So i got a new revolver last week, and its matte stainless steel. my 2 previous firearms have been blued, so i'm new to stainless steel. what are some cleaning/preserving methods you guys use? Also, is there a way to keep the matte finish as prestine as possible? it seems that any type of friction can wear the finish pretty easily.
protecting/cleaning SS
- Thread starter SSJChar
- Start date
Clean and protect it the same way you would treat your blued guns. SS will rust if not taken care of. Most matte finish is made up of many tiny dimples/bumps from bead blasted surface. Any impact or hard surface to surface rub would flatten these tiny bumps creating a shiny spot. Just store on or in a soft surface container.
- Location
- Montreal, Quebec
Baking soda and water mixed into a paste. Polish with a Dremel tool.
I use Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish on my SS revolver. It gets pretty heavy use and I'm happy with this approach. Works amazing with minimal effort. I'm sure a rotary tool would work well too, but I just use the polish and two cotton rags. One to apply and one to buff off. Very light oil, very rarely, on the internals and I've never oiled the exterior.
This will turn a matte finish shinier, but you might find a shinier finish will be easier to clean subsequently. I did. I'm not talking shiny as chrome, but shiny enough that smudges and oils don't show at all and the burnt black and brown crap doesn't stick as much. YMMV.
This will turn a matte finish shinier, but you might find a shinier finish will be easier to clean subsequently. I did. I'm not talking shiny as chrome, but shiny enough that smudges and oils don't show at all and the burnt black and brown crap doesn't stick as much. YMMV.
If it was a polished finish I'd second the Mother's route. But NOT for matt finish. The Mothers would get into the surface roughness that gives the gun the matt look and you'll never get it out so it would look chalky unless you polish the heck out of it and then the Mother's would over time convert the matt finish to a mirror polished surface. Mother's, and any of the other mag wheel polishes, are mildly abrasive and work their magic by buffing away the metal of the surface and waxing at the same time to remove the mild surface scratches that take away the shine we want on things like mag wheels.
Nope, for your matt stainless you should only use light oil just as you have done and then wipe off any excess. If it get's stained then some cleaning with a solvent that will lift the stain such as brake cleaner or carb cleaner from an auto supply store will work but then re-oil following the removal of the stain.
At no time should you use any product that has a milky or thick cream like consistency since almost all of those use a very fine white abrasive as the key cleaning element. Most car waxes are a perfect example. If in doubt try some on a scrap of sheet aluminium. If you can rub it onto the metal and the rag comes away black then it is abrasive and that black on the rag is the metal wearing off. That's the last thing you need on a matt finish stainless gun.
Nope, for your matt stainless you should only use light oil just as you have done and then wipe off any excess. If it get's stained then some cleaning with a solvent that will lift the stain such as brake cleaner or carb cleaner from an auto supply store will work but then re-oil following the removal of the stain.
At no time should you use any product that has a milky or thick cream like consistency since almost all of those use a very fine white abrasive as the key cleaning element. Most car waxes are a perfect example. If in doubt try some on a scrap of sheet aluminium. If you can rub it onto the metal and the rag comes away black then it is abrasive and that black on the rag is the metal wearing off. That's the last thing you need on a matt finish stainless gun.
i find this works the best
T-17™ Firearm Wipes- Cat. No. 7493
Product Details
T-17™ Firearm Wipes are a handy wipe that coats your firearm with a
micro thin layer of protectant that withstands the corrosive effects of
black powder fouling. Use these wipes prior to hunting in foul weather.
Keeps your firearm in factory condition.
Catalog No. 7493
50 wipes.
T-17™ Firearm Wipes- Cat. No. 7493
Product Details
T-17™ Firearm Wipes are a handy wipe that coats your firearm with a
micro thin layer of protectant that withstands the corrosive effects of
black powder fouling. Use these wipes prior to hunting in foul weather.
Keeps your firearm in factory condition.
Catalog No. 7493
50 wipes.
aka a rag with gunoil on it for 10x the price....
ya but it is worth the 4.99 i pay for them . and it come with a nice rag
I've never seen or used Flitz. But from the quick google I did on it and the manner of usage I gather it's another abrasive polishing creme similar to Mother's or any of the chrome polishes or any of the "cleaning" car waxes but without the ammonia or other ingredient that eats at the surface corrosion to assist in the polishing.
I still stand by my claim that an abrasive or "shine restorative" product is the last thing you'll want to use if maintaining the matt finish is important to you.
Similarly for a blued finish even if it is shiney. It'll be fine for a few times but being abrasive it'll eat away a little of the blueing each time it is used and at some point the blueing will begin to get spotty and faded as it gets closer to the base metal.
Again, the key is that if you can rub some into some clean metal and the cloth or paper towel comes away black'ish then that black is metal that was removed by the polishing product.
I still stand by my claim that an abrasive or "shine restorative" product is the last thing you'll want to use if maintaining the matt finish is important to you.
Similarly for a blued finish even if it is shiney. It'll be fine for a few times but being abrasive it'll eat away a little of the blueing each time it is used and at some point the blueing will begin to get spotty and faded as it gets closer to the base metal.
Again, the key is that if you can rub some into some clean metal and the cloth or paper towel comes away black'ish then that black is metal that was removed by the polishing product.
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