handgun refinishing

W

whill65

Inactive
I'am looking for a durable handgun finish, i.e. durakote, cerakote. Anybody with any advice would be greatly appreciated, also anyone out there who knows of any companies that specialize in these types of finishes or other durable finishes pls let me know. Thanks
 
Last edited:
refinish

I dont know if this will help but i use tru-oil. Do about 3 or 4 hand rubs and then hand wax to fill and seal it up. its just as good if not better than a clear coat.
 
Yes it is. It has nothing to do with durable metal finishes.

Generally I like a plain blued finish. I do have some magazines which were Armaloyed. They have held up well.
 
I wouldn't consider any of the coat/kote/cotes to be "durable finishes". Hard chrome (Metaloy) or IonBond (Springer Precision) would be my choices, but there are also some variations on the melonite or nitriding theme that have gotten good reviews. A lot of finishers are loathe to describe their processes in too much detail, but you can at least usually find some reviews by those who have the finish on their gun, if you do some searching at gun- and shooting-related forums.
 
If you just want to re-blue something and save some money, I have had great luck with oxphoblue from brownells. It turns out even and it's easy to do.
 
These guys are about to get one of my orphan projects...

http://www.ccrrefinishing.com/hg.htm

Like Bill said, I think the Cera-Plate is going to be a step up.

I kind of get the impression you are looking for a do-it-yourself product?
Click to expand...
I can highly recommend CCR, they did a great job on my Sig P-226.

His turnaround time can be a little longer than he quotes up front, but it is worth the wait.
 
Top names in coating/plate work...

Some of the best firms in the USA for custom plate or coatings are;
Robar Guns; www.Robarguns.com Walter Birdsong's Black-T; www.Black-T.com and Accurate Plating & Weaponry; www.APWCogan.com .
Robar's new NP3+ works very well. I've had 2 custom 96D .40 pistols plated with NP3. The Robar Rogard is IMO not that great. It can scuff, scratch and get nicks quickly. :(
Black-T and the OD/dark green Green T is used by many major LE agencies like the FBI(HRT), USMS, SWAT etc.
Cerkote or NIC looks cool and can be offered in many colors; black, blue, green, brown, grey, etc.

These custom options are not cheap and may take a few weeks or months.

I would suggest having your duty or carry pistol mags plated with Robar NP3+ too if you order from them. It will protect the spare magazines and speed reloads.

Clyde F
 
NP-3 is nice IF the silver color works for you.

All the so-called ceramic coats are ground up ceramic in some binder. They all FAILED the FBI testing as when they flake off, and they all do, they are harder that the firearm base metal and ruin the headspace and all metal parts clearances they come in contact with....kind of like adding valve frinding compound to your firearm...poor choice ! Works fine on racing headers and as a BBQ paint...but that is it.

IF you want a black coating that works very well, I would consider BEARCOAT.
A FBI agent told me about it..they finished his HRT pistol built by Les Baer.
They provide fast professional service and a lifetime warranty....nobody else will even touch that. My daily carry Thunder Ranch was done 10+ years ago and still looks like new carried in a MiltSparks IWB holster.

www.bearcoat.com Now $ 200 and done in about 2 weeks. You could pay more....but why ?
 
I've had 2 guns hardchromed by Accurate Plating & Weaponry. Both were outstanding. They also have a large section on their website about Cerakote finishes. They're not my bag, but if anyone can do them right, my guess is that it'd be AP&W.
 
Thanks for the info from everyone! I sent a a Taurus to Rocky Mountain Arms to get Flat Black Tactical (Bear Coat), so I'll see how that turns out. 10Ring, I like that CCR, I have a Kimber I'am thinking of sending to them. And yes I have thought of trying one myself. I have a Beretta 92 that I've had for years, and was thinking of experimenting with it, probably should have experimented on the Taurus. Larry I also like the Accurate Plating. Thanks again for all the great info.
 
Last edited:
Color doesn't matter

I have one gun hardchromed at Accurate Plating & Weaponry.
I have one gun finished in NP3.
I had one gun finished with an at-the-time experimental finish, 'similar' to the Fail-Zero finish.

I personally prefer the characteristics of NP3.

The 'color' or appearance of the final product had/has no influence whatsoever on my choice of finish; it doesn't matter.
To me.....
 
KG Gunkote is a great one....pick your color and your k-phos pretreatment for 28 shipped and then dissasemble firearm and sandblast an degrease all parts and coat 3-4 times with spraygun after warming gun to 120(heatgun) then let sit for half hour then bake at 350 in oven 1 hour and reassemble

Few hours work gets you a really nice hard durable finish
 
What kind of lubricity does the KG gun kotes have. I went to there website and they have a few types of kotes. 2 that stand out are the 1600ptfe and the 3000 gear Kote. Both of which claim to be high in lubricity. My issue with them is they only come in one color. SO how is the regular 2400 series gun kote. Does it have a measurable amount of lubricity. Im sure its durable as cerakote and others, but does it measure up in the lube department.

I know that you still have to lube a gun, but this will help a little when the enviroment starts working against you. Its just one more layer of the onion that i need to address with my carry gun soon as well.

Edit to clarify.
I want a durable finish that is high on the charts with lubricity. Lubricity i hold just as important as durability. Besides a finish is only as durable as the person taking care of it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top