Do spring collars cause sleeve damage?

[simplesimon]

I noticed a silver metallic residue coming off of the sleeve of my new barbell when putting on and taking off a tight spring collar. I'm guessing this is the zinc coating, but not sure. Other than aesthetics, am I somehow damaging or deforming the sleeve by using spring collars?

[Jeff Illingworth]

It's probably the zinc, chrome, or whatever coating may be on there. It's very unlikely that you'll damage the bar itself unless it's made out of something really soft or you have the Incredible Hulk version of spring clamps. You may get rust on whatever metal is exposed as the coating comes off, but that's easy to deal with using some oil.

[John Hanley]

I noticed a silver metallic residue coming off of the sleeve of my new barbell when putting on and taking off a tight spring collar. I'm guessing this is the zinc coating, but not sure. Other than aesthetics, am I somehow damaging or deforming the sleeve by using spring collars?

Treat yourself to some better collars. Spring collars have a nasty habit of failing at the worst time (like during a 1rm deadlift pull three years into your training).