Rust on a blued barrel inevitable?

[vexesus]

Hi guys,

Hopefully the 'stainless' vs 'blued' steel barrel questions haven't been done to death yet

They make tonnes of rifles in both, so I'm sure at the end of the day a rifle made from either blued steel or stainless will get the job done.

Is some rust on a blued barrel inevitable though? Even if it takes, 10, 15, 20 years or whatever?

[halberg]

Probably something you already know, but just in case...

Stainless rusts as well over time, the same as blued steel.

Both need proper care which makes the whole debate academic IMO. It's not like you can buy a stainless barrel rifle and never clean it.

Both will develop rust eventually, and both will develop it quicker if you don't take care of them.

Buy whatever gun you want regardless and take good care of it.

[Hadoku]

Is some rust on a blued barrel inevitable though? Even if it takes, 10, 15, 20 years or whatever?

Nothing lasts for ever, so is it inevitable? In a word, yes.

Whether it happens in a time frame that will make any difference to you whatsoever though, that's a different story.

Might be an issue in some years time, might never be an issue.

[Berper]

If I recall correctly, the way stainless steel resists rust is due to the chromium in it.

What happens is that the outer layer actually does "rust" and you get a micron thing layer of chromium oxide on the outside of the steel.

This seals the metal and stops it corroding deeply.

As the metal wears and is cleaned etc. this later is removed and refreshed and so on.

In the wrong conditions though I believe the corrosion can get the upper hand on this sealing process and go bad though.

[ployer]

Thanks Professor Berper

[Rocker]

What happens is that the outer layer actually does "rust" and you get a micron thing layer of chromium oxide on the outside of the steel.

Same for anodising isn't it?

They electroplate (or whatever the process is) a layer of oxide onto aluminium and things like that while protect them long term.

Gotta wonder who came up with these techniques.

"I know, I'll protect it from rust by rusting the outside of it!"

[reddog]

I have both and yes while they will both corrode , it's the time it takes to happen . If you get blood or sweat on a stainless barrel
you can leave it for a week and then clean it and it will just wipe off even if there is a slight bit of surface rust . Do the same with a
blued gun and you will probably have rust pits in there already . There is also different quality's of bluing , when I first got my CZ 22
half a night of spotlighting and the barrel would be rusting where you were holding it .But my Winchester M70 supergrade seems
to resist sweat a lot better .

[Arth]

If you get blood or sweat on a stainless barrel you can leave it for a week and then clean it and it will just wipe off even if there is a slight bit of surface rust . Do the same with a blued gun and you will probably have rust pits in there already.

How did you come to be testing how long blood takes to rust all these rifles