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Hi there,

I have a brand new Chiappa Rhino Long Barrel Revolver in 9mm.

From purchase it has dark rings on the far face of the cylinder (see photos) I was told this was from proofing.

When I got home and gave it a clean, I still haven't managed to get rid of the dark rings fully, but it has exposed chipping/flaking of the surface (see photos).

I've been in touch with the firearms dealer who told me:

" This is typical of revolvers as the blast from the cartridge upon ignition vents in this gap – this can cause tiny nicks and burrs. "

This is my first revolver and I'm relatively new to owning firearms in general, so I have two questions please.

Do I need to clean the dark circles, will they cause problems over time?
Is the firearms dealer correct and this will likely happen again if I was to replace?
I can just see the chipping getting worse and even making it's way onto the side of the cylinder which would look pretty nasty.

Any help or advise would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

Could only attach 3 images so just replying with 4th.

The dark circles appear to be from the heat treatment of the cylinder bores to harden them.Probably induction hardening.
Fred

It's hard to tell from photographs but I'm assuming that it's a nickel-plated gun. Normally I would expect there to be some discolouration on the face of the cylinder caused by escaping gases in the cylinder gap but in this case, I would be concerned as it appears to be that the plating is flaking. I think that I would be making the selling RFD aware of your concerns now before the problem develops further.

I'd send your description and pictures to the manufacturer for their comments. The problem with chips in plating is that they allow stuff to get under the surface of the plating still there and undermine it. So the problem is only going to get worse.

Have you tried simply washing it and gently rubbing it with a rag in hot soapy water?......it could be powder residue.

Pete

It is defo flaking off. I would say that any coating in this area would not survive too long. It can be fairly harsh at this end of the cylinder remembering back to the time when we used handguns. There can be quite a lot of spitting and flash of fire!
We used to use lead remover cloths to remove the muck back to the stainless( on my revolver, s/w 686) .
A lead remover cloth will certainly clean it up.

This is what your after.

The plating is flaking, there’s no doubt. And, I’m not convinced that’s a new gun. There has to be a fair few rounds fired to get that level of staining on the front of the cylinder, not just one proof round per chamber….