Tough shotgun finishes?

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Kirk_Ferentz

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Feb 16, 2010
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I've been trying to decide on a pump gun, and one thing that I need to figure out is what finish I want. I have a parkerized Remington 11-87 deer model. I don't know if all parkerized finishes are created equal, but it seems to have a great finish on it and has been pretty resistant to any rust or corrosion when it has been exposed to the elements. On the other hand, my friend's Remington 870 express with a spray and bake finish has rusted very easily. I'd like something that can handle the elements very well.

I THOUGHT that parkerized was about as good as you can get before going to nickel marine coats and the like, but I see that a lot of folks don't think that the parkerized finish holds up too well, or that a blued finish is superior.

I was looking into the Remington 887's with their supposed great finish, but they seem to get very bad reviews.

I should also add that I want to use the gun as a home defense gun (not its only function, but one of them), and so I am inclined to shy away from the marine coat guns.

Thanks.
 
I have a basic 870 express and it gets pretty rusty despite normal cleaning/oiling. I also live right by the ocean though. A couple of my friends have Benelli Novas and they seem to be holding up without rust.

Edit: I just went to the Benelli website and it looks like they have a new Nova called the "H2O" that "The Nova H2O Pump Tactical utilizes a polymer stock and open rifle sights. The barrel is made of corrosion-resistant stainless steel, magazine tube and cap, trigger group and that’s nickel plated to insure that it keeps working in even the harshest conditions. "

Now I am tempted.
 
I think I have seen that version of the nova. I will have to check it out. I hope that they can take mag tube extensions, as I will want to have a capacity better than 4 in the tube (isn't that what they hold?) when it is being used as a defense gun.

Obviously the high sheen stainless barrel is not ideal for home defense, but since it's just the barrel, it can probably be covered over. I like that they have rifle sights -- that's what I prefer.

I have seen a lot of good things about the novas/supernovas.
 
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Abrasive or Bead blast, fresh zinc parkerizing, and a coat of Norell Molyresin is as good as it gets. If the parkerizing on the shotgun is still in good condition, you may be able to degrease and just spray on some Molyresin. What spray and bake did your friend use? The only way a good spray/bake finish will rust is if there's acid or salt left on the metal before coating, or if the coverage was inadequate.

Parkerizing btw holds up great, the trick is to keep it well oiled and not clean and dry, the parkerizing itself may make the metal 50% less susceptible to rusting, but that's like saying it'll rust in 3 hours instead of 2 hours for a blued finish. It's the ability to hold grease and oil that make parkerizing one of the most rust resistant finishes out there.
 
When I said spray and bake, I was trying to refer to the standard finish that you get on the remington express. I thought that is the process. It's obviously not blued or parkerized.

Do you know of anyone who does a good job of that type of parkerizing for a good price? I'm thinking that the best option may be to pick up a mossberg 500 or maybe an 870 (sounds like the old ones are better than the new) and have it parkerized.

I checked out the benelli ... it sounds like benelli barrels are very expensive. I'd prefer a model where I can pick up other barrels (maybe not a deal-breaker). I also don't like how you are stuck with that stock (since the receiver and stock is one piece). But it still may be an option.
 
Kirk_Ferentz said:
Obviously the high sheen stainless barrel is not ideal for home defense, but since it's just the barrel, it can probably be covered over.
Click to expand...

I don't think it matters if the person breaking in sees your shiny barrel or not.
 
I have an older 870 Wingmaster that I reworked. Toatlly disassembled it, did an action job on it, cut the barrel to 18 1/2 inches, and completely stripped the old bluing off.
I cleaned all bare metal parts very well, and used a red oxide primer, then used Gunkote on all the metal surfaces. I did this about 6 years ago, and it is holding up really well. I've had it out in rain and snow, and high humidity, and have had zero issues with any rust. The finish is a low gloss black.
 
IMHO stick with parkerizing..the military used it for years and they're right (most of the time!)...
 
OK I would like to point out that a new 870 is what? 2-300 bucks? The finish is going to cost you half the price of the gun. I would either a) buy a nicer gun with the money or b) just stick with what you got and buy a new one when the old one is totally worn out.

I have blue and wood brownings, black and parkerize remmy, they both will rust. The only gun that I have that have not rusted from 8hrs of wet snows and then spend an hour in a gun case driving home from a hunt is the extrema. But that's not a pump.
 
I may be able to handle a new finish myself, very cheaply, so it may make economic sense to get an old beater and re-work it rather than buying a more expensive model. I know that I can have it bead blasted for free. Not sure how intensive the parkerization process would be if I tried to do it myself--I will have to check it out. I'll also check out the gunkote.

In a nutshell I'm trying to find the cheapest way to a 18.5'' pump gun that will allow me to change the stock, barrel, and mag tube for different tasks and that has a good, tough finish. The closest out of the box gun that I have seen is a Mossberg 590A1, but I don't want that heavy barrel. I already have a heavy 11-87 -- I'd like this to be a lighter gun to strap onto a pack on a hike. The mossberg 500 has the lighter barrel but isn't parkerized and I'm stuck with that five-shot mag tube.
 
the finish on the benelli nova is very tough, but you could probably get yourself 2 mossberg 500's or Rem 870's for the price of a nova with the options you want on it. Plus, the other two have dozens of mods readily available and affordable.
 
I'm leaning towards going 338375's route and trying to pick up a very cheap old rem 870 wingmaster magnum, perhaps put a new finish on it, and either shorten the barrel or just buy an 18 incher with rifle sights and throw a mag tube extension on it. Maybe I will just leave the finish on it. I see them online in the low 100's, but maybe there is some local shop who has some old beaters at a good price.

I think if I did this, it would cost less than, say, buying an old 870 police, and a lot less than buying a newer 870 police, but I will gun in the same ballpark. Yes, the cost would be in the range of a new 870 express or mossberg 500, but sounds like the old wingmasters are just better-made guns.

Only hesitation is that I'm not sure how much it would end up weighing. If it ends up weighing as much as a mossberg 590A1, then I should just go that route since it's parkerized and is a well made gun (as well as the wingmaster, I don't know). I can't find a weight for old wingmasters, and if I did, it would probably be with the longer, heavier barrel. Anyone have any idea? 338375, what did yours end up weighing? Does it have the wood furniture?

It looks like the wingmasters don't have the "dimple" issue with adding a mag tube extension (if you think otherwise, let me know).
 
The military chose parkerizing because the textured surface helped to hold oil against the metal, it will also hold moisture if not cared for properly. The better custom guns have a baked coating over a parkerized base.

I don't know why you think a nickel coat is disadvantageous for home defense, it's not like a BG should see more than the muzzle anyway. The Remington MM is a pebbled non-glare coat and is no more reflective than a satin stainless pistol. I've owned mine for ~ 15 years and have never had a problem with mine, and have taken several SG classes including low light combat courses, never has there been any problems with glare.
 
Kirk_Ferentz said:
I'm leaning towards going 338375's route and trying to pick up a very cheap old rem 870 wingmaster magnum, perhaps put a new finish on it, and either shorten the barrel or just buy an 18 incher with rifle sights and throw a mag tube extension on it. Maybe I will just leave the finish on it. I see them online in the low 100's, but maybe there is some local shop who has some old beaters at a good price.

I think if I did this, it would cost less than, say, buying an old 870 police, and a lot less than buying a newer 870 police, but I will gun in the same ballpark. Yes, the cost would be in the range of a new 870 express or mossberg 500, but sounds like the old wingmasters are just better-made guns.

Only hesitation is that I'm not sure how much it would end up weighing. If it ends up weighing as much as a mossberg 590A1, then I should just go that route since it's parkerized and is a well made gun (as well as the wingmaster, I don't know). I can't find a weight for old wingmasters, and if I did, it would probably be with the longer, heavier barrel. Anyone have any idea? 338375, what did yours end up weighing? Does it have the wood furniture?

It looks like the wingmasters don't have the "dimple" issue with adding a mag tube extension (if you think otherwise, let me know).
Click to expand...

I would have to weigh it, because I'm not sure.... I loaned it to a friend to take a class with, so I won't have it back for another week or so.
The shotgun I have came with beautiful wood, almost exhibition grade, because it started life as an early Remington Custom shop Trap gun.
I switched over to the plastic butt and forend, and painted those green.
 
Our gunsmith has done all kinds of stuff for us, duracoat, cerakote, molycoat, he parkerizes everything first then puts the finish on, we have zero problems.
If you get a proper job done by a good smith you should have no problems whatsoever unless your using the thing for an anchor in a salt lake.
 
What Yoda said, parkerizing is reasonably durable and a great texture for holding onto oil - that's what makes it work, the stuff you apply on top of it.

Baked on coatings vary significantly in terms of durability. And remember that, if it wears off, it leaves 100% bare metal uncovered.

But really this is only about external corrosion - you are not going to coat the bore, so the weapon is still going to need routine cleaning and application of good quality lubricant/corrosion inhibitor anyway.

For a home defense shotgun I'd go with whatever finish was on the weapon that came with the best price tag. Then follow up with an application of Break Free CLP after every cleaning.
 
OK, I'm probably just slow but you have a 1187 SP now..load it and call it good. Nothing magic about short pumps but have seen used as an ashtray in patrol car dash mounts but that was many years ago..and not a universal practice.
 
My 11-87 is great but it is very heavy compared to a light pump gun. In a hunting situation where you are carrying the gun in your hands without a bunch of other gear it is fine. I lugged it around while plowing through the snow this winter and it didn't feel too heavy. It feels roughly like toating a garand, and I heard that there have been a few guys that carried one of those around for a while. But I feel like it would be too heavy to say, attach to a bag for a long hike.

And I don't know about the rest of you, but that extra 2 or so inches on the end of the barrel makes a surprising difference to me in how easy the gun is to wield. I have seen 18'' barrels for 11-87s, but it sounds like there may be issues with a non-police 11-87 cycling with a shorter barrel. If not, I'd like to pick one up. I've seen conflicting info. out there.

But still, I'd like a lighter, more versatile pump gun that can take any load in my closet. I hope that a quality build is not synonymous with a heavy gun though, like in the case of the mossberg 590a1, with its heavy barrel. Right now, trying to gauge whether a suped up wingmaster or old police model would be any lighter.
 
I have the 1187 Turkey Special-21"..will not cycle low brass however betting you could get in on a used 870 for less than what a new 1187 18" barrel would cost.

I like short barrels but that primarily comes from getting whacked around by my 30" barreled 870 hunting OH grouse in heavy cover >40 years ago.

I'm just an old trigger puller but have heard and believe that as you age your swing may slow down...I use my Turkey Special for waterfowl as well as anything else that needs a whomping w/ a 12 ga 3" magnum.
 
I have a Mossberg 835 that was camo when I bought it. It isn't black, but I've never had any issues with rust. That gun has been through driving sleet/snow/rain/mud in various seasons the last 15 years. The finish has worn due to multiple years of sliding in and out of the case and normal use. Multiple barrel and stock options available. I do treat it like any other gun and make sure I clean it and dry out the case after a wet/damp outing. If your looking for something tough and functional and don't care too much about the aesthetics the 835 is hard to beat IMHO.
 
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