[Gary in Pennsylvania]

OOPS!! I meant to post this originally here......But I accidentally did it in the 'autoloaders' section. So here it is here too. :rolleyes:

OK - This is a branch off of some other active threads out there.

Here's the question - I know that many people have sent their firearms away to be refinished. That refinish is usually along a hard chrome route.

BUT.....what if someone wanted to get edges 'melted' for carry, and front/backstrap stippled? Those mods would warrant a refinish. What choices are available if someone wants to hard "dark" coat the firearm???

There's all sorts of factory finishes/Kotes/Tennifer etc... out there. But what dark (black/matte) aftermarket finishes are available? What coating is the hardest or most durable? What business has a high-quality track record?

:confused: :confused: :confused:

[pauli]

you can get black chrome. it's not as hard as regular hard chrome, though. if it was, i don't think you'd see nearly as many light colored hard chromed guns ;)

[Gary in Pennsylvania]

Yeah - I know about the black chrome.

What about dark finishes other than hard chrome color variations?

[farscott]

There are a variety of polymer-based finishes that are dark or black. The only one I have used is Robar's Roguard. I had it done on a beat-to-snot S&W M28-2 with NP3 internals, and it was pretty good. Robar did some smithing for me, stippled the top strap of the frame and the barrel rib, and broke all the sharp edges on the revolver. The only issues were the Roguard finish was blasted off the cylinder face by hot Magnum loads and the cylinder turn line was exaggerated. Robar has an excellent reputation in both gunsmithing and finishing. I have used Robar four times and have always been pleased. I especially like their NP3 finish for when extreme corrosion resistance is needed.

[WESHOOT2]

Birdsong Black-T (man I hope I got that right because lately my mind's turned to mush; must be the heat :cool: )


Me? I like bright guns: stainless, hardchrome, and a matte NP3.....
(yes i got blue too)

[BluesBear]

Diamond-Kote is pretty hard wearing. They've been using it on cars for years.

[MrPink]

Another vote for Roguard. I carry an S&W340PD: pocket carry seems to wear on the finish and the factory finish is not very durable. I've had both of my 340s refinished in Roguard and so far so good on wear (about 9 months). Since the guns are Ti & alloy, I can't speak to the corrosion resistance of the finish.

I also like Robar's NP3 finish - with a beadblast surface prep it comes out like a flat light grey - not at all like a silver hard chrome. The teflon in the NP3 makes for easy easy cleanup.

[VictorLouis]

Boron Carbide finish, which I think is still available via the Colorado School of Trades (http://www.gunsmithing.com/gunsmithing/index.cfm)

These photos show the contrast between highly polished and matte surfaces on the same gun.


http://www.hunt101.com/img/074409.jpg

http://www.hunt101.com/img/074410.jpg

[Sean Smith]

The real answer is that there is NO dark finish with properties comparable to the plated finishes like hard chrome, electroless nickel or NP3.

Boron carbide is good in theory, but folks have had it flake off their guns for no apparent reason, and Rock River Arms dumped it as a finish option on their custom guns because turn-around was too slow and quality was inconsistent. That said, when it does come out right it seems to be awesome.

Black chrome is not just a "color variation" on hard chrome, it produces a much softer coating than hard chrome does. In terms of objective performance, hard chrome has it all over black chrome.

The polymer finishes like Armor-Tuff, Roguard, Black-T, Bearcoat, Gunkote, and so forth all have fairly similar properties. They are awesome for rust resistance and have good lubricity, but their wear resistance is flat-out crap compared to any of the plated finishes, and when it wears off it looks alot uglier than an old-fashoned blue job with similar wear.

Think about it: you are comparing a plastic glaze to a coating made of METAL.