SS Color

[Shotgun Franklin]

It's possible to add color to stainless steel to get about any color gun you might want. So why don't the makers add color so you can have a 'blue' SS gun? I don't much like the glow in the dark handguns and it would allow for a SS percussion gun that looks right.

[Adirondack Jack]

if ya start doing odd things with guns, some like em, others HATE em, some are indifferent.  Why split the buyer pool when NOT doing it costs a little less?

[Shotgun Franklin]

If the maker were to charge more for a clone of an old gun to look right they would only be ripping buyers off. The color is really cheap. Would you like an 1860 Army that looks like an 1860 Army or like a ray gun.

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[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

From one I understand, while some stainless steels, mainly the Austenitic ones, can be surface finished various colors electrolytically, it is not really practical for a firearm. Such finishes are not very durable, and once scratched, the base color of the stainless will show right through. And I doubt the blue available will much look like a traditional gun blue. You can't touch it up either, like you can with cold blue on a blued surface.

Anodizing is also possible, but it is not as rugged as anodizing on aluminum. Plus, with anodizing, I doubt if you will get a mirror finish, I believe it will always be a matte finish.

The idea behind the Stainless Vaqueros, when Ruger first introduce the highly polished version was it was a fair approximation of an old fashioned Nickel Plated finish. That has always worked for me.

My 1860 Army pistols are blue, and look like a brand new pair of blued pistols. I don't see the need for Stainless, I shoot Black Powder with both blued and Stainless guns.