That coincides with my assumptions about protective coatings being used at the factories, Kutter. Thanks.
May I ask, what is YOUR opinion on whether or not direct sunlight can eventually cause case-colors to fade away? After I realized through the excellent articles and electron microscope images of the surfaces, in Dr. Oscar Gaddy's articles, that the colors themselves are a by-product of a prismatic effect due the the "crystalline structure" of the case hardened surface, I came to the conclusion that only sunlight (in the absence of handling, such as in a museum setting) alone couldn't alter the surface structure of the steel which causes the colors. I can easily see, however, how handling can wear away the super thin layer and alter it.
I have a simple way of seeing it and am open to other informed ideas about how sunlight could do this.
