Hard chrome is very "non pimp" it looks almost identical to matte or brushed stainless... Hard chrome is what is used on hydraulic cylinders and is very durable.
My objection to blued steel is rust....I wipe down all my guns after use but I had 2 rust badly on me last year.
After a end of season hunting trip that had a heavy morning fog I wiped down my rifle and pistol dry as always and lightly oiled them and put them back with the rest of my guns.
A few months later I happened to take out the revolver I had taken on that trip and and noticed something around the grip and it was a large speck of rust.
I removed the grip and the whole grip frame was solid rust, I took out the rifle and removed it from the stock and there was rust under the barrel on it.
So, that did it for me for blued guns..........
Ive got a stainless 22 revolver that is probably 20 + years old that numerous times has been exposed to full blown rainstorms, being left in wet and muddy 4 wheeler cargo boxes, or in a wet back pack. It has yet to develop a speck of rust on it anywhere.
Id much prefer a gun that I didnt have to disassemble after every foggy morning trip to keep it from rusting.
We have some old used hyd cylinders at work that have been sitting in the weather for a minimum of 3 years and dont any rust on them at all.
The cost of hard chroming is much less than I would loose selling the blued guns and replacing them with stainless.
