Titanium nitride as a gun finish?

There are some vendors that do TiN plating for firearms. Any "gold" guns you've seem likely had this finish. IIRC it's less durable than hard chrome, but still stronger than parkerizing and it does look nice. I think the major limiting factor is cost.

There are versions of TiN coating in different colors. Either by modifying the coating, there is a TiAlN coating that comes out near black, as does TiN when done in a particular atmosphere. I have seen a purplish black on knives I think done with atmosphere control.

I have not seen anything resembling the blotchy mess of case colors done with TiN.

I don't know of any manufacturers that do TiN plating from the factory. Here's one place that does it aftermarket, but to refinish a whole pistol would cost you upwards of $500:
http://www.apwcogan.com/plating-and-refinishing/finishes-metal-finishes.html

One other advantage of the TiN coatings, from a machining perspective, is its lubricity. The coating actually reduces friction in the chip forming zone. I don't know if this would translate to reduced operating friction in the slide/frame rail zone or not. Maybe.

Have a black titanium nitride coated gun (assuming AlTiN, but who knows).

The good:

It's pretty. It's SMOOTH, so mating surfaces will feel as good or better than at the start. It's THIN which means it doesn't really affect the fitment of anything, which is a very good thing on a custom gun. It's hard, so it's hard to scratch and wears well against friction. It absorbs a surprising amount of lube for being so thin. Anyplace you make a hole in the coating is not likely to lead to expanding flaking or peeling. It can be done at lower temperatures, so less issues with thin pieces of metal.


The bad: It's not corrosion resistant. The gun will rust beneath the coating which is porous. It's hard, so if the underlying metal is soft enough to dent, it will likely crack and flake off in that spot. PRICE. It's expensive! Availability. Not a lot of people do it, which means shipping it far, which means even MORE EXPENSIVE.

Can't one run into a problem on certain wear areas where the plating comes off leaving a really sharp edge of plating where the plating remains?

I've seen chrome that is missing and typically the remaining chrome is extremely sharp and small pieces can even come off much like splinters.

Would that be a problem with this plating?

Possibly. I think it's more of a "cool" finish rather than a practical one. Kind of like mirror-polished chrome.

Friendly said:

Can't one run into a problem on certain wear areas where the plating comes off leaving a really sharp edge of plating where the plating remains?

I've seen chrome that is missing and typically the remaining chrome is extremely sharp and small pieces can even come off much like splinters.

Would that be a problem with this plating?

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No, that's not how it fails as far as I can tell. It doesn't tend to spread like that, and it doesn't come off in a sheet. I've only ever seen it fail in small spots, and the exposed surface remains small under normal use.

These guys don't do guns, but they have a discription of common surface treatments available.
http://www.icscuttingtools.com/Surface.htm

Titanium nitride more durable than hard chrome...

Just purchased one of the last Titanium Nitride Baby Eagles from a company near Chicago called Megasports. It was one of the last ones left from the 2008 run of those guns.

I did some research on Titanium Nitride which included calling IMI in california who did the finish on these guns for Magnum Research. I am told that the Rockwell hardness is higher on Ti Gold than any hard chrome. Although the hard chrome is thicker, the titanium nitride is harder and more resistant to scratching.

A discussion with a tech at IMI revealed that this finish has had a track record of unsurpassed durabilty on long guns and with IPSC shooters. Bottom line, Titanium nitride is tough as nails. He has some amazing stories to tell.

Having been a gun enthusiast since I was a kid I am used to guns being blue or nickel. Stainless steel guns and parkerized finishes came later in my experience and I always thought guns lost some appeal with those finishes. I am a military man and I understand the tactical value of a gun that doesnt shine. But unless the mission warrants a dull finish the elegance of high polished firearm is a thing of beauty IMHO. Personally, I think the finish is cool and I have had enough guns in my lifetime to be a bit smug when it comes to other peoples opinions of my firearms. It is not 24 karat gold which is much softer. With a reasonable amount of care the finish should last many lifetimes. But dont believe me. Just call IMI.

No experience with coating an entire gun, but do have an AR bolt done in Ti.......easy to clean and maintain.

This guy was doing TiN, but stopped due to material cost.

http://www.apwcogan.com/complete-price-list/section-7-refinishing.html

Because I totally destest any and all glocks, they would show an increase in sales if they had a gold tint. The more "bling" the better! So to answer your question YES for the glock crowd! Come to think about it pretend gold on a plastic gun even sounds right.

just for fun said:

Because I totally destest any and all glocks, they would show an increase in sales if they had a gold tint. The more "bling" the better! So to answer your question YES for the glock crowd! Come to think about it pretend gold on a plastic gun even sounds right.

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Hey, plastics and rubbers of various types have been making life easier and "funner" for a very long time, grandpa.

I have a coating facility at my work I make endmills and cutters run CnC gringers sharpeners UTG's,PTG's,HHS's,SR's etc. I TiN-ed my bolt carrier and bolt for my Rock River Varmint AR It is easy to clean and does have lubricity from a cutter standpoint not sure on a bolt carrier tho. it looks just like REMBRANTS picture in his post i dont like the word "BLING" but it does have a "POP" with the gold ring on my VX-3 Luepold all i gota do is just hand it to Jeff and when they do a run of TiN cutters they throw my stuff in too and its free

casey44mag said:

...all i gota do is just hand it to Jeff... they throw my stuff in too and its free.

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Soooo... just let us know when to send you our stuff so we can get the free TiN coating.