VP9 finish

M

marine6680

New member
So I got bored and decided to test the "luminescent" sights on the VP9.

Some good news, they are not nearly as hokey as people think. If you use a bright handheld light... and if you are like me, you uses a handheld light in the 150 lumen range rather than a weapon mounted light... Then a quick flash on the sights for just a second or two makes them glow bright enough to be noticeable even in a lit room, and afterwards they glow brightly enough to be useful (think quality tritium bright) for at least 15 minutes or more.

So one could use the pistol in a home defense role, and quickly flash the sights when you grab the pistol and light. So there is that.


But now for the main topic.

The slide finish on my VP9 when viewed under a strong LED flashlight is Brown! Even the polymer frame has a slightly brown tinge to it. (well the main body of it, the small bits/parts looked black)

All the metal parts I could see (even the little tab of metal in the slot on the rear) was brown.

I am guessing it is a product of both the process they use, and the color temp of LED light. Plus the way we humans perceive color.

The finish was also blotchy in corners and in areas like the slide serrations. Another process byproduct I suppose.

All purely cosmetic, but it exists. Makes me want to check my other pistols.

Just an observation, feel free to check yours as well if you own one. I am guessing this is a common thing when subjecting the pistol to such bright harsh light.

I just can't get over how brown it looked. Especially compared to the "cocking assist tabs" which stayed a very noticeable black.
 
It is the nature of colors to have different variations. Check to see how many shades of white there at the local paint store, sometime. They all have varying levels of other colors in them to give more or less warmth, different levels of perceived depth, etc, but t it is really only when the are viewed side by side that the differences are apparent. The same is true with black. It is also possible that the brown hue is the result of the color value of the light itself, rather than the color of the slide.
 
My guess is it's a result of the Hostile Environment treatment applied to the metal. On my hammer fired HKs the hammers themselves as well as other internal parts were noticeably more brown than even the slide. Also, slide release levers on HKs have been known (i.e. picture evidence) to wear with time and reveal a brown tint underneath that was not there originally especially on the edges.

One other comment I will make about HK's finish is that my experience with an HK P2000 is that the finish is not very scratch resistant. At all. What you see is essentially a black oxide on top of the Hostile Environment treatment that is done to the metal and permeates the metal itself. In theory a surface scratch really isn't a concern as that treatment should penetrate deeper into the metal than any scratch should be able to achieve (within reason), meaning losing the oxide finish on the surface does not put the carbon steel at danger of rusting. I only bring it up because despite plenty of stupidity on my end, I have yet to scratch a Melonite treated pistol. In fact typically what appears as a scratch on Melonite is actually a transfer of metal from the offending object (due to the hardness of Melonite) and with some solvent and some diligent scrubbing can be removed entirely. I cannot say the same for HKs. Again this is based on my experience with a 2012 HK P2000 and a sample size of 1. Take it with that in mind.
 
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Yeah, I figured it was just a thing with their process.

They do something different so it has a different look than the other nitride treated slides of my other pistols.
 
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