New Mk9, rust

[Nofrillsmcgee]

Serial is GC6XXX . Spec of rust with a bit of pitting under the grip right after i bought it. No big deal, cleaned it off with a scotch pad and applied oil. Carried it for a few days in a smartcarry, now rust on the triggerguard. Cleaned it with oil, will not completely come off. Seems to be only the frame affected by it, no problems with the slide or parts. I love this pistol, i don't want to get rid of it, but whats the deal? I've never had a pistol rust this quickly.

[Barth]

Serial is GC6XXX . Spec of rust with a bit of pitting under the grip right after i bought it. No big deal, cleaned it off with a scotch pad and applied oil. Carried it for a few days in a smartcarry, now rust on the triggerguard. Cleaned it with oil, will not completely come off. Seems to be only the frame affected by it, no problems with the slide or parts. I love this pistol, i don't want to get rid of it, but whats the deal? I've never had a pistol rust this quickly.

New with rust? On a stainless gun?
That doesn't sound right to me.
I've had my MK40 for a few months in Florida, carrying on the weekends,
without any issues at all.
I'd consider contacting Kahr.

[ripley16]

I suggest using Eezox on your new Kahr... it will even make it smell different. Eezox is one of the best rust inhibitors around. Goes on wet, dries to a slick, invisible barrier to corrosion. It's a pretty good cleaner too.

[MrToad]

I've got a 13 year old K40 with no rust whatsoever. However, I have a similarly aged P230 that did have some minor cosmetic rust that appeared underneath its Hogue grips.

Rust can occur if there is a problem with the production or passivation (forming the protective oxidizing layer) of the steel. There are other conditions where formation can be promoted, for example using a grinding wheel or wire brushes on the steel that had been used before on carbon or low alloy steel. The latter part is probably not your issue since the gun is new. I've also heard that some stainless can form what is called "sulfide bloom" on the surface if too much sulfur is present in the steel, but this is different than rust in coloration and that it can be removed with a strong alkali, like NaOH.

That's probably more than you wanted to know, but that's what happens when you stay at a Holiday Inn Express.:D

[jaiLee]

Serial is GC6XXX . Spec of rust with a bit of pitting under the grip right after i bought it. No big deal, cleaned it off with a scotch pad and applied oil. Carried it for a few days in a smartcarry, now rust on the triggerguard. Cleaned it with oil, will not completely come off. Seems to be only the frame affected by it, no problems with the slide or parts. I love this pistol, i don't want to get rid of it, but whats the deal? I've never had a pistol rust this quickly.

I had the same problem after 2 days and 100 rounds. Rust on the trigger guard and slide. I spoke to a rep at Kahr who told me to clean it. The dealer said the same thing. I ended up trading even for a Beretta PX4 Storm Compact 9mm. $200 loss. In the mean time I had just ordered a new Mitch Rosen holster for about $90 from Kahr. they were nice enough to send me a return label so I dont have to pay for shipping. I've seen alot of these complaints. What going on?

BTW: It felt awesome at the range! I wish it had worked out and would consider another Kahr if I hadn't taken the $200 hit.

[CJB]

Rust on stainless.... Part of me says contamination, part of me says lack of adequate passivation. Both would be true at the same time.

You can home passivate stainless to a suitable degree.... total frame strip, clean by soaking in lacquer thinner - scrub clean, rinse in clear thinner, then wash in hot water with mild detergent. Immediately follow by immersion in phosphoric acid - which is commonly found. That will neutralize the microlayer of iron that is trapped on the stainless through interaction with cutting tool steels. Its not as good as nitric acid passivating, but it will get the job done to a pretty nice level.

The trick to passivating is CLEAN parts and IMMEDIATE acid bath. Other thinners... naphtha... could be used. I'd want something stronger than alcohol. MEK, Toluene... all will clean... but I'd go naphtha is lacquer thinner is too strong for the local environment (ie, your kitchen!). Phosphoric acid is available at Home Depot, as also are solvents. You can use... any of the "rust removers" as well, as they're almost universally made with phosphoric acid as the key active chemical.

[kerby9mm]

I had the same problem after 2 days and 100 rounds. Rust on the trigger guard and slide. I spoke to a rep at Kahr who told me to clean it. The dealer said the same thing. I ended up trading even for a Beretta PX4 Storm Compact 9mm. $200 loss. In the mean time I had just ordered a new Mitch Rosen holster for about $90 from Kahr. they were nice enough to send me a return label so I dont have to pay for shipping. I've seen alot of these complaints. What going on?

BTW: It felt awesome at the range! I wish it had worked out and would consider another Kahr if I hadn't taken the $200 hit.

I am surprised to hear about rust on the slide too. They are made separately from from different batches of steel. I believe that the frames are cast and theslides are machined from a block or billet whatever its on their website how the slides are made.

[FLBri]

I had an issue on my MK9 with rust and small pitting under a Hogue handall Jr. I cleaned and sanded ... re polished ... and it never has returned.

[pitandkahr]

I suggest using Eezox on your new Kahr... it will even make it smell different. Eezox is one of the best rust inhibitors around. Goes on wet, dries to a slick, invisible barrier to corrosion. It's a pretty good cleaner too.

Got some Eezox to clean my MK9...Love the smell!!! Just cleaning under the grips before putting on a Hogue grip...

[jeepster09]

Stainless should not rust. I would contact Kahr.

[Infidel proud]

Had the same prob with my K9 a few months after I bought it (new)...solved the problem by sanding the rust spots off, repolishing and spraying a couple of coats of duracoat SL clear...been fine ever since...

Have an mk9 that I have owned almost as long and have carried alot more than the K9, and have never seen any rust spots on it.

Since both of mine reside in the same environment I would have to agree with CJB...

[QuercusMax]

I ended up trading even for a Beretta PX4 Storm Compact 9mm. $200 loss.

BTW: It felt awesome at the range! I wish it had worked out and would consider another Kahr if I hadn't taken the $200 hit.

It is your decision to sell, and thus your decision to take a "$200 hit". That's just plain silly.

Hmmm, post count of 1?