Stainless ROA - is this barrel ok?

[steve medlock]

Surely the stainless steel used in firearms is a homogenious alloy rather than having a protective surface like case hardening on mild steel. If the latter, the machined surfaces would be prone to corrosive attack.

[Turnup]

Surely the stainless steel used in firearms is a homogenious alloy rather than having a protective surface like case hardening on mild steel. If the latter, the machined surfaces would be prone to corrosive attack.

+1 to that.

NEWSFLASH; Examining my ROA in bright sunlight reveals that it too has a dark bore, a lot like the colour of very dark bluing. It is shiny but not silvery. The chambers are shiny and silvery.

Chemical thang strikes again!

[enfield2band]

Surely the stainless steel used in firearms is a homogenious alloy rather than having a protective surface like case hardening on mild steel. If the latter, the machined surfaces would be prone to corrosive attack.

I am not an expert on this, but I do know If stainless is machined it retains stainless properties. When the surface is attacked by a chemical it loses this property and goes dull. We are talking of discolouration of the surface in microns here, not heavy corrosion.

Any scientists or metalurgists out there????

[tacfoley]

ANY chemical-based cleaning product that you put down the bore of a stainless steel gun is likely to alter the appearance of the surface. Note that I said 'likely'. Some products do, and some don't. You barrel had one that did.

Remember that back in the day there were none of the chemical-based cleaners that are commonplace now. Just hot water first and oil - usually whale-derived oil - afterwards.

My Musketoon, almost forty years old, has a bright bore, and so does my Walker. Another BP rifle that I shoot in OR has a blackened bore due to having been clone with stuff that was designed for a nitro-dirtied barrel. It's black.

tac

[robpark]

I'm relieved that it seems to be just a discolouration (there are no signs of corrosion in the barrel ), and not a 'problem' (particularly, that I'm not doing anything wrong)

- though I'm still intrigued to know how it's happened....

[shabee]

Bit of a myth really, it shouldn't be called stainless because it isn't, it maybe ought to be called something else like maybe non corroding or non rusting steel, there are many and various chemicals that will discolour stainless steel, but that's all it is "discolouration".
eric

[airgunnut]

is it stainless or is it London gray? my euroarms R&S is london gray and its described as rust resilient

[tacfoley]

is it stainless or is it London gray? my euroarms R&S is london gray and its described as rust resilient

London gre/ay is a finish treatment on the surface of a gun of any kind. The Ruger Old Army was supplied in blued finish or brush-finished stainless steel - no other finish was ever available, to my knowledge. One I looked at this very morning has a black interior to the barrel. I'm betting it's as a result of using the subs rather than BP.

tac