Nickel finish vs blued finish vs stainless finish

[GunGuy34]

Whats best, which is more durable. I've heard of nickel flaking off etc... Other then as a show piece, is nickel finish that practical?

 

[happiness is a warm gun]

A nice polished blue looks the best, but stainless is far more durable and lower maintance.

 

[Greenhorse six]

Does Stainless steel count as a finish?

I've heard the same about nickel finish flaking off , but only after a long ,long ,long time.

 

[ffgats]

Hardchrome would be my choice, more durable ang longevity to frame/slide fit

 

[dogzilla]

Unless it's satin nickel, they show up every fingerprint or mark and you spend more time polishing it than shooting it. (there's also the part about looking like a pimp)

 

[Ballox]

My high polished stainless CZ is beautiful just like hard chrome. No fear of flaking and I enjoy polishing off the finger prints after cause it's so damn ###y to look at.

 

[acm]

"Practical"? Probably not. It's just so damn ###y...

I have a satin nickel P226 and a P225 with a nickel slide, and they definitely take more work, but they're the first ones everyone want to shoot....

No flaking on either yet, but they tarnish REAL fast. I've found it helps a lot to wipe them down with a silicone impregnated cloth, then keep grubby fingers away.

 

[indyelviskenobi]

I love blued steel and I love stainless steel for different reasons.

I love the look of wood grips and deep blued steel like I had on my Smith and Wesson Model 41. It was almost to pretty to shoot.

For ease of maintenance, my Smith 645 in stainless with synthetic grips was less pretty but could take a beating and still be beautiful in its own practical way.

 

[HEIS]

... And then u have modern finishes like the one on a Sig226!

 

[Stainless_smith]

Stainless is the most durable.

 

[Ganderite]

I have guns in blue, stainless, satin nickle and pimp nickle.

I realy like the satin nickle on my Colt 1911 OM. The blue and stainlessa re almost as good. I do not like the pimp nickle at all.

The only nickle guns I have that are flaking are 100 years old. Modern techniques are probably better.

 

[Stainless_smith]

The only nickle guns I have that are flaking are 100 years old. Modern techniques are probably better.

Not better then stainless though.

 

[IM_Lugger]

My high polished stainless CZ is beautiful just like hard chrome. No fear of flaking and I enjoy polishing off the finger prints after cause it's so damn ###y to look at.

same here

 

[MegaMonkeyChunk]

Rainbow titanium.

 

[easyrider604]

Whats best, which is more durable. I've heard of nickel flaking off etc... Other then as a show piece, is nickel finish that practical?

A gun made from stainless steel will have the most durable finish. That's because it doesn't have a "finish" to speak of. Normal scratches are easy to polish off.

IMO,electroless nickel is practical while pimp nickel is not.

Blue finish is pretty, the prettiest IMO, but the most impractical and can make one worry about rust.

 

[Stainless_smith]

Pimp nickel LMAO!