Best gun finish

V

Visaman

New member
In your opinion, what is the most durable surface treatment a handgun can have ? I like Manganese phosphate and old facioned hot bluing.
 
and old facioned hot bluing
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Bluing is possibly the least durable and least protective finish. It's really no better than bare metal for durability, and since "bluing" is controlled rust, rusts nearly as well as steel "in the white."

The Army figrured this out during WWI, and specified Parkerizing (manganese phosphate) for small arms, beginning in November 1918. Parkerizing has remained the US military small arms finish of choice (for steel, of course) ever since.

Regards,

Walt
 
All things considered, hard chrome is the most durable finish I've ever seen/used. You don't have it get it shiny, you can get brushed chrome that looks more like stainless. But chrome is nearly impossible to scratch and it doesn't show any signs of holster wear - ever.
 
I prefer no finish applied. Just Stainless Steel. Easy to maintain. You can make it glossy or a brushed finish with simple abrasives.
 
All things considered, hard chrome is the most durable finish I've ever seen/used. You don't have it get it shiny, you can get brushed chrome that looks more like stainless. But chrome is nearly impossible to scratch and it doesn't show any signs of holster wear - ever.
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hmmmm...then I guess all those chromed pistols I've seen in gunshops with chipped finishes with rust beneath the chrome were just my imagination?

My personal recommendation if you're looking for the best possible finish for a pistol is Robar NP3: http://www.robarguns.com/np3.htm
 
Nickel? Really? Nickel chips away just like any thing "plated". IMO plain jane stainless, then Tenifer. You dont see a glock finish chipped up ever. Holster wear maybe, but the finish won't chip away like nickel or chrome.
 
My vote is for Walter Birdsong's Black-T....
also available is Green-T, Brown-T and possibly Tan-T ;)

Seriously..... this is an excellent finish for your weapon
 
Honestly,can Stainless be beat?

It's all the way through the handgun.

Yes,it can get rust on it but it polishes right out.

I like blued handguns myself but for a everyday carry weapon,I would think nothing can beat a Stainless gun.
 
Stainless is prone to certain problems. It is softer than carbon steel, so therefore not as durable in hard use. Also, stainless on stainless creates a gauling potential, requiring more care with lubrication. I prefer carbon steel guns, particularly pistols where friction is significant. My favorite finish is Armortuff, which is much harder than some of the others. I haven't had some of the others so I don't know about them, but Armortuff is better than the blued, black oxide, baercoat, or gencoat finishes I've had.
 
For applied finishes, nitriding is probably the toughest, followed by industrial hard chrome. Hard chrome, properly applied, does not flake.
Either of these finishes are light years ahead of the others.
The paint-on finishes are OK as long as their surface is not compromised, but they are still paint-and paint wears through. Teflon is soft enough that it wears through.
Nickel plating is very durable.
Parkerizing is OK.
Bluing is not particularly durable.
 
a serious study

MY personal experience with Robar's proprietary NP3 currently has me ranking it as the 'best'.

At RC 52 it is 'harder' than the gunmetal it is deposited on, and its corrosion resistance is well-proven.
Its Teflon matrix allows for constant refreshment of the Teflon's lubricating properties.

Yet I'm still testing one 1911 frame finished with an electroless nickel / boron carbide matrix.
Ask me about it in ten years.
(I'm considering having its stainless steel slide finished in NP3.)


Hardchromed guns rust. Stainless steel guns rust. Polymer-finished guns eventually wear through their coating; same with ceramic-based finishes (although they are all very good).

It ain't finished.......
 
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