-=> Quoting John Perz to Steve Gunhouse on 19 May 96  10:44 <=-
 Re: Bathtub Guns 
 -> [Yes, I presume this question was mostly tongue in cheek,
 JP>                                  ^^^^^^
 JP> **MOSTLY**?!?  
Sure, mostly. The question itself may have been semi-serious, it's valid 
to wonder how water-resistant a firearm is.
 
 -> I don't have a bathtub gun, but I do have a Starvel (nickle)
 -> Firestar in the drawer under the bathroom sink. But maybe a
 -> stainless revolver would be better ...
 JP> I believe the barrels BORE is not nickled, so in that sense, the
 JP> stainless WOULD be better.  However, Stainless isn't rustless, merely
 JP> VERY rust resistant.  Found this out the hard way, climbing in and out
 JP> of an armored car in the rain, and not bothering to wipe my stainless
 JP> Security-Six with an oily rag at the end of a day.  I thought I didn't
 JP> have to, since it was stainless.  Silly me!
That's a little different. Things don't rust as quickly *under* water as 
they do in damp air. Any chemist can tell you that.
And actually, I've noted that semi-autos are worse. Must be because they 
have to use dissimilar metals to prevent galling. I had my Beretta 
(blued) with me camping once in a belly-band, and between sweat and rain 
there was a little surface rust where the barrel meets the slide (and not 
elsewhere). A standard electro-chemical process. Thus, I'd have to think 
twice about a semi-auto, barring a good finish.
 JP> I've heard that boaters down in Florida, who keep guns aboard, START
 JP> with a stainless steel gun as a base and have THAT coated with one of
 JP> the Teflon finishes.  High humidity & a salt atmosphere are about as
 JP> corrosive a situation as you'll find anywhere.
I know several makers offer shotguns with a finish especially for use on 
a boat, such as Mossberg's "Marinecote". They don't say just what it is, 
but it's on an already stainless gun. So obviously they agree.
 -> OTOH, don't SEALs use an HK in some sort of black/blue finish?
 -> Obviously, a gun for use by SEALs would be acceptable in a bathtub
 -> generally.
 JP> I don't know for sure what the SEALS are using, but Robbie Barkham has
 JP> a proprietery finish that combines Teflon with nickle and is completely
 JP> dull black.  Highly rust-resistant and requires no lubrication
 JP> whatsoever.
They don't really say what finish the SEALs use either. But from my own 
experience, I'm sure it's not just blue.
 
 -> Now get in that tub so people can stand to be in the same room with
 -> you!
 JP> I'm either gonna have to get a nylon shoulder holster from Uncle Mikes
 JP> **OR** I'm gonna have to figure out how to get Pamela to come and
 JP> bathe with me and serve as my bodyguard!
Actually, I wonder what effect soap has on pistols. Or maybe it was bath 
oil. You know, that "sticky soap film" they always talk about in both 
Zest and cleanser commercials? :-O
Good luck with Pamela. The Uncle Mike's (or anyone else's) nylon holster 
sounds much easier - though not as much fun. ;-)
Steve
... If it can't overheat, it doesn't have enough firepower!
--- GEcho 1.00
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