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Newest Member of the SR1911 Pitting Club

30Mauser

30Mauser

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Dec 16, 2011
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Three years ago I scored an early SR1911 and have LOVED it ever since. Well, 1.5 years after last removing the original grips to put on some VZs, some of these threads had me thinking I should maybe take a look under the covers.

So I pulled off the right side grip and found a bunch of ruddy-looking CLP on the frame. Wiped it off and was happy to see the metal was smooth as a baby's bottom!

Left side looked the same... at first.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1416969179.525911.jpg

Wiped it off and RUH-ROH! Pitting.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1416969203.347826.jpg

Used some Hornady one-shot and a bore brush to ensure that it wasn't just some kind of odd residue from the VZgrips, but you can still see the pitting.

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1416969223.381211.jpg
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1416969233.610306.jpg

Called Ruger and sent pictures. They emailed me an RMA form and I'll try to drop it off tomorrow or Friday in Framingham.
 
All stainless steel will rust. Its just more rust resistant. I'd like to see Ruger bring out a nitrided/melonite/tenifer type treatment for a version of the SR1911. It's much more resistant still to corrosion than stainless.
 
rocket500 said:
They'll probably just swap out the gun. Keep it oiled, even under the grips. It can and will rust.
Click to expand...

They told me they planned to refinish it, but I guess we'll see.

My gun care protocols don't explain why one side of the frame was spotless under the grip panel, while the other was pitted. Each side was coated with an identical quantity and consistency of oily goo when I removed the grip panels. It's not the manner of care, but a crappy passivation of the metal.

I (and many collectors far more experienced than I) have plenty of blued and stainless arms kept in the same safe that aren't having this problem.
 
Last edited:
mark056 said:
They are pretty quick usually. I'd say no more than 10 days and they will send you a Ruger cleaning cloth too !
Click to expand...

Mine was 10 days. Ruger replaced the slide and gave me that yellow cloth. I also got a email stating the pitting was my fault. Whatever.
 
That is pretty bad. I remember they were replacing them as they used some bad material (inclusions that cause the pitting). Good luck, hopefully they will replace it!
 
Just curious, but what types of grips are used? If there is carbon in the grips, it is very well possible that the pitting could be a result of galvanic corrosion between dis-similar metals.
 
Bt74 said:
Gee,wonder why my TAURUS doesn't rust????????
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The Ruger SR1911 is made of cast 415 stainless steel

Taurus 1911 models use forged carbon steel or forged stainless

That alone doesn't tell us why your 'TAURUS' doesn't rust, I'm only stating the two firearms are made very differently
 
RImike said:
Just curious, but what types of grips are used? If there is carbon in the grips, it is very well possible that the pitting could be a result of galvanic corrosion between dis-similar metals.
Click to expand...

Comes from the factory with lacquered cherrywood grips. 1.5 years ago I removed those and installed VZgrips. These are made from G-10.
 
RImike said:
I believe G-10 has some carbon in it, I wonder if what happened was galvanic corrosion.
Click to expand...

My understanding is that G-10 is a glass-cloth laminate with epoxy resin binder as defined by NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) specification. Not sure where the carbon would be in that?

And again, why one side and not the other?
 
30Mauser said:
My understanding is that G-10 is a glass-cloth laminate with epoxy resin binder as defined by NEMA (National Electrical Manufacturers Association) specification. Not sure where the carbon would be in that?

And again, why one side and not the other?
Click to expand...

Correct, It all depends on the G10, I know electrical grade G10 isn't conductive, but I wonder about who makes it for grips and the like.

I have used cheap G10 before in the marine industry as backing plates for stainless steel 1/2 bolts. About 3 years go by and the customer calls me up to let me know one of the bolts corroded so badly, that it broke off. I wish I kept the pictures, but after talking to a metallurgist it could have been a bad bolt with the improper ratio of alloys in it. I suspect that since the rugers are cast as others have said, possibly the side that had pitting was the side of the mold where the impurities settled and thus the pitting?
 
30Mauser said:
My gun care protocols don't explain why one side of the frame was spotless under the grip panel, while the other was pitted. Each side was coated with an identical quantity and consistency of oily goo when I removed the grip panels.
Click to expand...

I had this happen to only one side of one of my S&W Pro 1911s. The side that was against my body was the one that pitted (surprise, surprise!) I now make sure to leave an extra layer of oil/grease under the grip panels when I pull the grips off to clean.
 
I had superficial rust on the slide and frame of my stainless S&W 1911TA recently. I was able to scrub if off without much trouble but it was sitting in the same safe as a bunch of other stainless, blued and parkerized guns, including (among other things) a ratty old Mosin Nagant. Not a speck of rust on anything else. Go figure.
 
Machete said:
I had this happen to only one side of one of my S&W Pro 1911s. The side that was against my body was the one that pitted (surprise, surprise!) I now make sure to leave an extra layer of oil/grease under the grip panels when I pull the grips off to clean.
Click to expand...

This I bought a few guns from a retired police officer, one was a 38sw he ankle carried the side to his leg look like shit and the outer side flawless. he had 30 rounds left in the original box he bought with the pistol. He says it came out of the holster aprox 20 times in 30 years... his side arm revolver had some serious rust/pitting on the grip frame area where he rested his hand on the butt when holstered. I swear you could see palm prints in the rust.
 
Gun cleaning should always include grip removal, and cleaning/oiling the steel under the grip.

It's also an area to inspect when buying a used gun. I've seen used guns in pristine shape except for the steel under the grip - from a long ownership of regular cleaning without removing the grip.
 
Rob Boudrie said:
Gun cleaning should always include grip removal, and cleaning/oiling the steel under the grip.

It's also an area to inspect when buying a used gun. I've seen used guns in pristine shape except for the steel under the grip - from a long ownership of regular cleaning without removing the grip.
Click to expand...

After what I experienced I just pulled the grips on my 90-year-old Colt 1911 Transition. I found a very slight amount of oil/grime and a little bit of lacquer adherence from the grips, indicating to me that it had gone many years without cleaning under the grips. What I did not find was even a single speck of corrosion/pitting.

Update: as of 11:24 EST I've received FedEx notification that my SR1911 is scheduled to be picked up from Ruger today for its return to me.
 

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