[crakkajakka15]

Hey all just bought a new Taurus 66 6in .357mag a few weeks ago and have put about 100 rounds through it to date all ran fine. My question is with the finish of the revolver. I purchased the 2-660061 model in blue finish. Now i have other guns that are blued and they all seem to have to almost reflective smooth finish on them. This 66 model seems to almost be a pourous parkerized finish. Can anyone confrim if this is expected or should I be contacting Taurus? Can one post of pictures of their 66's if they have the same model to compare possibly?

Link to model
https://www.taurususa.com/product-d...egory=Revolver&toggle=tr&breadcrumbseries=M66

 

[glenwolde]

Taurus has recently switched to a rather ugly black finish. However, as the web literature you link to states it is "blued" and has a deep "lustrous finish" I think a complaint is in order. Maybe we need another class-action! BWAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.....

Get some screen shots quick.

 

[kruizer]

I have a Model 66 that I bought about 3 years ago and it has the polished blued finish. Recently, Taurus decided to discontinue that finish in favor of the Parkerized look. Sadly, I won't be buying any parkerized revolvers.

 

[Echo40]

As of 2015, Taurus has replaced their once beautiful blued finish with a "matte black" Black Oxide finish which is neither particularly beautiful nor wear/corrosion-resistant. Seriously, my brother's Judge had the same finish and it wore off pretty much every single contact point on the surface of the firearm, so my brother ended up refinishing it himself, at which point he discovered a bit of surface rust beneath the grips. Thankfully, that's all over with now, and the new Duracoat finish he applied has held up nicely. Still, lesson learned, when you have the choice, it's best to pay a bit more for a Stainless Steel model if you have the option.

Hopefully in the near future they'll replace Black Oxide in favor of Melonite as the finish for all of their firearms.

 

[djh]

Can't say much about the blued or dull stainless finish other then I don't like either one. I am convinced both were meant to be cost cutting measures on Taurus part and was a big mistake. It will cost them sales in the long run.
I recently bought a Taurus 617ss2 and love the gun except for that dull stainless finish.
I fixed that by polishing the revolver with a buffing wheel and stainless polish.
Much better satisfied now with the gun shinny.

 

[crakkajakka15]

unreal....Has anyone called Taurus and have they given any resolution or anything to the issue. Even the photo on their website shows the glossy blued version.

 

[tpelle]

unreal....Has anyone called Taurus and have they given any resolution or anything to the issue. Even the photo on their website shows the glossy blued version.

Regarding illustrations in catalogs and on web sites, generally there will be some weasel-words somewhere to the extent of "Note: Pictures are stock photos and do not always represent the actual item." However I saw no such disclaimer to that effect on Taurus' website. And the picture on the web site sure looks like polished blue to me, too. Furthermore, if you go to the Spec tab for that revolver, it clearly specifies the finish as "blue".

I think any halfway decent ambulance chaser would make hay with that one, if you were so inclined.

When I was investigating the purchase of my model 65, I became aware of this finish change from posts on this forum. I actually prefer a (real) polished blue finish on my handguns where available, but I knew I would regret the purchase of a dull black finish that would rub off. So for an extra $30.00 or so (don't recall the exact amount) I went for the matte stainless finish as the lesser of two evils. Actually I'm glad I did, as I find the matte finish to be quite attractive. (I dislike mirror-polished stainless finishes, as I do nickel, because they remind me of those pot-metal chrome cap pistols I used to play with as a kid.)

 

[texastaurusguy]

When I bought my model 66, they had a stainless one and a "blued" one sitting next to each other in the counter. It wasn't hard to make a choice on which I wanted. I didn't care for that dark, flat, unfinished looking finish at all. For some, I guess it's okay, but I prefer stainless guns anyway.

 

[loudviking]

Got my Tracker .44mag in the dull black, as it wears off I will coat it myself
and call it good....................

 

[slong115]

I am probably the odd man out here but I actually prefer the matte stainless finish. Of course my main purpose for my 85SS is as a weapon, not for my personal appreciation of its looks.

Had a cop coworker who had a Smith model 29 in the 8"+. I don't remember the exact barrel length but it was nickel plated and huge. I used to jokingly tell him that it looked like a car bumper. Of course, that was back in the day when cars had chrome bumpers. LOL

I wouldn't even mind the matte black finish if I thought it would be more durable but from everything I have read, it wears quickly. Shiny is okay. but it just isn't my cup of tea.

 

[Echo40]

I like the bead-blasted Stainless Steel finish, that's what my Judge came in, and while I did initially consider polishing it as a pet project someday, it has since grown on me and I plan on keeping it as is.

 

[Flex]

I like the bead-blasted Stainless Steel finish, that's what my Judge came in, and while I did initially consider polishing it as a pet project someday, it has since grown on me and I plan on keeping it as is.

I've come to like the bead-blasted SS finish too. I admit tho, that I kinda like the look of the older SS models that have that "satin-esque" sheen. I initially considered polishing my SS 66 but I looked like a lot of work and I wasn't sure if I would truly like the finished product as it would likely be more shiny opposed to that satin look.

RE: the matte finishes in general, I'm pretty sure that when changes like this occur, it's a production cost issue. Fortunately, the bead-blasted SS finish continues to have visual appeal that is acceptable to most folks. While the matte black finish is popular on many auto-loaders and especially on the AR platform rifles, I think it's an abomination on a classic revolver! An exception might be in the case of a severely pitted finish on a neglected classic firearm where no amount of bluing could restore the finish. I saw an example of this at my LGS. They took in on a trade an older S&W .38 Special that had suffered severe neglect (I never actually saw the damage but the LGS guy said that the pitting was horrible). The gun was completely disassembled, cleaned and then had a black Cerakote finish applied. While it still didn't fully appeal to me, I'll admit that it looked decent (and probably more durable than the factory matte black finishes seen on the firearms being discussed here).

Flex