What eats Ruger's "target grey" finish?

[c1skout]

I looked at a well used Super Redhawk in 454 tonight with the target grey finish. It had an area on the forward side of the frame where the finish appeared to be eaten through. Sort of like some brands of brake clean will do to paint. Is this a common issue with normal cleaning supplies or did someone have it stored next to their battery charger?

[5.7 MAN]

I don't think it's a finish that's applied like paint or bluing, I always thought it was a bead blasted stainless.

is it possible to post a pic?

[Mica_Hiebert]

Posibly holster wear?

[dkf]

From the reading I did it looks like the target grey is not a spray on finish like some kind of Cerakote. It is a finish they achieve by tumbling in media or something along those lines. I'd say someone either got something on it (like maybe an ammonia based copper solvent), rust, holster wear, someone took steel wool to it or something along those lines.

http://www.gunblast.com/Ruger_SP101.htm

[44man]

I don't think anything will harm the finish except wear. Someone might have used Scotch-Brite on it.
It needs bead blasted to bring back.

[Tatume]

Bead blasting and other finishing techniques will not work on the Ruger gray finish. This is the reason Hamilton Bowen will not work on Ruger revolvers with the gray finish, as even he cannot restore it.

[44man]

Must be some strange stuff!

[DougGuy]

That was a limited finish, Ruger sent those parts out to a 3rd party vendor and even they cannot reproduce it.

[c1skout]

Sorry, no pics (at least unless they accept my super lowball offer). This was not wear or scratching, it looks like it got sprayed with something, maybe oven cleaner?