I suspect that the loss of case colors over time is a combination of several things. Surface contact with skin and gloves, oxidation of the surface caused by humidity, moisture and the various air pollutants we all get exposed to (automobile exhaust, stack emissions, volatile organics, etc.), & contact of a said surface with "life in general" (the baize in a gun case, the lining of a gun slip, the material on a car seat, etc.)
My little Dickenson Estate .410/28 had vivid case colors when I first got it (shockingly so! Way better than what I expected for what I paid) but... with use over the accumulating years (7-8?) it has noticeably faded. The colors are still present but they aren't nearly as vivid as they once were (I suspect that there may be even a natural "fading" process going on here as well). I suppose I could have prevented that by never using it but....why the hell not? It was a relatively inexpensive Turkish gun that I bought to use and learn about. To not use it completely defeats the purpose of having it. Does sunlight take it's toll? I would suspect that it does (clothing set into a display in the front of a store fades over time like you would not believe), along with all of the other "weathering" components of life. Automotive finishes have been engineered over generations to resist such "weathering" forces. I suspect that a traipse through the chemistry of automotive paints and coatings would give one a start into understanding how such things really happen. Sunlight is a very powerful force in this world, so I wouldn't dismiss it out-of-hand because of an anecdotal experiment that Dr. Gaddy performed on one occasion and over a limited period of time. That's not a knock on Oscar Gaddy (as I'm a big fan of his work) but I suspect that he was occupied with bigger things.
It would be useful to understand what the "primary forces" were in the loss of these wonderful gun finishes over time so one could take the necessary steps to reduce or prevent it. Coating the case-hardened surfaces in a protective finish seems to be somewhat effective (otherwise gunmakers over the years wouldn't have gone to the time & trouble). There seems to be lots of room for additional growth & understanding here, so who's going to be the next "Dr. Gaddy"?
Last edited by Lloyd3; 01/17/24 12:23 PM.
