Ruger target gray finish

WJU · Oct 6, 2013

How does ruger get the "target gray" finish on the stainless/ laminate hawkeye? I'd like to rebarrel my 300 win mag to 375 ruger.

Also....does anyone sell stainless front and rear sights? I want to make mine look like a african rifle...barrel band and all

MIshooter · Oct 7, 2013

If you cannot find SS parts, I've had blue parts Metalife finished and it looks like stainless and more rust resistant than SS.

Ed

WJU · Oct 8, 2013

Will look into that if I have to.....but I think I should be able o get a stainless barrel done up just like the Ruger Target Grey. Does anyone here have a clue how Ruger does it?

Jimbo357mag · Oct 8, 2013

The Target Grey finish is a proprietary process Ruger developed. I don't think anyone knows for sure how they do it. This excerpt I found on 'thehighroad' and is one person's opinion.

http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/index.php/t-466903.html
FumblerAugust 6, 2009, 10:10 AM
I have a Super Redhawk in 480Ruger with that finish.

I wish I knew exactly what the finish was. It appears that Ruger first gives the steel a stonewash finish, then does whatever they do to put the grey color on.
I don't knnow what it is, but to me it looks a lot like a boron carbide finish or somethign similar. It's not exactly a spray and bake finish like GunKote, but it does appear to have overspray in spots. Whatever they do, it's sprayed on.

I like the finish. it resists scratches better than plain stainless. I don't know how corrosion resistant it is because I've never had a problem with corrosion and stainless guns.

Snake45 · Oct 8, 2013

I redid our kitchen range hood in a stainless steel aerosol paint about 3 years ago. The stuff looked really good and looks just as good three years later--has held up amazingly well. It bears a strong resemblance to my "target gray" 77/22V.

IIRC the stuff was made by Rustoleum and I bought it at Lowe's. Wasn't much more expensive than regular spray paints, either.

I can't promise how well it would hold up on a gun but I'd think it would be worth a try.

98Redline · Oct 9, 2013

Here is what I found on another forum.

I got the insider info today from an undisclosed source. Doesn't matter the source because it is a proprietary finish and is cost prohibitive to finsih just a few guns at a time.
The revolver, in it's major parts, is polished to a near mirror shine. The revolver is then assembled and touched up for any scratches. It is then Chemical Vapored with minute glass powder, and then passivated.

I have also heard that it comes from tumbling the stainless parts in some sort of media.

So far I have never found what I would call a reliable answer to what the finish actually is, however there are a number of other finishes that will approximate the target gray fairly well.

Aluminum oxide blasting at low pressure I have heard will give you a pretty close finish.