My new Kimber is Rusting! It's stainless?

[robescc]

I will try to store it in a different place too.  Thanks.  I am addicted to this site.  Just ask my wife

[Bofire]

packing my Kimber stainless pro carry II, about 10 years, no rust. must be doing something wrong, I wipe it off about once a month.
Carl

[stumprat]

Leather holster???

[robescc]

Fobus plastic paddle holster.  This is not my first rodeo. I know how to care for guns.  I have done several searches online about rust on stainless guns and guess what.  They are all Kimbers! I posted this question on 1911forum.com and other people have said the same thing.  It is a very common occurance with Kimbers.  I am going to contact Kimber in the morning.  Bad problem to have with a $1200 gun

[Dean44]

I have a stainless Ruger Mark II .338, a stainless Ruger Super Red Hawk, and a stainless S&W mod 629 that have been exposed to terrible wet and dirty conditions for weeks on end, year after year, and have never shown any hint of rust or corrosion.

I also have a stainless Springfield Armory mod 1911 A1 that will show minor surface rust if it is left in wet conditions for a long time. It always cleans up like new with a little work.

I think that it has a lot to do with the type of stainless used and the surface finish. Bead blasted, non reflective stainless finishes seem to rust more readily in my experience.

Either way, don't sweat it. It is not necessarily a sign of poor quality, and it is easy to fix and maintain. You might try keeping a light coat of 'Break Free" on it. That will likely stop any additional rusting.

[JackOfAllTrades]

I have stainless Ruger's, Colt, and a Yonkers Kimber Stainless II. All of them are stored in the same place, have been exposed to extreme weather conditions, have not been taken care of immediately, that have never shown signs of corrosion.

I'll agree that the Kimber SS guns should not corrode easily. I've just never seen it.

I'm very interested in what Kimber has to say.

-Steve

[sako223]

I have seen several makes of SS firearms rust. Browning & Kimber may be the worst. There are coatings available that greatly reduce the risk at a price.
People often confuse the use of stainless in marine, medical or food service. Those blends of SS often have high amounts of nickel and or chrome making them non magnetic. An easy way to check for expensive stainless.
SS gun barrels are magnetic being blended with more machinable/rustable materials. So the smoother finished guns will ward off problems. Rough finishes hold moisture/dirt in plain sight.

[thinkingman]

I think this is a storage issue, not a Kimber issue.

[cully]

I think there is something to robescc's comment. There are plenty of pics and discussions on the 1911 board about this. It seams to be a problem with (newer) kimbers and the stainless not storage or handling. Corrosion has been happening on outside and inside of the barrels in particular. I would send the pistol back.

[robescc]

I know everyone has there oppinion but it is funny what they think when it is not them.
I just got off the phone from Kimber Customer Service.  They told me I could send it in to them and they could bead blast it again for the charge of $50 plus $7.50 for return service.  I told him that I have read that this is a common occurance this there stainless guns.  He said he does get at least one call a day about this issue

I told him that there has to be a definate issue on there end for this to be happening and I was not going to pay for the repair.  He then told me to send him pictures via email to him and he would show his boss and the quality control guy.  I think it's a bunch of bs.  This will be the last Kimber I ever buy.

All you naysayers, you want to buy a nice Kimber Pro CDP II with no rust issues from me? It only has 150 rounds through it and the original reciept of $1,258.14.

[JackOfAllTrades]

I am really sorry to hear that they're not treating you well. 

Class action suit?

-Steve

-Sure glad I don't have any issues with my Kimber.. Heck.. it's even a mid series external extractor model. They said they'll convert it to an internal extractor for free. Thousands of rounds out the barrel. No extraction or finish issues.

[demontang]

If they are blasting the stainless there could be something in the media they use to blast them. Ive seen this before in the past working with stainless some times tooling will leave traces of the steel its made out off and rust. There are lots of diff grades of stainless and ive seen food grade stainless be magnetic but not rust and it was out side in the elements for 3 years.

[Jamieb]

 I see a couple of guys recomended useing steel wool. Never use steel wool on stainless, you'll end up with almost microscopic steel fibers imbeded into the stainless that will rust.

[KillBilly]

In metallurgy, stainless steel, also known as inox steel or inox, is defined as a steel alloy with a minimum of 10.5[1] or 11% chromium content by mass.[2] Stainless steel does not stain, corrode, or rust as easily as ordinary steel (it stains less, but it is not stain-proof).[3] It is also called corrosion-resistant steel or CRES when the alloy type and grade are not detailed, particularly in the aviation industry. There are different grades and surface finishes of stainless steel to suit the environment to which the material will be subjected in its lifetime. Common uses of stainless steel are cutlery and watch cases and bands.

Stainless steel differs from carbon steel by the amount of chromium present. Carbon steel rusts when exposed to air and moisture. This iron oxide film (the rust) is active and accelerates corrosion by forming more iron oxide. Stainless steels have sufficient amounts of chromium present so that a passive film of chromium oxide forms which prevents further surface corrosion and blocks corrosion from spreading into the metal's internal structure.

[robescc]

I see a couple of guys recomended useing steel wool. Never use steel wool on stainless, you'll end up with almost microscopic steel fibers imbeded into the stainless that will rust.

That is exactly why I won't use steel wool. It is also to agressive on the matte finish of the slide.