Beretta Bruniton vs blued?

[valnar]

What exactly is the finish on a Beretta 92FS? How is "Bruniton" different than traditional blueing? Is it more rugged? Stand up against rust better?

Any reason to pick a regular Bruniton finished 92FS over an Inox (yet another weird word for Stainless, I imagine)?

Thanks,
Robert

 

[George Hill]

Blueing is a controlled rust. A chemical oxidization of the surface. Bruniton is a coating of agents on the surface.

 

[valnar]

What are those coatings? Any special properties like the famous Black-T or other aftermarket industrial finishes?

-Robert

 

[George Hill]

I don't know... but unlike some coatings, these are hard and very smooth, like a polished bluing. They don't have any built in lubrication, but the up side is that smoothness needs just a teeny bit of oil, and you are good to go.

 

[valnar]

I'm asking because it appears on these forums that people are glad that Beretta "finally" offers stainless steel. The tone appears to be that of "thank the lord there is another option other than bruniton".

Perhaps I was reading between the lines incorrectly. I quite like the look the plain jane 92FS, and am thinking of buying my first Beretta.

-Robert

 

[cratz2]

Well, I can't comment on the Bruniton finish as I only owned my Beretta for a short time but the finish on my Taurus PT99 has held up outstandingly well. If the coating on the Beretta is half as durable as that on my Taurus, I'd be happy. The difference between black and stainless is one you'll have to make.

As for the Inox, I though that was actually a seperate model... like a 'Not Quite But Almost Elite II'... I didn't realize it was just the different finish.

Shows what I know...

 

[9mmepiphany]

the bruniton is a great coating as to function, protection, but doesn't have the deep character of bluing. even where the coating has worn through, the underlaying metal is corrosion free even while being carried as a duty gun with minimal care

INOX is simply the beretta designation for stainless steel

 

[Detritus]

INOX=abreviation of "Inoxidisible"(SP??)( have no idea how the Italians spell the word) = non-oxidizing = Stainless with the "Steel" implied

so in a way "INOX" is VERY akin to US makers using the abreviation "SS" to denote a gun (or other product available in both "regular" and Stainless steel variations) that is made of Stainless.

 

[George Hill]

"but doesn't have the deep character of bluing"

True... very true.

 

[BrokenArrow]

Some older Beretta 92s were polished blue. They started using the Bruniton on the 92SB-F (AKA 92F) about 85 or so, concurrent w the US military M9 contract.

Parkerizing is a phosphating using zinc or manganese, comes out gray or black depending on which is used. IIRC, Bruniton is a baked on Teflon/polymer finish over Parkerizing.

Bruniton is better than blueing and Parkerizing as far as lubricity, corrosion, and wear resistance goes.

The M9s have Bruniton on the slides, not the barrels and frames. The barrels are Parkerized/phosphated, and the frames are anodized. I have seen some commercial Berettas that look like the barrel has Bruniton on it too.

Inox is stainless steel. Beretta does make Inox guns w a black finish, don't know if it's Bruniton, or just someother way of blackening the stainless steel.

 

[Island Beretta]

Bruniton is a very durable finish and one developed by Beretta for harsh environments.. so far it has held up pretty well.. The Italian finish tends to be shinier than the American finish with a little more character..

That said there is nothing like a blued gun in its prime..simply beautiful!! High Powers and CZ 75s spring quickly to mind..

 

[bountyhunter]

I'm asking because it appears on these forums that people are glad that Beretta "finally" offers stainless steel. The tone appears to be that of "thank the lord there is another option other than bruniton".

The bruniton on mine is bulletproof after about 20k rounds fired. Much better than bluing which quickly rubs thin in the gripping areas and along the edges. I think Bruniton is some kind of a heat cured epoxy coating or something similar. It's impervious to all chemical cleaners.

 

[cracked butt]

The bruniton finish is very nice lookingand durable finish- my only problem with it is thay its applied to the sear/hammer surfaces and makes for an awfull trigger pull until its polished off.

 

[valnar]

Thanks for all the replies guys.

So it appears there is no benefit to stainless (Inox) over Bruniton. Just pick the color and go for it.

That of course is a different arguement altogether of blued vs stainless. One is prettier, the other holds up better.


Thanks.
Robert

 

[BrokenArrow]

Depending on how much the slide rubs the bbl when it cycles (Some none, some a little, some a lot), the tops of the bbls on the non stainless guns can end up looking like heck pretty quick. Seen some older M9s where the bbls have just about all the finish worn off w the white metal showing for an inch or so. The stainless guns, and blackened stainless guns, look much better thousands of rounds down the road.

 

[Popcorn Coolie]

As mentioned Blueing is rusting, so it can rust. The metal itself has no nickel titan or chrome addative. Which means the metal can pit and rust through.

I really don't know much about Beretta's finish, but I'd think it's a stainless alloy with the matted blue coat over it. Basically plated. Just a matte blue Sig. Stainless with a blued plating.

I have a really old beretta 92Fs. The finish is a satin pitch black. No blue to it at all. It's plated. I know it is, because I droped the slide and some of the finish chipped of the slide. Underneath it's stainless metal.

I think Beretta has always used Inox metal. And guns with the INOX finish aren't newer. They have made them forever. The Matted inox or bead blasted might be new but they have used italian stainless (INOX) since I was in dypers.

Even though I personally prefer a Beretta over a tarus auto a& a smith & wesson revolver over a taurus.. Beretta doesn't really cater the civillian market anymore as far as handguns are concerned. All of their finishes are tactical.

I'm sure if you had enough money you could order a custom finished Beretta with a nice lusterous contrasting finish, but currently their guns are made for operators not collectors. Users that don't give a damn what they look like as long they put holes in people.

So as much I dislike the Taurus I recomend the Taurus if you want a 92 or 96 with a nice fish.

 

[10-Ring]

I have an Italian 92 Centurion made in '92 and have been very happy w/ its blue finish. I wouldn't worry about the Beretta finish...from what I've experienced, they are top notch.

 

[SalTx]

I carried the issued 96d brigadier, it was said to have brunitron finish, which seemed to do well enough, as far as I could tell (personally not into blueing/aesthetics). My brother just purchased a 92f with a "blued" finish, as far as I can tell, it looks just like the thing I carried for a few years. It did have some slight blemishes, but that may be factory fault. "looks" pretty good to me.

 

[GHF]

Brunitron

I have a 9000S with it, and love it. I carry as much as legally possible, and the finish has stood up perfectly to the humidity and sweat here in Florida. I wish the finished the magazines with it - my backup ones are prone to rust.

 

[357SIG]

Beretta is actually very pro-gun and does care about the civilian market. In fact, they've done a lot more for us than most other companies.

I love my Beretta 92FS Inox, and have had perfect reliability for over 5 years. I once was issued a 96G in Brunition, which showed holster wear, but it was minimal. It seems the Safariland SSIII-070 is good for scratching up guns, though. That 96G was just as reliable as the 92FS I own.