Color of polymer pistol frames, affect strength?

R

Recoil spring

New member
I see that several different pistol makers have a variety of colors to purchase for their polymer framed handguns, from traditional black, to sand, to some weird colors like purple, pink, etc.

In my younger days I worked in the plastic and paint industry, and remember putting in color tint into the customer's products, but that was decades ago. Was wondering if it makes a difference in the strength, etc. of a gun. Also, some of those colors look disturbing to me, so am also curious if it would affect resale potential if I want to sell it down the line?

Anybody in the plastic industry who knows something on this, or you retailers with the odd colors in sales?

Thanks.
 
Wow.. good question, I don't know my self I do remember reading about glock frames and how the black color affected UV stability.. But iirc it was tiny like 2%

The discussion was about a glock left exposed to the sun for a long time.
I'll be interested in the answer though.


I do believe "white" and "clear" plastic are the most expensive to produce.. black is actually the cheapest.
But this was in the context of using recycled plastic (brother use to work at plastic factory) as a source material.

As far as resale value.. Can't really go wrong with black.
Anything else is gonna cut your market a bit.
There might be someone out there who just would love to have a purple framed gun but almost everyone is willing to accept a black one.
 
Weird colors.

I vaguely remember reading an article that said that the weird colors, pink, purple, sky blue, etc. were popular with the young Generation X crowd, not sure if that is true but many people complain about the Gen. Xer's being odd so I kinda believe it.

I would love to have a clear plastic gun, Taurus makes a small revolver that has a clear right side plate so you can see the "inards". Pricey though.
 
I seem to remember years ago reading something to the effect that some pigments can make a polymer weaker. This was on ar15.com and came about during pmag testing and anecdotal experience of the members noticing fde and other colors seemed to crack or otherwise failed sooner.

I have spent much time, too much, attempting to understand the lifespan of modern polymer pistols and this topic came up again. I have seen information shared from (supposedly) polymer engineers or chemists stating the pigments can indeed 'weaken' the end product to some degree in some cases.

I can't confirm any of the above to be absolute.

Modern polymer used in this industry almost all have uv inhibitors and are pretty darn stable.

Maybe I'm off base here but there must be a reason other than the extra cost involved in producing more than just black pistols. Pigment cannot be cost prohibitive even on a large scale.
 
Black vehicle tires used carbon black as it was cheap, available ,added good properties to the rubber like hardness and strength. Additives can make a big difference .They are never added at random.
As with metals in pure form not often used but as 'alloys ' often used.
 
Agree with Joe.
Black is cheap and protects the polymer chains from degradation by solar UV radiation. I think Glock uses a Nylon base which needs all the protection from UV that it can get, naked PA 6/6 is rated "unacceptable."
Do the fashionable colors do as well? I don't know.
 
You'll notice the Gen3 Pmags only come in so many colors because they didn't get an acceptable level of performance out of some when colored. Pretty sure I'm recalling that thread correctly. It wasn't anything major but they didn't happen to like it.
 
Recoil spring said:
I vaguely remember reading an article that said that the weird colors, pink, purple, sky blue, etc. were popular with the young Generation X crowd, not sure if that is true but many people complain about the Gen. Xer's being odd so I kinda believe it.



I would love to have a clear plastic gun, Taurus makes a small revolver that has a clear right side plate so you can see the "inards". Pricey though.
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As someone that would be grouped under Gen X, all my guns are black. I can't help but roll my eyes at all the stereotypes made about each successive generation. As it stands none of my friends are nearly as weird as some of the hippies of old.


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If there is a difference, I don't think it would be very much.

Virgin plastic would need to have pigments in it for black, so on the whole, its not really any different between them.

Some pigments may not allow the polymer chains to link as well, but as I said, I doubt its significant.

Unless of course, the formulation for the dark colored mags is different than the light colored ones.
 
I can't help but roll my eyes at all the stereotypes made about each successive generation. As it stands none of my friends are nearly as weird as some of the hippies of old.
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Born at the tail end of WWII, having survived both Vietnam and tuning in, turning on, and dropping out, sorta, maybe, sometimes, for a while (...I don't know what you are, man, but you ain't no hippie...) I love your comment!!
 
I'm pretty sure I fit the mentioned age group. I'm 27. I do have a few pistols in colors other than black.

I just prefer to have a few different "looks" to my firearms. As of right now my wife and I have 6 pistols and only 2 have other colors. One is her SR22. Not really a make or break thing.

I'd buy a pink handgun for myself if I got a good enough deal on it. They all shoot the same.

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To each his own, you can have mine.
Pink, yellow or some other bright color certainly don't do it for me.
I would drive a new Pink Stingray though. Guess I'm glad I would never be presented with the choice.;)
 
Modern polymers shouldnt have too much of an issue just from the coloring, unless you leave you guns out in the sun for some reason. I like FDE, OD, and desert tan on handguns compared to the standard all black or two-tone stainless.
 
There is a difference. Depending on the base stock, it can be significant enough to matter to irrelevant. I manufacture several polymer parts and the black is the best. My base stock can not be had in a white or natural color and getting that reduces the strength a little. With the natural colored base stock, the different colors actually machine a little different. Funny enough, pink was the most brittle.
 
For most of these guns, unless the gun is no longer being produced, a replacement frame is typically available and they're not THAT expensive. And for guns with long-term warranties, we may all be straining at a gnat. (The gun maker may offer a replacement, perhaps even a newer weapon, etc., if the frame starts to fail.)

I'm not leaving any of MY weapons out in the sun for extended periods -- doing THAT might suggest I don't care about their upkeep, don't have protective holsters, or a better places to store them, and am also not afraid about them being stolen, rained on, etc., etc.

Maybe, if long-term exposure to sunlight or related rays it is a REAL issue, we'll find some sunblock for our handguns...
 
Walt Sherrill said:
For most of these guns, unless the gun is no longer being produced, a replacement frame is typically available and they're not THAT expensive. And for guns with long-term warranties, we may all be straining at a gnat. (The gun maker may offer a replacement, perhaps even a newer weapon, etc., if the frame starts to fail.)
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Good analogy with the gnat thing. :D

It should be emphasized that a manufacturer is legally allowed to send a replacement firearm of "the same kind or type" to the "person from whom received" with NO Form 4473 or FFL transfer required.

If the firearm is subject to a lifetime warranty or service policy like those offered by the major gunmakers, this often means that they'll send you a replacement firearm FOR FREE – they'll even send you a shipment label to send in the broken gun, and they'll send the replacement right to your front door, all for no charge. :cool:
 
MY WALL OF DIVERSITY...I'm a Vietnam Vet so not a Gen. Xer's. Just a gun collector. Most guns in picture are colored poly except 2 and they are factory paint. having been in injection molding no the color will not effect strength. Unless they use too much color or wrong density plastic. Black is the cheapest as it uses re-ground mixed in. Clear or semi clear is virgin plastic. (At least in making buckets.)
1041591d1485517415-glimpse-my-little-collection-wall-2017.jpg
 
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