ltwguns.com

I'll be needing a black finish for a gun that will be actually used for daily carry. I may do a Black-T or Rogard, but I love the look of blue and it's easier and cheaper to reblue.

Does anyone out there actually carry a blue gun daily? How does it compare to bake finishes?

If you did decide on a baked finish, which do you prefer (Black-T, Rogard, Bearcoat, other)?

Yes. Many do - including myself.

Afraid there is no comparison to 'shake & bake' finishes, simply because blue is SOOOO beautiful.

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CT Brian Custom
'Blending Art With Firepower'

Hoser,

My daily carry gun is a blue Commander or a blue P7M8. To me their is no comparison between blue and the paint finishes.

I think the best of the paint finishes is Black T, but I just don't like the look of them when they wear. On the other hand, a blued gun with a little wear has character.

Yes, I do have to clean and oil it more often than Black T but that is ok for me.

The polished sides on a blue gun and the deep rich color are worth the little extra effort.

Ray

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http://www.harmscustomdesigns.com

Hoser-

All of my carry/duty pistols are blued or parked. I gave my only hard chromed pistol to my son. If it's raining I'll carry a parked gov't model Don built (I think the roughr surface finish holds more oil) but the rest of the time my duty gun is the beautifully blued 5" that Ray built. (I especially carry that on court days with a set of ivories, so I can show off )

You just need to do what Ray said and clean and oil it more often. No big deal.

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Sic Semper Tyrannis

Hoser, my preference is for a matte blue finish or parkerizing. Working near the ocean, I know that I need to wipe my gun down every day to prevent rust. I have tried NP3 and it is indeed a great finish; I just dont like the reflective qualities of it. As for the black bake on finishes, properly done, they are great, but I often see peeling and wear on these finishes. With simple matte bluing, all you have to do is send it back for bed blasting and refinishing. That, plus I like the look of a nicely worn matte blue finish..... it gives the gun a crusty veteran look, but that's just me.

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John Del Pinto

Both of my carry guns, a Colt Government or Commander are blued. I wouldn't have it any other way.

As others have said the wear on a blued gun adds character.

Regards,
Cameron

I see a trend here! My only question will be if my Wilson CQB Compact is all carbon steel underneath or a combo of stainless and carbon. Can't tell with the Armor-Tuff on it.

Anyone have any insight on this?

I've got two in the queue with TED (one commander one officer's), both are blued.

JeffVN

I'm pretty sure your CQB-C is carbon steel. AFAIK, Wilson Combat only builds carbon steel CQBs, unless it's a custom order and stainless steel is requested by the customer.

I appreciate all finishes on a quality pistol . I prefer bluing over all others but I also have a week spot for hard chrome and stainless with polished/brushed flats . Currently I'm waiting for Ted to do his majic on a Lwt. Commander and it will be polished blue with ivories , the prettiest of all combinations in my opinion . I know it will require more maintenance and cleaning , but I'll get to admire it every day ! If I lived and carried in a salt water climate , or anywhere that corrosion proved to be a problem , I think I might go with a hard chrome frame and a blued slide and just reblue the slide as needed...Tom

I'm more of an all-black gun.

I love 'em all. Blue is my first choice, BUT...hardchrome, blasted satin hardchrome looks fantastic on a gun IMO. Lasts forever, looks great, and despite where you live (for the most part) you won't have any corosion issues. Black stock on hardcrhome is like a blued pistol with beautiful exotic wood on them. I think every american male should own one of each, maybe it should be mandatory.

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Heirloom Precision, LLC.
480-804-1911

"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking."
- General George Patton Jr

Hello all,long time lurker,first time poster,etc.
Had to jump in here because I have recently decided That I pretty much only prefer blued carbon steel.went through a long stainless phase but am now fairly sick of it.Especially after rusting the bejeebers out of one a couple summers ago. Really love the look of a coarse blasted gun with just the slide flats polished as well as an all satin blasted gun after they come out of the tanks.Plus,who couldnt love the smell of the du-lite oil at the end of the process? Only thing that drives me nuts is when a slide starts turning purple after awhile.

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hand checkering chambers since 1997!

blue is a classic finish, and all of my carry guns will be blued to some respect:)
trevor

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Any questions email me at trevor@trevorzantos.com

Cannot beat a nicely blued handgun early Browning and Colt bluing is very beautiful.My latest Colt was Satin Blued at YO-BO inc after Chuck Rogers worked his magic, its simply stunning.

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"The sunshine bores the daylights outta me....."

Keith Richards

edited.

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hand checkering chambers since 1997!

Hoser,

If you like black/blue but really want more corrosion resistance than blued carbon steel, you might want to do something like this:



It started as a stainless DW Razorback and Dave Sams completely rebuilt it for me. The finish is blackened stainless, somewhat similar to the finish on SIG's guns, and it wears just like traditional bluing. I have quite a few stainless guns that Dave has done for me with this finish, and he does a damn fine job in the builds and finishing. The original post can be seen here: http://www.louderthanwords.us/forum/vie ... highlight=

Another good thing about the blackening process is that it will match carbon and stainless steels in finish... a one shot deal. I have two rifles he's built that have blued actions and stainless barrels, and they are flat black and you can't tell the difference between the finishes. I really think the only way to get a more corrosion resistant gun with as matte a finish would be to do a hard chrome with a spray and bake over the top. Still, you run the risk of having it peel or flake. Just my $0.02

Good Luck!

~Jim Keeney

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"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary