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As I wait for my CHL to be processed, I am deciding which pistol to get. But I found myself in a bit of a dilemma.

I can't decided between stainless steel or the blued finish. I am looking at the Kimber Pro Carry TLE/RL II.....and both look sweet in either finish.

So I think a few factors can help me decided.

Which finish holds up better? (holster wear, heat)
Which finish is easier to clean? (inside and out)
Other pros/cons of each?

Thanks in advance!!!

I like stainless for my carry gun becuase the finish doesn't wear off like blued ones. I've never had any rust problems w/ any of my guns, but I do seem to wear blue finish off pretty quick (and it is not with cheap pistols either).

There are blackened stainless finishes too.

j1132s wrote:I like stainless for my carry gun becuase the finish doesn't wear off like blued ones. I've never had any rust problems w/ any of my guns, but I do seem to wear blue finish off pretty quick (and it is not with cheap pistols either).

There are blackened stainless finishes too.

But if you have an issue with how well the piece looks over time, then the stainless would probably be the way to go...

All other finishes can pretty much be re-applied if you get to where you want that "look" back...

How 'bout a parkerized or mil-spec type finish??? Don't know if that floats anyone's boat so far...It could be considered dull, ugly or some other derogatory term, but I figure you don't worry too much about dinging that up if thats the case...

j1132s wrote:I like stainless for my carry gun becuase the finish doesn't wear off like blued ones. I've never had any rust problems w/ any of my guns, but I do seem to wear blue finish off pretty quick (and it is not with cheap pistols either).

There are blackened stainless finishes too.

+1

If the weapon is offered in stainless, then that is how I prefer it.

Less subject to rust, no refinishing if you want to knock off some of the sharp edges, appears larger than their blued/other finish counterparts, more visible at night/lowlight (to BG), can be polished or bead-blasted at home with minimal equipment.

Not as pretty as deeply blued and polished firearm though.

flintknapper wrote:

j1132s wrote:I like stainless for my carry gun becuase the finish doesn't wear off like blued ones. I've never had any rust problems w/ any of my guns, but I do seem to wear blue finish off pretty quick (and it is not with cheap pistols either).

There are blackened stainless finishes too.

+1

If the weapon is offered in stainless, then that is how I prefer it.

Less subject to rust, no refinishing if you want to knock off some of the sharp edges, appears larger than their blued/other finish counter parts, more visible at night/lowlight (to BG), can be polished or bead-blasted at home with minimal equipment.

Not as pretty as deeply blued and polished firearm though.

Charles L. Cotton wrote:

flintknapper wrote:

j1132s wrote:I like stainless for my carry gun becuase the finish doesn't wear off like blued ones. I've never had any rust problems w/ any of my guns, but I do seem to wear blue finish off pretty quick (and it is not with cheap pistols either).

There are blackened stainless finishes too.

+1

If the weapon is offered in stainless, then that is how I prefer it.

Less subject to rust, no refinishing if you want to knock off some of the sharp edges, appears larger than their blued/other finish counter parts, more visible at night/lowlight (to BG), can be polished or bead-blasted at home with minimal equipment.

Not as pretty as deeply blued and polished firearm though.

+1
If I want something pretty I'll buy a wall hanging. If I want something that I can shoot lots, Take lots of carry wear and tear its stainless. Pretty guns are for safes and barbeques

Liberty wrote:

Charles L. Cotton wrote:

flintknapper wrote:

j1132s wrote:I like stainless for my carry gun becuase the finish doesn't wear off like blued ones. I've never had any rust problems w/ any of my guns, but I do seem to wear blue finish off pretty quick (and it is not with cheap pistols either).

There are blackened stainless finishes too.

+1

If the weapon is offered in stainless, then that is how I prefer it.

Less subject to rust, no refinishing if you want to knock off some of the sharp edges, appears larger than their blued/other finish counter parts, more visible at night/lowlight (to BG), can be polished or bead-blasted at home with minimal equipment.

Not as pretty as deeply blued and polished firearm though.

+1
If I want something pretty I'll buy a wall hanging. If I want something that I can shoot lots, Take lots of carry wear and tear its stainless. Pretty guns are for safes and barbeques

+2
All of my pistols are stainless. Only my rifles & shotguns are
blued.

I dunno, I've always liked a blued gun with some honest wear. I really like the bluing on my High Power, but I still carry it. The bluing's wearing off around the edges on the muzzle, too. I'll likely carry it until the whole pistol's turned gray, and then some.

A "wall hanger/safe queen" just doesn't make sense to me.

Stainless.

Ever since guns have come in stainless, that's all I have gotten.

I see no reason to purchase blued
guns anymore...and especially if they are for concealed-carry.

-- John D.

I reluctantly agree with the above. Stainless is so much easier to take care of than a blued finish.

Blue still wins hands down in the looks dept imho.

Stainless is simpler and easier to take care of if looks are important to you. Looks aren't quite as important to me these days. Do be warned that stainless can still rust and occasionally you'll come across stainless guns that rust almost as fast as blued steel. I've got a Stainless Combat Commander that rusts faster than plain 4140 in the white.

Additionally, my experience has been blued guns are smoother, harder and last longer. Of course, the hang up is bluing generally offers no corrosion resistance and so a protective finish must be applied if you don't want to spend every evening oiling the gun. Unfortunately, that finish may or may not be easily maintained at home.

Lately, I've been developing a greater appreciation of Robar's NP3 finish. It's an electroless nickle-teflon composite finish that's very slick, looks good and makes overall maintenance VERY easy. So far, holster wear isn't much of an issue. But I really like the idea of being able to use just an oily rag to clean up my pistol.