different properties: ie spring steel, (tough), knives and cutting tools (hard), gun barrels, (tough and strong) etc, the varieties are endless. I would think that the casings are made of a zinc based alloy with just the barrels and mechanisms inside made of steel. When I lectured in the past, we had often cast alloy items brought in for welding: our collective name for them was s**t metal as they were virtually impossible to weld properly. They would be easy cast and cheap to produce, but not that strong and it was easier to scrap and obtain a new one to replace it. Hope this helps a bit, this subject could go on for ages and to greater depth than I have just skimmed on here, and of course there are new properties and alloys that have been discovered since I did my college work on such a long time ago!

As mad as it may sound. Use some BRASSO. That may do the trick to remove that surface rust.

[Mark A]

As mad as it may sound. Use some BRASSO. That may do the trick to remove that surface rust.

Do you mean for the corrosion on my Beretta? If so, it does sound pretty mad .

[Dave1943]

[FONT=Comic Sans MS]To get rid of the rust, buy some of that rust converter, it turns red oxide into black oxide, I use it on my motorbikes to kill the rust before a dab of paint goes on, the names are: Jenolite: Fertan or Kurust. Just carefully follow the instructions. It might help.[/COLOR]