RE: let them all rust
Cayugad,
Could there be any issues with the rusting mainly occuring in between the grooves in the barrel and since you testing on a flat surface it may not stick on enough sides to cause rapid rusting?
Could you run a saw blade over your areas to create grooves for the powder to catch?
Also maybe fire some more powder over each of the surfaces to see if maybe there needs to be more trials?
Just a thought?
Tom