Sidearms & Scatterguns Ruger pistols rusting easily

[elwarpo]

I carried my LCP for 1 week on vacation and oiled it before the trip. The slide is heavily rusted and pitted. My LC9s which I carry infrequently is also rusted after about a month. My CZ75 which I have carried for the last few years is not rusted, even the rivets on my jeans only left brass marks on the finish. Emailed Ruger and let's see what they say. Just trying to let people know how easily they rust so you cab prevent the rust on yours.

 

[Backcountryguy]

All over or only on your body-side?

 

[elwarpo]

Pic without holsters

All over or only on your body-side?

Only where they touched my side. You can see in the other pic that the rust ends at the holster.

 

[Herstal 12]

Time to cerakote the slides or stop sweating on your pistols LOL
Cheers

 

[Backcountryguy]

Agree with the statement above. Cerakote or use something like a kydex holster with a full sweat-shield to keep any moisture from your body completely off the pistol. Leather holsters are undoubtedly beautiful and more comfortable to some, but with enough sweat soaking through them your firearm will still get damp

I don’t know this for certain but I assume your CZ cost a bit more than your Rugers. Part of Rugers cost cutting on certain firearm models is that the finish isn’t all that durable or rust-resistant

 

[elwarpo]

Did not expect the Rugers to be the same quality of the CZ, but I did not expect heavy rust and pitting after only carrying for 6 days.

 

[Herstal 12]

that would happen to any blued or parkerized pistol no matter what the brand is, most CZ are coated so bad comparison.
Cheers

 

[acudaowner]

sweaty palms is a treatable condition lol

 

[308pirate]

CZ 75 series pistols including the P-01 and SP-01 are powder coated. They won't rust unless the steel under the powder coat is exposed thru a deep scratch. The slides on the P-07, -09, and -10 plastic pistols are nitrided so they're very rust resistant.

I always wear a t shirt under my shirt when carrying. First I'm used to it from the .mil second it adds a layer of protection against sweat.

Kydex holsters also work to keep sweat off.

Finally, daily maintenance is required when carrying in humid conditions even with stainless pistols. I have second hand stainless revolvers that show pitting in places that obviously touched skin/sweat.

Like some else said blued pistols in leather holsters are defenseless against sweat rust no matter who made them. It's fucking chemistry.

Stop blaming Ruger for your failures to select appropriate holsters and to provide proper care for you pistols.

 

[Alabusa]

It could possibly be your body chemistry that is doing it so fast. I have seen, 30 years in the machining trade, guys that could lay a hand on a piece of steel and it would rust in hours. It happens.

Here are pics of my 6 year old SR9C that is an everyday, all day carry. Not a speck of rust anywhere and doesn't see much oil on the outside.

 

[308pirate]

A PhD dissertation on corrosion control is completely besides the point. The OP can't change a thing about the steel the gun's made of, his body chemistry, yada yada.

Use plastic holsters with slide sweatguards, wipe and oil your guns every day after taking them off, and wear an undershirt between the gun and the skin.

If that's not enough, send the slide to be Cerakoted.

 

[SharpsNitro]

I Cerakoted a customers LCP slide this week for this issue. It had initially been done in Duracoat but that was wearing/flaking off and it was starting to corrode underneath. Now it has a nice coat of Elite.

 

[elwarpo]

Before people start asduming stuff... I am a coatings chemist with 30 years experience inventing corrosion resistant coatings. I have multiple platents and have published dozens of articles on coatings. I fully understand coatings and corrosion. I also have been carrying (same holsters, same body) for 20 plus years. I have carried blued, nitrited, stainless, coated...pistols. I maintain my guns well when carrying that was driven into me from 15 years Canadian Infantry. I can show you a blued Browning HP I carried for my first 5 years with my concealed permit. In 30+ years of owning and carrying pistols, I have never seen any rust do quickly. This tells me there are flaws in their coatings process.

 

[elwarpo]

The leather holster is not the issue, I oil the body side of the holster, and from the pictures you can see the rust stop where the holster starts. The rusted areas are where it touched skin. For it to have rusted this quickly, it means the barrier coating had flaws that let moisture through. These small holes called holidays show the coating was either applied too thin, or not evenly.

 

[elwarpo]

Outstanding, a peer. most of mine solutions are with "the chemical people" for decades so I am well versed myself.

Then you fully agree with the failure analysis process where we need to look at all contributing factors ( the process, the substrate choice and preparation, the application and all that "technical stuff") and avoid snap decisions based on a cursory look and no supporting analysis?

Correct. If you notice in my first post, I was not bashing Ruger but warning people of a problem and that EXTRA maintenance is needed.

 

[BadQ]

It could possibly be your body chemistry that is doing it so fast.

absoulutely

I'm one of those people. If I wear a watch that is plated over a base metal, my sweat will eat the plating off at the edges in less than 3 months. I tend to stick to solid stainless/titanium in rings/watches/guns. Blued guns have to be kept wiped down, and I never carry one directly against my skin.

 

[TonyTheTiger]

Meh, they look cool rusty anyways. My LCPII is constantly wet and has rusted ever so slightly but I couldn't possibly care less. It was cheap and is the most likely to end up stuck in an evidence locker out of all my guns, so I almost consider it a disposable tool.

 

[MK20]

H&M can nitride them for you.

 

[308pirate]

The leather holster is not the issue, I oil the body side of the holster, and from the pictures you can see the rust stop where the holster starts. The rusted areas are where it touched skin. For it to have rusted this quickly, it means the barrier coating had flaws that let moisture through. These small holes called holidays show the coating was either applied too thin, or not evenly.

Barrier coating had flaws? LOL. It's blueing.

 

[elwarpo]

Barrier coating had flaws? LOL. It's blueing.

Blueing and parkerizing are still barrier coating, a conversion coating but a barrier coat. if it is done right, on a molecular level you have a uniform conversion of the steel surface that resists rust by acting as a sacrificial anode. If not done right due to irregularities in the steel (non homogeneous components in the steel) or improper surface preparation/cleaning you get micro flaws in the conversion that will allow rust to form easier.

 

[broncoaz]

This is why my LCP was the hard chrome slide, the blued one rusted badly in my pocket. My current .380 is a Kahr with a stainless slide.

 

[308pirate]

Blueing and parkerizing are still barrier coating, a conversion coating but a barrier coat. if it is done right, on a molecular level you have a uniform conversion of the steel surface that resists rust by acting as a sacrificial anode. If not done right due to irregularities in the steel (non homogeneous components in the steel) or improper surface preparation/cleaning you get micro flaws in the conversion that will allow rust to form easier.

There isn't any literature on the several black oxide processes which does not clearly state that oil coating is required for blueing to provide any meaningful corrosion protection.

Your old Hi Power was most likely rust blued, which is the strongest of the weak and a process no one does any more in volume.

You bought a price point product and now are surprised it didn't hold up? LOL

 

[hlee]

If the leather of the holster is not vegitable tanned, it has the potential to rust steel, regardless of whether you oil the inside of if or not. This is one reason why antique knives are stored separately from (not in) their leather sheaths in museum collections (even when not on display).

Always look for veg tanned leather if it is to be carrying around steel...