Bruce,
I have never had the chance to meet you and have never been to Omaha, but would like to do both some day. I was referring strictly to barrels that have been rust blued and was referring to the acid working its way into the Damascus or twist, especially if there is a pitted/rusty area on the barrels and who knows what exists under the ribs.
I know the soda solution after the bluing should neutralize the acids and the water displacing oils will finalize the process for the recesses, if that was done. Many people associate a vent hole drilled in the bottom rib near the forearm lug with hot bluing but it is also done on rust bluing jobs so the soda solution and water displacing oils can be sure to get in there. So my question is just about the ones that have the rust bluing. I was rust bluing fluid steel barrels without venting them after talking to many people who said that it was unnecessary, but then one of the best gunsmiths I know said he had changed his mind and it would be wise to vent all of them, as there was no such thing as a perfect solder job after one hundred years, and without doing so all of the acid and water could not be displaced. I guess my main concern with the rust bluing on composite barrels is in pits and rust, some of which can/could not be seen. But as Dean pointed out, refinishing them to the original Damascus or twist pattern will mean a solution that is just as corrosive and more so. I guess the moral is, if the Damascus or twist has ever been refinished, there is always a chance of penetration of the solutions into the composite metal. That is the basis of my concern when I see them.
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