[patsue]

I have a milspec Springfield 1911 that I have spent some money on customizing and the final thing I want to do is make the slide black or darken it for contrast with the stainless frame.

Anybody out there do this and is it durable?

patrick

[tbreed725]

i believe yu could use duracoat but you can also have it covered with a finish like birdsong black or something try robar or do a search for refinishing companies and you should find a few.

[NORTEXED]

This is Industrial Teflon over Satin Nickel on my Commander. Has held up well now since 88' and was not that expensive (30-40 bucks at the time).

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v368/NORTEXED/MVC-006S.jpg

[jfh]

I would definitely check out robar. They redid my (carbon steel) for me a few years ago, and I was entirely satisfied. Not cheap, however.

Jim H.

[Technosavant]

There's any number of different finishes that will work. Black T (Walter Birdsong), Duracoat, etc.

[Owen Meany]

As others have mentioned, Robar will do what you want. They are a terrific outfit and the prices are reasonable.

If you actually want to chemically blacken the stainless slide (chrome sulfide is the compound that results), they will do that, though no warranty is offered as it is on their Roguard and NP3 finishes.

To read Robar's description of stainless blackening, go to the below link and scroll down:

http://www.robarguns.com/additional_finishes.htm

Interestingly, they claim that the chrome sulfide increases the corrosion resistance of the stainless.

[Bob Hostetter]

Most OEM are using Black Oxide on stainless steel.

[coyotehitman]

Roguard over stainless looks very nice, darkening it without making it black.

[DFW1911]

Check out Wilson combat. They have a number of colors in their Armor-Tuff finish.

As for the finish itself, I CCW a Wilson Combat for years and it's no worse for the wear and it's been exposed to some less-than-great elements (rain, show, etc).

I, too, am a fan of Robar.

Good luck,
DFW1911