Anyone have any finish issues on the stainless Mark IV?

After looking at a stainless Mark IV Target at Scheel's in their display, they said they had one left in stock in the box in the back. I gave that one a quick glance after they got everything ready to have the FFL pick it up since I live in the next state, and didn't see the weird dark spot on the barrel until after I got it from the FFL and got it home and really looked it over. You really see it when the barrel is tilted toward you like the pic. In the store, I just gave it a quick look when they brought it out and we took it out of the bag, not thinking it would have any blemishes since it's new in the box. I don't know if it's something in the satin coat on the barrel but it's definitely noticeable and after I took it back to the store, the guy tried to tell something about the barrel being welded on and the heat doing that, and showed me the display model, trying to point out where he could see the same type of blemishes. I couldn't see anything dark and big like this, and took the bottom of my shirt hem and wiped off one of the "blemishes" after he pointed to it. It didn't have big grey marks like this one, mostly lots fingerprints and scratches from being handled.

He said they could send it to Ruger, as they had no more in stock, and I said I'd call and see what they had to say about it. Ruger was great with taking care of the issues I had on the LCRX so hopefully they can help me on this.

Of course it's nonsense that the barrel and receiver are welded together but that discoloration may have occurred during the finishing/buffing process and may indeed be a heat stain. I expect it's only cosmetic and will have no effect on the gun's functioning.

You can, of course, send it back to Ruger for correcting but, if it were mine, I'd shoot it a lot first to be sure everything else is ok. If it is I'd probably just buff it out myself with a Scotchbrite pad.

22/45 Fan said:

..... I'd shoot it a lot ..... I'd probably just buff it out myself with a Scotchbrite pad.

Click to expand...

Me too.

I have a Mark II and when we lived in Seattle, the salt air was hard even on stainless guns. I used a scotch brite pad to restore the factory finish and remove many spots and stains or what-have you.

Even if you do decide to send it back, take it out and shoot it first. They will still take it back even if it's been shot.

Edited to add: thanks for the picture. I didn't know they have recessed target crowns like that. That's sharp!

The stainless steel finish on the new Ruger Mark IV pistols is sorta unique and nothing like the method used on the Ruger Mark II or III pistols. This finish looks like it was done by "soda blasting" or a similar method to get the "blasted" look. However Ruger gets this finish, I'd be a bit reluctant to try and replicate it without knowing HOW they actually did it.

Thanks for all the comments, I appreciate it! I had read about the Scotchbrite pad technique for scratches, but saw it was for the previous models and wasn't sure I should try it on this one or not. Since it's new, I figured I'd call Ruger and lucked out and got a supervisor that was VERY helpful this morning and she is having me ship it back to them to look at. They went above and beyond with the LCRX issues I had and I'm sure they'll help fix this. I'll keep you all posted.

Thanks again!

And by the way Dave, how'd you lose your spleen?

Danjet500 said:

And by the way Dave, how'd you lose your spleen?

Click to expand...

I was driving down a street in Kansas to work on Valentine's Day and there was a bad ice storm. They said that I got in to the left lane to pass a car and began sliding sideways, and went right in to the other two lanes of oncoming traffic, in to the path of a 70's Cutlass. My little 88 Toyota pickup didn't stand a chance, and it caved in my drivers door, crushing my pelvis, dislocating my left leg, breaking my right ankle and dislocating 3 arch bones in my foot. I also hit my left side of my face inside the truck and cracked my skull, broke my left cheekbone and eye socket, broke my jaw, collapsed my lungs and damaged the spleen. Luckily the first guy on the scene was an ex paramedic and he got in the truck and checked me out to see what all was wrong. Then the firefighters came and took the top off the truck and got me out. The lady I slid in to had been hit by another driver a few weeks before and busted her tailbone. She probably saw me coming and thought "Not again!!"

They said they almost lost me a couple of times, and sliced me down the center of my stomach to deal with the internal bleeding and take out the damaged spleen. They re-inflated my lungs, put a bunch of titanium in my face and pelvis and I spent 2 weeks in ICU and another month in a room before the insurance company booted me out when the bill hit a quarter mil. I stayed for a few more months at my Mom's to recuperate and put back on some of the 30 pounds I lost (I dropped to 135 lbs at 6' tall) and learn to walk again. I was 25 at the time and am 52 now and still upright and mobile, but I do have a lot of aches and pains, especially in the mornings but working out 4 days a week helps.

Kevin said:

Edited to add: thanks for the picture. I didn't know they have recessed target crowns like that. That's sharp!

Click to expand...

You're welcome! It was difficult to get a good shot of the mark with the reflective surface. I went from room to room for different light to get a good shot of it.

It's a damned nice looking pistol, I got to look at one at a gun show a while back and then fondled the one at Scheel's and kept thinking about it. I like the blued version too, but the stainless just looks really good to me. I may put the Hunter Hi-Vis front sight on this one and am thinking about the Ruger wooden grips, as I like how they look on the Hunter.

Send it back to Ruger or pay a local 'smith $25 to blast it using used plastic media or baking soda. Doubt Ruger will do cosmetic rework for free, as no one is ever 100% satisfied and they don't sell jewelry as you probably know. But ask anyway?
White guns generally get the 60-second buffing with four brush-wheels of decreasing impact. Plain barrels used to get a brushing in a hollow-core brush, but things may have changed.

mohavesam said:

Send it back to Ruger or pay a local 'smith $25 to blast it using used plastic media or baking soda. Doubt they will do cosmetic rework for free, as no one is ever 100% satisfied and they don't sell jewelry as you probably know.

Click to expand...

I dropped it off at FedEx over lunch today and it should be to them in a couple of days, so hopefully I'll hear back this week about it. The supervisor I talked to this morning said "send it in " and gave me an RA as soon as I described the problem, and I'm hoping they'll do like they did with the LCRX I had issues with and just send a new one since this is brand new and it's a big flaw and probably not an easy fix.

If it had been a small spot, I'd have just kept it. But this was a definite flaw as I'd never seen a spot like it on others I looked at. Just my luck to get the last one and the one with a defect. :lol:

What flaw? Not to pick a wound, but I didn't see anything mechanical in the thread? Only because it is not jumping out in photos, Is it that bad in person for a $400 rimfire?

IMHO finish inconsistencies are to be expected with any pass produced stainless firearm. I would not have made an issue out of it unless it was a $3000 Freedom Arms. :roll:

Here's another pic I had of it that shows the finish flaw on the side of the barrel better. If it wasn't a brand new gun I wouldn't care but it's like buying a brand new car with a dent already in it. I'm surprised it made it out of the plant with that on it. If you look at the gun flat from the right side, it fades out with the way the light hits it but there is a place you can see that is there but much more faint. Tilt the barrel toward you and the flaw suddenly gets much darker and jumps out. I just wish I had looked at it better at the store and could have had them order one for me instead. Yeah, it's not a $3000 gun, but it's also not supposed to have a big dark spot on it.

Spleenless Dave said:

.....it's like buying a brand new car with a dent already in it.

Click to expand...

No it isn't. Have you owned any stainless Rugers before?

CraigC said:

Spleenless Dave said:

.....it's like buying a brand new car with a dent already in it.

Click to expand...

No it isn't. Have you owned any stainless Rugers before?

Click to expand...

No, I've owned a stainless AMT .22 magnum and an Inox Beretta 92.

I'm curious as to Ruger's response to this finish and what they said & did. How about some follow-up?

mohavesam said:

I'm curious as to Ruger's response to this finish and what they said & did. How about some follow-up?

Click to expand...

I talked to them today and they said they were doing the "wet blast" finish again on the lower, which was curious since I sent in the gun for the upper to be fixed. Maybe they saw something on it that I didn't, but she was going to make sure the tech redid the upper which was why it was sent back. She was very helpful and great to talk to. They've got outstanding customer service there, so I'm sure I'll be happy with it when it gets back home to me.

I went to the link to "talk to the CEO" over the weekend and emailed him to say "No complaints, just a compliment" and let him know they had a great staff there that was very helpful and courteous. I'm sure companies get complaints a lot, so a "nice" email is good to get when a customer is pleased.

Got my gun back today!! They wet blasted the whole thing, and the blemish on the barrel is gone. The note with it said they put 40 rounds through it to test it and it ran flawlessy, plus they gave me a Ruger gun rag as a gift. Nice little touch. I'll post a pic later after I put the Competition grips on it once I'm home.

Thank you Ruger! :mrgreen: