Gun refinishing.

K

k5koy

New member
Hi all, I have an old European Sig P-220 .45. It has alot of holster wear on the slide, and a few dings and such on the alloy frame. I am thinking about having it refinished. My question is this, what kind of finish is long lasting and durable? I have researched a few of them including Parkerization, going back all original, which is what Im leaning toward, ceramicote, duracoat, matte, or high gloss. I have heard some about self lubricating, which I dont saavy at all. Wondering if I can get opinions on the various finishes, pro & con. Thanks,
Koy
 
None of the above.
1.Titanium nitride
2. Industrial hard chrome
3. Electroless nickel

In that order.
None of the painted finishes is as durable, nor is Parkerizing.
 
None of the above.
1.Titanium nitride
2. Industrial hard chrome
3. Electroless nickel

In that order.
None of the painted finishes is as durable, nor is Parkerizing.
Yesterday 07:05 PM
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I agree. Nothing is as durable as those finishes above, but unless we're talking about a custom built or rebuilt gun I personally can't justify the cost.

I am a big fan of Duracoat. For years we've have to fight corrosion issues with our department issued cruiser shotguns due to the violent marine climate of Aleutian Hell.

Last year on my own dime I purchased a cheap electric airbrush compressor, an airbrush kit and Duracoat to refinish a couple of our shotguns as a test. Needless to say the Duracoat has passed the test with flying colors. Other than taking care of the innards in the normal manner and a quick wipe down to knock off the big chunks, the exteriors have been pretty much maintenance free.

Yes, they get dinged a bit from hitting electro-locks and normal abuse police guns take, but the beauty of Duracoat is that you can always mix up a small batch and touch it up yourself when needed.

The self-lubricating finishes, Duracoat included, usually have teflon or molydenum disulfide in the mix. Do they work as advertised? Who knows? I purchased Duracoat SL for our guns mainly to paint the mag-tube on our shotguns because it's a known friction point. The entire surfaces of our guns are coated with the SL version. We still wipe the surface down with a light coat of Break-Free on a rag. They seem to operate okay.
 
Thanks! Thats a pretty good endorsement for the Duracoat. I agree 100%. The costs of the above mentioned finishes exceeds the budget by a clear margin. Having looked around, on youtube, and various other sites, clearly Duracoat is the finish for me. And the fact that its something I can do myself makes it even better. Having said all that, which is a better choice as far as the Duracoat vs. The Durabake? I can only assume the baked on finish is a bit more durable. Thanks, great info here.
Koy
 
Might want to Google some of the images of Dura-disasters that people have created.

What is the process for recovering from a Duracoat attempt gone awry? What is the cost for removing it or fixing it?


I'll admit that something like Robar NP3+ or their new Poly-T2 coats are expensive
 
CCR makes a finish very similar to NP3 and it's much cheaper. I have it on two of my guns and I have nothing but positive things to say about it. Great product.
 
The problem with self lubricating firearms finishes, is that the finish has to have two characteristics: It must be able to burnish without peeling or flaking and it must be thin enough to apply to internal moving parts.

None of the duracoat products qualify for either one of those. What duracoat does have, is a million dollar advertising budget. What good does it do if the external surfaces of a firearm are self lubricating? Ok, so dirt has a more difficult time sticking to it but the finishes that qualify as REAL firearms finishes require no external lube so they're not dirt magnets either. Duracoat is re-packaged Polane T by Sherwin Williams. It has no Mil-Spec rating for use on firearms. It has no lab test results published. It has ....a lot of advertsing. Keep yer powder dry, Mac.
 
You can't Parkerize aluminum. You can anodize it, plate it, or paint it.
Any of the "gun paints" protect well, as long as the metal surface is completely covered. The problem is, it's just paint and it will wear quickly and chip-leaving no protection. Doing Duracoat properly requires you to: bead blast, Parkerize the steel parts, spray the parts with an airbrush, heat the parts in an oven-and you still have just painted your gun. Unless you have all the equipment, it's cheaper to have a pro do the work. And after you pay for all the professional surface prep, you may as well have the gun plated. It will cost about the same as painting it.
There's always Krylon.....
 
I had my P90 frame metalife coated and like it. Don't know how well it will last, but supposed to be guaranteed for the life of the Gun.
http://mahovskysmetalife.com/Metalife Finish Page 2.htm
P90ls.jpg
 
Hey P97! That's a lot of detailed work on that Ruger! Nice looking!

Regarding the costs of having a firearm plated versus "painted" and doing it your self versus having it done by a pro: First, the easy one. If the do-it-yourselfer has the abrasive blaster, air compressor, know how, curing oven, work space, etc...it would of course be cheaper for him/her to do it themselves. However, not having the knowledge and/or equipment usually results in it costing more than what a pro would have charged in the first place. Some shops will even charge more to remove "the mess"! (We don't)

Now, the hard answer! A lot of the choice of one finish versus that finish, depends on what you want to do with it. I would want a different finish on my sailboat shotgun than I do on my once-a-month target shooter. As far as costs are concerned: Many shops will advertise a price but it doesn't include the internals or the details, etc. Very often, the price will NOT include any internals because they can't be done with their finish. Any type of quality plating will usually cost a lot more than a comparable "paint job".

And just FYI: I absolutely LOVE duracoat! We make a fair amount of money removing that stuff and apply a real firearms finish. Keep yer powder dry, Mac.
Tuff-Gun Finishes. The Name Says It All.
Mac's Shootin' Irons
http://www.shootiniron.com
 
The actual cost of plating a gun with nickel or chrome, after metal prep, is less than $25.00.
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Yup! But that's only for the cost of the materials used. I know of no 'smith/plater who will plate a firearm for the cost of materials only. Adding in the prep work, the cost of the equipment and the 'smiths time, the cost does way up. A quick search shows one shop will plate a 1911 for $135 with no internals to another shop who will plate a 1911 for $275 with internals included.

Every pro refinisher thinks "their" finish is the best in the world and isn't shy about saying so. The truth is that the best finish for YOU may not be the best finish for HIM. A bright shiny finish on one of my pistols may not be the right choice for the finish on another of my pistols. We do some finish work for "private contractors". Try telling one of them that he/she should have the trim on his/her MP-5 done in bright Nickel! On the other hand, one of them shoots competition and has a glow-in-the-dark Nickel plated handgun for that.

There is no perfect finish. And as far as calling a Mollybdenum Disulfide enhanced thermally setting Phenolic resin just another paint: Well, it is!

.....Like a Turbo Porsche Carrerra or a 65 'Vette is just another car!

Keep yer powder dry, Mac.

Tuff-Gun Finishes. The Name Says It All.
Mac's Shootin' Irons
http://www.shootiniron.com
 
Listen to what Mac's has to say. I'm sure he knows what he is talking about. You can have him quote a job or at least ask for pictures of what he has done. I have seen, not in person, but posted many guns done by CCR and Customized Creationz. Both ot these last two have extensive hands on with Sigs. Check them all out and decide where you want to go with this. Oh, Custom Creationz does have a House Sig Black that looks just awesome. Am truly thinking about having my P220 refinished by them. Good luck, there's a lot of info to go over.
 
Handgun coatings, plate work, treatments...

If you are looking for a high quality coating or plate work there are a few popular choices out there;
www.Bearcoat.com www.Black-T.com www.APWcogan.com www.robarguns.com .
Bearcoat comes in a few color choices & runs about $220.00 that includes return S/H, :) . Black-T & Green-T are highly rated. Accurate Plate & Weaponry is a AL based firm that offers nickel, Teflon, Cerakote(NIC), & other custom choices. The site has a link to a cool chart where you can view a Glock pistol with different NIC colors; green, silver, black, blue, tan, camo, etc.
Robar Guns based in AZ is a firearms industry leader with a great service record. I suggest the black oxide or the new NP3+. They also have many options or styles but some treatments like the black RoGard are - in my opine. I had a new in box 96D pistol coated with black RoGard. The Beretta 96 got scuffs & wear marks quickly. :(
I'd also used a NP3 treated 96D in the 1990s with 0 problems or issues.

SIG Sauer also does "CPO" or factory service jobs on older P series firearms.
It includes new springs, barrels, sights, Nitron plate work, grips, etc. See www.sig-sauer.com . It ran around $110.00 but the cost may have gone up.
 
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