What metal provides the best polished surface?

[CatoRockwell]

Assuming you are getting the highest quality work done. Which metal has the greatest potential to have th smoothest best finish surface with regards to barrels?

I figure with all the great tinkerers, engineers, and science wise minds on AO I could get some solid info on this subject. I am not asking what your favorite barrel is, but what alloy can be finished the best. I am however interested in hearing general opinions on other finishes as well. Also would like to hear from anyone with a lot of experiences with different barrels and how they add up.

From what I've studied so far it seems as if stainless steel would provide the best option, I am currently using a palmers brass which works amazingly well, the only downside is the dust coat on it has been chipping and is making it look a bit crappy.

[drg]

"Back in the day" I believe the conventional wisdom was that the order went:

From least to most fine finish possible:
Aluminum
Stainless Steel
Brass
Chrome

[MoeMag]

Stainless.

It has magical properties.

[chafnerjr]

I've got to vote stainless...

[Abizdafuzz]

Tungston Carbide?

[PvtDBJackson]

The perceived smoothness of the barrel as felt by your finger does not translate directly to the smoothness felt by the ball. What you are feeling is the coefficient of friction between the barrel and your finger which is different from the coefficient of friction between the barrel and the gelatin surface of the ball.

I have heard that brass is supposed to have the lowest coefficient of friction against gelatin. But the issue of maintaining brass comes up. It is maintenance-intensive, requiring frequent polishing. And like you are seeing, the coating tends to chip. But a very finely polished barrel of any type is going to be better than a rough brass barrel. In the end, I don't think it matters a whole lot.

[FutureMagOwner]

I would think that the JJ teflon coated barrels would probably be high up there on the list.

[Maghog]

The best possible polished finish is done with silver.
Just thought I'd answer the question being asked.
PvtDBJackson summed the rest up best.
Dan@Triggernomics

[Newt]

Generally, the harder the material, the higher finish it will take.

[Skeeter]

Generally, the harder the material, the higher finish it will take.

We are talking about two seperate qualities... Polish/finish is one quality, that does not directly relate to coeficient of friction (drag).

Where does nickel stand in the mix. BOA made several nickel plated barrels, years ago. From talking with their reps, they made claims that nickel had the lowest coeficient of friction WITH gelatin. PvtDBJackson had it right first. Back to CatoRockwell... Are you looking for internal surface, or a polish on the exterior???

[CatoRockwell]

Internal, basically, I like my Brass Barrel works great (aside from the fact that the dust coat is chipping away without any banging it up on my part), but if I am planning on getting my newly finished E-Tac reannodized and so I started looking into other barrels since you can't anno a Brass barrel. This got me looking into some different barrels. Which then spawned the question: Which metal or we can even say polish will give me the least drag?

Note: I know that barrel really doesn't make that big of a difference in accuracy, but I don't want to downgrade from brass if there is a better solution all round.