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Stainless vs Black finish

Stainless will have greater resistance against corrosion in a humid environment than parkerizing, although "park" does a good job if maintained.

Both can be enhanced with cerekoting. If the shiny stainless look isn't desired a dark cerekoting will take care of that.
 
I am getting ready to buy a Springfield range officer 1911 in 9mm. I am torn between the stainless finish and the black finish.....which is your preference as far as finish and why? I do like the red fiber optic front sight on the stainless.
I just got one of these in the black finish, I like the looks. Mine has the red fiber front sight, mine is the operator though.
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If it was Armory Kote and not Parkerized, I’d go with the “black”. I would in this instance go with stainless due to the fact that it will resist the conditions better than the parkerized one will, especially depending on your intended use and where you live. I like a blued 1911 over stainless but I like the added protection of stainless over blue.
 
But weren’t the gull wing doors cool?

Sometimes the gull wings drew too much attention. If I'd park on a busy street, traffic in both directions would slow down or stop. I have to say that the Delorean was a great, fun car, with a few serious design issues; the electrical system was constantly failing (wired like a shuttle craft), the radiator was at the front of the car with the water going to and from the rear engine underneath with alternating 8 inch stainless steel tubing and 8 inch hose (one of the hoses breaks, you're toast), the distributor was under the engine creating issues(as in road water). Back in the 80's I would spend $300 a month on the car just to keep it running. I got rid of it after about 30k miles.
 
On any given day at the range, I'm one of the few guys shooting a 1911 and definitely the only one firing a shiny, stainless 1911 ... and definitely the only guy landing them in the red at 25 yds!
 
It just depends on what you like.

As mentioned, stainless can be a little more corrosion resistant than the parkerized/phosphate finish on the RO’ (RO Elites, of course, are Armory Kote hard-use finish...good stuff, there) but refinishing is always an option if it doesn’t hold up...I’ve found that phosphate holds up just fine if you always wipe down with an oil/silicon cloth (I like Rustprufe) after handling/shooting/carrying.

If your stainless is too shiny, you can always get it bead-blasted for a more matte finish, as well.
 
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