I've got a new stainless rifle I'd like to knock the shine off of, but I'm not hot on painting it. Looking for advice on glass bead blasting or vapor blasting to dull thefinish. Good idea? Pros, cons? - other than cost....
Thanks.
Mud

There are essentially three options when it comes to blasting: 1) glass beads give an attractive satin finish that most major manufactureres use on stainless guns. 2) Oxide blasting creates a very non-reflective gray finish that is functionally very stealthy - but not as pretty as glass beads. It is sometimes known as French Gray. 3) Sand blasting is is a very rough almost textured finish. Great for hiding cosmetic imperfections. Has a little more shine (sparkle), believe it or not, than oxide blasting. 95% of my customers prefer the glass beads. This is not particularly difficult or expensive to do. It's the setup and assembly/disassembly that takes a little time. Should run about half the cost of bluing.