Rusting Kahrs

Whats the deal with Kahrs and rust? I have read numerous accounts of people having problems with rust on their Kahrs.I have personally looked at two Kahrs (nib) that already showed signs of rust.These were stainless steel,I realize stainless will rust,but you have to be pretty hard on it.None of my stainless guns have ever shown a hint of starting to rust.I was thinking of buying a Kahr,but I'm not so sure now.

[Michigun]

Originally posted by notsobigal
Whats the deal with Kahrs and rust? None of my stainless guns have ever shown a hint of starting to rust.

None of my stainless guns have ever shown a hint of starting to rust either & all of my stainless guns are Kahrs.

[Dandapani]

Stainless will "rust" if coated with grease or if the metal is covered by rubber, plastic, etc. The air needs to make contact with the metal to sustain the slight oxidation on the stainless that keeps it from rusting. Kind of like how aluminium turns grey from oxidation. Creates a protective layer.

[JackBull]

Originally posted by notsobigal
Whats the deal with Kahrs and rust? I have read numerous accounts of people having problems with rust on their Kahrs.I have personally looked at two Kahrs (nib) that already showed signs of rust.These were stainless steel,I realize stainless will rust,but you have to be pretty hard on it.None of my stainless guns have ever shown a hint of starting to rust.I was thinking of buying a Kahr,but I'm not so sure now.

The amount of rust depends on the grade of SS as well as exposure. I posted a question on this board about the blackened SS finish (Black Diamond) and its seems everyone is very happy with it so far.

[coverdog]

No rust on my Kahrs. I take care of them like the rest of my guns and have no problems. Just because they are stainless doesn't mean they can be neglected. I'm not saying that's the case with the ones that rust though.

[IMAS]

I just returned a Kahr to a dealer for rust.

It was an MK9 duotone.

Light surface rust on the frame. Rust on the slide just below the ejection port on the inside where it contacts the barrel. Also on the side of the barrel at that same contact point.

I scrubed with a hoppes 9 and bore scrubber and couldn't get the rust off the frame. I rubbed it with oil and made no difference. I got the rust off the barrel and slide by using hoppes and a bronze brush. But when I hit it with a nice bright light I realized the specs I couldn't get off of the barrel were acually not specs but deep pitting. I also found pitting on the mentioned spot in the slide.

I also found light surface rust on the inside of the slide just in front of the ejection port.

I talked to Dottie at Kahr. She told me since the frame was affected to try and just take it back to the gunshop I bought it at. That way I wouldn't have to deal with sending it to the factory. She said to have the gunstore call her and she would take care of it.

I don't know what happened to this Kahr but I sure wasn't happy. I will be buying another one soon to replace it.

The gun store by the way several days later used some metal polish on it. The guy said see its all better. It did look better but I could still see the rust on the frame and what do you know that metal polish didn't quite get rid of the pitting. I feel bad for whoever they sell that gun to. I don't think I'm going to buy there anymore.

[JCM298]

I bought a used Mk9, duo-tone, last fall. It was nearly new. I've had no problems with rust and I carry it both IWB or in a pocket holster.

As the last step in cleaning, I put a coat of Rennaisance Wax on all my guns. I let it dry for 10 minutes and buff with an old T-shirt. The wax works on both stainless and blued guns.

John

[NewsShooter]

This not exactly on topic but close.
I have an E9 that is my carry. At night I keep it on my night stand on an old mouse pad to protect the surface of my night stand. Well, it seems that one night as I reached for my bottle of water, also on the night stand, I must have spilled a bit either on my E9 or the pad. It must have dried up over night, but yesterday I went to do my weekly cleaning and arrrgh, there was rust on the surface of the barrel and slide stop where it pivots on the frame. Dremel to the rescue! it cleaned up fine but the lesson here; keep water away from your night stand and or gun. My E9 isn't stainless so I clean and oil it often.

[xcop]

My MK9 stainless developed rust on the front portion of the grip. I had placed a slip on rubber grip adapter on it a couple of years ago and stupidly never removed it. Fine steel wool and break free got rid of it.

[Sgt127]

All my serious concealment guns get sweated on, alot, here in Texas in the summer. I have a Ruger SP-101 that has pitting under the grip frame and a MK9 that has pitting under the grips. My PM9 has not yet shown any rust on the slide. I just don't think its a big deal, they are carry guns. Carry guns get beat up, the finish gets screwed up, a little wear and tear, a little rust. Scrub it off with a bronze brush and Corrion-X, wipe it down, back into the waistband or pocket. Interestingly, my watch , an old stainless Rolex Oyster perpetual Date-just has never shown a hint of rusting. I would assume that theres alot more carbon in a gun to toughen up the stainless, therefore, more prone to rusting.

As an aside, I have yet to find a single speck of rust on the frame of my PM9....

[Gunmeister]

SGT127 beat me to it. The only time I have ever seen rust on a stainless Kahr was under the Rubber/nylon grips. Usually this is as the Sarge says, from sweat or getting wet from rain. SGT gives good advice on how to treat it.
I would suggest that all steel Kahr owners who carry them regularly, remove their grips about three times a year, you might be suprised at what you see growing there.
SGT, if youever find rust on the frame of a PM9, that really will be a first, I don't think polymer rusts. (LOL);z

[IMAS]

July 4th was the first time I have had any rust on my carry gun. It was on my Colt defender. I carried it IWB all day and later noticed a couple spots. It was on the slide release and on the top part of the slide where there is a nickel teflon finish. The side of the slide however was unaffected. The stainless finish on the side of the slide seems to be much tougher than the matte finish on the top.

Only happened the one time though. I have sweated alot on it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v463/subhouse/Defender_O7000D.jpg

[Mixlesplick]

My K40 started to get a little rust under the grips. I sanded it off and applied some Corrosion X For Guns. That was this spring and I haven't gotten any more rust under the grips this summer. This is my every day carry gun.:)

[Dandapani]

Rust. The slide stop/release pin, on the outside where it is visible is starting to rust on my s/s PM9. Just the circular depression, not the lever itself.

I've been carrying IWB with a Mr. Softy and the holster has been picking up some sweat and conveying it to the pin. Guess I need to clean it and apply some CLP.

Comments?

[Gunmeister]

Hi OBRIEN, I know you're an old hand at guns but I also know you are a recent Florida transplant. BTW, Welcome to paradise.
As an old Florida native, FWIW, I would suggest getting rid of your leather holsters in favor of kydex. As you correctly noted, leather absorbs and maintains moisture. Granted, for years leather was all we had and kydex has been a boon to gun owners in hot humid climes. A big point to remember is that kydex will gather grit and will scratch some guns if not cleaned with some degree of regularity.
One last thing. I'm reminded of a situation that my fishing buddy found himself in. He's a retired NJ transplant. Anyway he had a really nice Walther PPK/SS that he stored in a leather holster in the glove compartment of his pick-up truck. He kind of forgot it was there and realized after 5 or 6 months that he hadn't looked at it in a long time. When he removed the gun from the holster, it was destroyed. The inside of the holster had turned a yellowish green and was moldy. The stainless steel gun was mostly black and the sharp edges of the frame and slide were heavily pitted beyond repair. Then he made the famous transplant statement that pisses off every Florida native, "This doesn't happen UP NORTH".
Just a friendly word to any recent Florida transplant. While in The Sunshine State, never begin a statement with these two words "Up North" -------- or worse yet, "That's not how we do it up north". You will very quickly be reminded that both I-95 and I-75 do run north as well as south. One other thing, the mosquito is not the state bird, nor is the Sea Gull, we've all heard that many times over. Just so you know, it's the Mocking Bird. Which is fitting because when people move to the south, the first thing they do is start saying Y'all, which just doesn't sound right mixed in with a northener's accent. The next thing they do is buy a big shiney new pick up truck, which is a dead give away of your transplant status as most Florida natives are easily spotted because their pick up trucks are 10 year old Fords with rusted out mufflers.
Welcome aboard Mr Obrien hope you like it here.;F ;Y ;+

[skar]

try Eezox xd guys like it.

[compman]

or buy a silicon cloth and rub the gun down at the end of each day. No big deal. You can use carnuba car wax, OTIS, etc.

Take care of your guns and there shouldn'tbe any rust unless you guys live in Miami.

[Gunmeister]

Originally posted by compman
or buy a silicon cloth and rub the gun down at the end of each day. No big deal. You can use carnuba car wax, OTIS, etc.

Take care of your guns and there shouldn'tbe any rust unless you guys live in Miami.

COMPMAN, Is what your saying that a gun will rust more quickly in Miami than say------Tampa or Key West? (LOL)

Silicon rag is a good choice and I've been using Johnson's Paste wax on all my guns for years, especially the blued ones.:cool:

[deputyglocker]

My K40 started showing some rust and I called Kahr. They asked me for my Serial. They informed me that the finish on my gun was the older finish which uses iron as the base agent. They said that the finish was rusting. They said I could ship the gun and they would refinish it with the new tungsten coating. My gun is also stainless.
I thought about it but decided against it. Found a guy locally that will ceramic coat it.;f

[Gunmeister]

Hi DEPUTY, Did your early K40 have a black slide? If so, they were prone to rusting. The later black slide models have what Kahr calls a DLC Tungsten finish which seems to be quite durable.

[Dandapani]

Originally posted by Gunmeister
Hi OBRIEN, I know you're an old hand at guns but I also know you are a recent Florida transplant. BTW, Welcome to paradise.
As an old Florida native, FWIW, I would suggest getting rid of your leather holsters in favor of kydex. As you correctly noted, leather absorbs and maintains moisture.
...
Welcome aboard Mr Obrien hope you like it here.;F ;Y ;+

Gunmeister, thanks for the advice and the warm welcome. I have always been impressed with the friendliness of all Floridian (native or transplant) I've met. That was one of the draws for me to move here (besides all the other postive aspects of Florida...). I've not been met with the any resentment for me being a Nawtherner like I have in other, unnamed Suthern states (and I have had long experience with this since both my mother and father were raised in the south and we had many visits during my lifetime).

I know what you mean about old trucks. We live on a potholed infested, seashell based, unmaintained county road and have at least a hundred old trucks pass by our house every day. I thank my wife for her insightfulness and willingness to trade in her Suburu WRX for our new Jeep Liberty making our daily passage that much easier now that we are "out in the country".

As far as the PM9, I guess when I'm working outdoors I need to get my pocket holster out and put the pistol in a dryer place than inside my chubby, sweaty waistband :)

I'm not a kydex fan owing to the hard plastic pressing against my flesh. IIRC, there is a hybrid holster made of leather AND kydex but the brand escapes me.

Best regards, Gunmeister and fellow Floridians.

[deputyglocker]

Gunmiester My K40 has a black slide. Thats what they told from Kahr. When I called I assumed I talked to Dottie. She told that if I sent it they would refinish it with the DLC. The cereamic coat that I am going to get is pretty slick and its durable. I saw it on a Sig P226 and it almost doesn't need oil.

[Michigun]

Originally posted by dmobrien2001
IIRC, there is a hybrid holster made of leather AND kydex but the brand escapes me.

FIST is the maker of this holster that you're referring to: ^c

http://www.fist-inc.com/hybrid.htm