Stainless or blue steel

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hevangel

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I am thinking about which 1911 should I get? One made in stainless steel or one made in blue steel. I heard that handgun made in stainless steel require extra care in cleaning and it is less reliable in long run. On the other hand, a stainless steel looks cooler than a blue steel. Any opinion?

Thanks.
 
I don't find I put any extra time with my stainless over my other pistols. I clean them all thoroughly and then polish them with the polishing cloth and then pack them away. Its really your preference.
 
If you prefer the look of stainless, get a stainless.
Stainless will wear less the a blued gun.
Both should be reliable in the long run.
 
Some time ago I found that stainless barrels used in rifles have about 30% longer life than blue ones. As for galling on stainless guns between slide and frame, it use to be issue couple decades ago, but not any more.
 
I used to love the look of stainless steel gun but after own several shinny gun and I found I like black gun more than shinny gun. Now if someone tell you stainless steel is not reliable, he may just BS on you because what made reliable is the design and the mechanism. Plus stainless steel wear less than normal steel.
Trigun
 
The only issue I know of, aside from aesthetics, is that bluing wears down faster than basically anything else (other finishes, stainless), as others have said.
 
All three of my pistols are now stainless (including the one that is in my avatar picture). I like the look, and they are more weather and corrosion resistant. They clean the same as any other gun I've ever cleaned. IMHO, for the few bucks extra, go for the stainless.
 
zoolander.jpg
 
if i had to i'd definately go stainless- far less maintence and better wear- and the fact that it's a material, not a finish, so it's not like it's going to come/wear off,although aside from blue, it takes a lot of shooting and holster wear to wear a finish- my nickel guns are still as fresh looking as factory, which was the only way you could get anything back then- blue, park, or nickel- at one time they did have a problem with stainless "galling" , but i beleive that's been overcome
 
It's a 1911. If it's your first then blued for sure, it's a classic look. Save stainless for your second or third 1911. And if you think there won't be a second or third, you're foolin' yourself! :D
 
why would you want to nickel after?- i don't get it- besides, nickel is a finish, and will leave a very slight thickness on the metal- which means everything may or may not fit back together after the nickel is applied, depending on the tolerances in the gun
the nickel i do have is a factory job, so it was tested before it left the factory
or are you wanting to buy blue and then have nickel applied over it, like hard chrome,
 
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t-star said:
why would you want to nickel after?- i don't get it- besides, nickel is a finish, and will leave a very slight thickness on the metal- which means everything may or may not fit back together after the nickel is applied, depending on the tolerances in the gun
the nickel i do have is a factory job, so it was tested before it left the factory
or are you wanting to buy blue and then have nickel applied over it, like hard chrome,
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No I'm thinking of gun that original finish is scratched to hell, so remove it completely and instead of rebluing, putting on a nickel plate finish. I've been doing some reading on it. We are talking of a thickness of .5 mils, I don't that should cause any problems? Opinions?
 
you'll only have that problem with blue- or possibly park- stainless steel holds it's finish for a very long time,and my nickel job is a 1980 issue- one of the last of the 70 series before the firing pin block came in- it's still as shiny as the day it left the factory- if you go to get a blued gun refinished, there's a myriad of options availabe including teflon- with stainless, because it's not a finish, your options would be somewhat limited-as for the thickness, again, it depends on the individual gun and the tolerances built in- you won't know until you go to have it done- and lord help you if you get your hands on a ww2 version and have it refinished
 
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I hear ya! I'm thinking more along the line of the el-cheapo Norincos. I found this place in the US that sells all sorts of kits for finishs including black oxide.
Would make for some interesting projects.
 
i've got a ww2 remington that was parked, and the only place it shows any wear at all is the muzzle- i know the norc uses a good deep blue as well, and you'll probably be in your grave before the gun NEEDS refinishing- so it's a choice- unless you do a lot of drawing from a holster, or abuse it in some way, like letting it rust or something-or leaving it IN THE HOLSTER( LEATHER) FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME
 
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