Pics of my 1911 rust issue

Gun went out to Ruger today but I managed to take an ok pic of the area. You can see the pitting and brown rust. The whole front strap is like that.

IF---IF, that is an SS 1911 pistol I can pretty well say someone rubbed/scrubbed it down with regular iron/steel wool. The particles get in the pores of the steel and BINGO, Ferrous Oxide at your service, Sir !
And so it goes...

It is a stainless model. I purchased it new last month.

So do you think there is anything that Ruger can or will do about this? I guess I'll have to wait and see.

YES !! it can be cleaned and pacified.
Was it a brand NEW pistol, NO previous owners ?

And so it goes...

WIL TERRY said:

YES !! it can be cleaned and pacified.
Was it a brand NEW pistol, NO previous owners ?

And so it goes...

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Brand new, yes

Thank you mohavesam for the information. I did a search and I thought the problem was mostly related to the older models. I hadn't read too many recent reports about this. I know Ruger eventually replaced a number of frames and I thought that solved the problem. They received my firearm today so hopefully they can clean it up so this doesn't keep happening. We shall see.

Got it back today. Looks great. Items repaired: grip frame, extractor, hammer, grip panels, slide. Dang! I'm glad I sent it in! Sounds like the whole firearm was a hot mess!

I'm glad to hear that they got you taken care of. Nothing more frustrating than having to send back a brand new gun.

When I got it back I reused the box that Ruger shipped it in, and shipped back my new MC to them. Hammer rubs the frame on the revolver. 2 new handguns sent back. The MC was purchased a month ago and used twice. Crazy.

Two things.

Stainless steel is rust resistant, not rust proof. It still contains iron.

Some folk's hands are pretty corrosive. I for one can rust a blued handgun in a heartbeat. I have to make sure I wipe them down thoroughly after handling. I have less of a problem with stainless, but I have an AMT .380 (my first stainless pistol) that I didn't wipe down thoroughly after handling. It started to show rust after a bit. Learned my lesson.

mohavesam said:

Ruger knew better and gambled with quality in favor of margin.

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Too much of this anymore. The only thing on my "new" Ruger radar is a Lipsey's stainless No1 RSI .308. With Ruger skipping this simple/cheap process to save a few cents and minutes just killed my desire to get one.

I have a lot of stainless Rugers and have never seen this problem. I'm assuming its pretty rare?

I took my 1911 to the range yesterday and again today in less than ideal conditions. Yesterday at the outdoor range It was humid and we had a bit of rain. Today at the indoor range it was hot and humid. I was sweating a lot. Put another 200 rounds through it and it performed flawlessly. There seems to be no issues with the finish quality now, and it functions like it should. No complaints.

Stainless steel is rust resistant not "rustproof"

True, but it shouldn't have developed a rust issue after one use. It seems practically perfect now, after Ruger fixed and sent it back to me. No issues now and I have fired it a lot since then. Still happy with it. Everyone who shoots it with me loves it.

So I have another new firearm, a Kahr K9 stainless, a month old, and it is doing the same thing that my 1911 did. It is developing rust spots. I've been certain to whipe it down with an oiled cloth after use too. So the thought is that the rust on the SS models is actually caused by embedded particles from the cutting machinery. It is actually much worse on the kahr than on my Ruger. So I'm going to clean the kahr myself and see what happens. I have some good, gun-safe stainless rust remover on the way.

As I mentioned, some folks, like me, can corrode gold given half a chance. Try wearing cotton gloves when you handle firearms.

MikeAvery71 said:

So I have another new firearm, a Kahr K9 stainless, a month old, and it is doing the same thing that my 1911 did. .. So the thought is that the rust on the SS models is actually caused by embedded particles from the cutting machinery...

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- This is exactly why a passivation process is performed after any machining or finishing. BTW, contact with a carbide cutter does not introduce any ferrites.
Think about it...