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DWF Supporters
June 20, 2010
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Hi All,
I put a Model 15-2, 6 inch SS barrel on Gunbroker a few days ago. I just happened to pick it up at a Gunshop and thought I would 'pass it along' on GB (thinking it was a bit rare as it looked like it had a 445 Super Mag type matte finish). That tactic usually pays for my gas going down to town (45 miles RT). Anyways the more I looked at the Barrel Assembly, the more I started to think that it wasn't a Factory Matte finish. I chatted a bit with Shoot about it, and I/we are not sure what the finish could be. Shoot was at a disadvantage, though quite helpful, as he couldn't actually see/hold the BA.
I pulled the GB listing for now, but here is the link with 10 photos:
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=245698159
Whatever the coating is, it is hard as a rock 
. I firmly wire-wheeled a small section of the threads where the barrel nut would thread on (using a hand drill and a 4 in or so wire wheel at half speed, taking about 10 secs to go all the way around the barrel circumference). It didn't make a scratch (I could post some closeups of the threads at both ends). I think at this point, the "dings" aren't scratches down to the metal, but instead maybe just "compressed coating". It is actually a great coating, so I ponder why the frame didn't come along for the ride. The BA is clearly Stainless Steel, but is not sandblasted, etc...
All opinions appreciated. I am also curious if this ?Could Be? a factory finish, it is really tough and the roll marks are clean and crisp also.
I don't think I could buff this one up easily, so I may have to make a project out of it, which would mean another frame....
December 26, 2010
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I agree it looks like a coating. To me it looks like a powdercoat but I don't think powdercoat would stand up to a wire brush. I really don't know.
August 29, 2009
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Any one of us trying to evaluate that based on a photo is only speculating. So I'll speculate - it looks bead blasted to me.
DWF Supporters
June 20, 2010
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Yea, I know it is tough to do via photos. I am almost positive it is a coating, based on the line visible in the muzzle end of the shroud (see below hopefully)
The next one is a photo of the 357 barrel against my 44 SS for a color comparison
Finally, the thread that was wire-wheeled, only the width of the nut pretty much (i.e 1/2 of the thread was not wire-wheeled). If it was bead blasted, the color wouldn't be in the thread grooves would it?
Hope that helps a bit. I am somewhat stumped for now, but will continue researching...
August 29, 2009
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Why don't you bring it down to a local plating/finishing shop and get their opinion on it. Or if it's really tearing you apart, sent it out to a lab for a micro-structure and chemical composition analysis. 
Seriously, we're just pulling at straws here with just guesses of what it looks like.
DWF Supporters
Dans Club
Moderators
November 17, 2008
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I agree it is just a guess via photo but "my" guess is also bead blasted.
LB
Wisdom is merely the realization of how little one knows, therefore I am wise.
Supporter
Moderators
January 24, 2009
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It looks bead blasted to me too, just judging from the pics. You could try to polish a small spot at the back end of the shroud (where the shroud meets the frame). The shroud will be less hardened than the barrel & should polish up easier, if it is indeed bead blasted.
December 26, 2010
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The bore looked good. Shoot it, shoot it, shoot it.
DWF Supporters
June 20, 2010
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harly said:
Why don't you bring it down to a local plating/finishing shop and get their opinion on it. Or if it's really tearing you apart, sent it out to a lab for a micro-structure and chemical composition composition analysis.
Allright Harly, give me a break 
. I am just trying to figure out what to do with it 
. I could just shoot it, but i just happen to have enough 6" 357 barrels. If I could polish the barrel down, or bead blast a frame to match, I would probably go pick up a SS frame and make it a project. That's why I am trying to figure out exactly what it is.
'course, I could just relist on GB with what I've learned and see if anybody wants it. Live and Learn I guess....
Has anybody ever put a link to a topic on the DWF into a GB listing? I could do that, but not sure on the etiquette on that. I love this board, great people, no Trolls. Not sure that having a link to here from a GB listing is a good idea? Sounds like a new topic...
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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I have put DWF links on THR, rimfirecentral, ArfCom, and others. There should not be a problem with doing that as long as it does not cause any issues with GB.
BTW-I'm guessing bead blast and then refinished hard chrome
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman "Were is the Self Help Section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
George Carlin
February 2, 2009
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It looks like the finish on one of my Contender barrels; TC called it Armalloy, it looks like a bead blasted finish, but is much harder than any other finish that I know of except the titanium, the finish on mine isn't on ss though.
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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I was thinking Armalloy as well
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman "Were is the Self Help Section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
George Carlin
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Range Officer
Range Officers
May 2, 2009
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My first guess was Armaloy, but it isn't quite shiny enough (in my opinion)... I've had / held Armaloy guns, and when properly applied it is a shiny slick finish.
SHOOT
August 29, 2009
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Headsmaster said:
Allright Harly, give me a break
Sorry Headmaster - I was just having a little fun with it! No harm intended. Seriously though, it will be nearly impossible to correctly guess that finish from photos. But, since we are all having fun guessing, I'm going to side with Steve CT - blasted with hard chrome. A blast with aluminum ox. will get into the threads. I'm not so sure that a coating, ceramic or otherwise, will stand up to the wire brush test that you performed. Anyway, if you do nail it down, please let us all know!
Range Officer
Range Officers
Dans Club
March 27, 2009
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Looks like hard chrome to me!
Like the W12 of mine
DWF Supporters
July 11, 2009
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It almost looks and sounds like some sort of Sandstrom coating, but I've only seen it when the surface it is applied to is much smoother.
Does it feel "slick" (if that makes sense)?
Hope is not a course of action
DWF Supporters
June 20, 2010
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freerider04 said:
It almost looks and sounds like some sort of Sandstrom coating, but I've only seen it when the surface it is applied to is much smoother.
Does it feel "slick" (if that makes sense)?
Yow, that's like asking me to describe red. I "felt around" to find something similar that other people may have. It feels as "slick" as those round, semi-clear plastic, throw away Bic pens (Bic Ultra Round Stic Grip). Unlike glass, if you push harder on this BA, it still feels the same amount of "slippery", if that makes sense.
I just checked one of my blued DW BAs and that had a lot more 'drag' to it (though it was extremely smooth). So maybe it is not that it is slippery (i.e. it doesn't feel like you are holding something oily), but that there is very little 'drag resistance' even if you push hard (but it is not as smooth as a glass window or a blued BA).
I am going to see if the gun shop owner can remember where/who he got this from. It has been on his shelf for a while. He thought it was a 'Supermag Type' coating when I asked him (but I'll ask again since this has turned into a mystery novel ). If he knows who he got it from, maybe we can solve this mystery.
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Range Officer
Range Officers
May 2, 2009
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It is some leftover Teflon coating from space shuttle bolts....I think they took a DW on the first Columbia mission 
SHOOT
Dans Club
March 2, 2008
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Whatever the finish applied was, the texture will reflect the surface it was put onto. Some finishes may smooth out the base texture a bit, and some finishes may add more texture, but in the end, it's really about the surface prep.
I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman "Were is the Self Help Section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.
George Carlin
DWF Supporters
June 20, 2010
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Drum roll, and the correct answer is .... Unknown 
.
The gunshop owner remembers this BA coming in with another matching barrel and frame, but the buyer didn't want this extra barrel. The store owner still thinks it is a factory finish, though I think most (all?) of us on the DWF think it is not. I couldn't get him to ask/check with the seller (not sure he could actually).
I side with Harly, Steve CT, and DWA Midwest, I think it is also hard chrome, after looking at this Model 12:
https://www.danwessonforum.com/forum/auctions/hard-chrome-w-12-on-gb
I'll put it back up on GB again, probably tomorrow. I am starting to get a really bad case of 
. Thankfully, my wife is being extremely understanding.
And thanks all for the input 
.
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