Posted by Marty on 11/19/2011 to
According to TC Arms sight the new Weathershield coating on its barrels and frames is 50 times more corrosion resistant than stainless steel. Wow that's tough. We are starting to see the Weathershield coatings in Thompson Centers' Encore line up, and that has brought about a variety of questions.
1) Will a Weathershield frame look ok with my stainless barrel? Answer is yes, Weathershield is a shade more gray than stainless a shade more silver. WS a flat finish while SS more satin sheen. The vanity of hunters ! Your quarry doesn't care!
2) Isn't SS under the coating ? Answer , no. According to TC customer service it is the same barrel as a blued barrel with the coating applied. And judging from the prices it must be a less expensive application for TC because WS prices are cheaper.
3) I'm afraid of something so new? Answer , it's not that new. TC has had WS on its other muzzleloader lines for years with good results. So with the bugs worked out already it's a safe bet.
4) Will WS hold up? Answer, anything is better than "stainless". I have dealt in used parts for several years now and I think I have seen more pitted, rusted, discolored scratched and scuffed stainless frames than blued. Time will tell but in the immortal words of Tom Cruise " it looks good so far ".
5) What about the inside of the barrel? Answer again from Thompson Center customer service. Same a a blued barrel, I mean let's get real for a minute don't think WS products don't need care and cleaning and maintenance. Kind of like a maintenance free battery , not really.
Thanks for reading. Marty