Stainless Rusting?

[Antlershed]

I recently noticed some rust on my pistol which is stainless steel. I used some gun cleaner, and pretty much all of the rust wiped right off. However, it left behind what looks like little pores in the metal. I'm going to contact the manufacturer since it is warrantied for life, but should I be expecting them to charge me? Should stainless steel rust?

[high country]

stainless guns can absolutly rust, they put up a better fight, but still need to be cleaned and oiled after a wet day in the field

[Michelle_Nelson]

  Yep, sure they can rust.  Got to agree with high country.  Keep'm clean and oiled.  I use to have a stainless table top on my flesher.  Very quickly changed it out to Aluminum.  Working around salt like I do will make almost anything rust,lol.

[Bofire]

Mothers Mag Wheel cleaner takes all the Black yuck and everything else right off stainless steel, best I've found.
Carl

[littletoes]

There are many differant grades of stainless, and the grade used for firearms does indeed rust, although much more resiliant to oxidation than carbon steel.

Like the boys said above...I rub mine down with a light oil for rainy days. 

Its said to also be more resistant to "cutting" caused by gasses in the chamber.

[Michelle_Nelson]

  Boys, thank alot littletoes!

[Antlershed]

I clean it after each use and also wipe it down after it gets wet. I have only had it out in the rain once, and the only thing I can think of is there was still some water soaked into the holster when it got put away the next day. I called Smith and Wesson and they are going to take a look at it, so we'll see how much this costs me.

[littletoes]

Oh boy, you didn't say earlier that you stored it in a holster, and I bet it was leather right?

The acids used to tan leather cause more rust/oxidation than water alone, and combined with water, it will only speed it up.

Never store firearms or ammunition in leather. It will oxidize. Ever seen old brass casings turn green after left in a leather holster? Would you leave you gun to do the same thing?

[sisu]

Not all stainless is the same. Read this link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stainless_steel

I bought a dive knife for free diving in Hawaii a few years ago. Good one made by an Oregon company...I pulled out of the dive, washed all my gear off with fresh water and stowed it in the van till we got to the camping spot. Took gear out to spray all metal with WD-40 and there it was RUST on my blade. It took all of 4 or 5 hours and it was rusting. I wrote to the company and they explained that the knife I bought was a river rafting knife not intended to be used in salt water  . Lesson learned. They explained that stainless can be made for different purposes, so I went out and bought a titanium knife 'cause that sucker won't rust, but I still take good care of it just as if it were a ferrous metal.

[Antlershed]

Oh boy, you didn't say earlier that you stored it in a holster, and I bet it was leather right?

The acids used to tan leather cause more rust/oxidation than water alone, and combined with water, it will only speed it up.

Never store firearms or ammunition in leather. It will oxidize. Ever seen old brass casings turn green after left in a leather holster? Would you leave you gun to do the same thing?

Nope. Not leather.

[littletoes]

After a good whetting, a gun needs open air. Allow the moisture to dry off before storage, or cleaning.
I know how hard it can be to dry off a gun after a day in the field, especially if your spending several days out, and I seem to almost always get wet during elk season or late deer.

Don't forget the inside of the barrel too. The outside of the barrel will have more protection than the outside, and the inside is usually bare for obvious reasons!

This might be a good spot to talk of the several coatings that are used for rifles these days, some baked on, others coated.

I'm thinking of something green, or possibly tan for  my rifle on the next rebuild....we'll just have to see.

[Chesapeake]

I would be looking at the gun cleaner you used.

I have a stainless muzzleloader and the powder solvent marketed by Knight will rust it in a matter of hours if not wiped off completely. I dont use that solvent any more.

[Antlershed]

The stuff I use is called Lube Job. The gun shop I bought the pistol from sold me the cleaner saying it was all they recommend. I got my overnight UPS label from S&W so now I just need to get it sent off and see what happens.

[Antlershed]

Update:

Smith and Wesson received the pistol from me on November 28th, and I received it back from them on December 12th with a brand new slide. Awesome customer service if you ask me.

[Ray]

Any charge?