CZ Polycoat

[Gun Geezer]

Considering a CZ 75 with the black polycoat finish.

Does the polycoata hold up well? Say decades of concealed carry, or should I plan on having to refinish it in the future?

Why don't they offer all their models in standard blue?

 

[Treo]

I've been CCing my Z for two years I don't see a lot of holster wear. The gun itsself is 10 years old and doesn't look worn at all, or at least no excessively.

 

[Marcus L.]

More rust resistant and durable than blueing. Not as rust resistant and durable as Tefner(found on Glocks), Nitron(found on Sigs), Melonite(found on M&P), or Matte(found on H&Ks). It's thick and has been used on everything from knives to utility boxes for years. It generally resists scratches pretty well, but it doesn't have as good of an adherance to steel as the other gun finishes I mentioned. It can flake sometimes, just as I experienced on my SP-01 Tactical(now sold) in which a 1" section of the grip just flaked away leaving bare steel.

I think there are MUCH better finishes out there. It's better than blueing, but not by a whole lot. There are plenty of places that can give your CZ a good parkerized finish, or you can go Robar NP3/Roguard, or chrome. All of which would be quite superior. I still think Glock tefner is the best of the factory finishes..........too bad Glocks aren't my pistol of choice.

I had a P-01(now sold) refinished in NP3. A word of advice. The slide of classic CZs is thin with little gripping surface. NP3 feels like a teflon cooking pan and it will be somewhat slick. Don't put NP3 on the slide as you want a good gripping surface for a serious defensive pistol. I kinda ruined my old P-01 with that finish which just made it too slick. If I had to do it over again, I would have gone with a good parkerized finish on it, or chrome which isn't as slick.

Not sure why CZ doesn't offer blueing on all their pistols. Probably because polycoat tends to cover cosmetic imperfections, while blueing needs a good polish if you want to cover those imperfections. If you look on the inside of a CZ is has quite a bit of tool marks and the outter surface of a CZ is often rough(keeps costs down). With a polycoat finish, you don't need to really refine the outter surfaces before coating as the polycoat fills in pits and tool marks. Just a guess on my part though.

If you want something better than polycoat, check out Robar:
http://www.robarguns.com/precision_coatings.htm

They do a lot of different finishes and do fine work.

 

[Pilot]

I have both a 75B and 75D PCR in polycoat and have used and carried both extensively. The finish looks the same as when I bought them new. The polycoat on later guns seems to be better than earlier ones.

 

[wnycollector]

I have had my poly coated CZ-40B for ~ a year. It has seen more range time than CCW time, but it still looks brand new.

 

[JohnBT]

I haven't had any problems with the black finish during the 8 or 9 years I've had my 75B Military model that was made in 1996. Even if the powder coat finish chips, there's parkerizing underneath.

John

From CZ FAQ:

Q: "What is the finish called "Black polymer"

A: Black polymer is electrostaticly applied powder coating that is then oven cured to a hard shell. The coating is applied over a Parkerized or Phosphate finish which is very corrosion resistant in itself, the parts are then racked and given a negative charge and sprayed at the guns components. This charged attraction literally draws the coating to the parts, this gives the parts a uniform finish and reduces overspray. The parts are cured in a oven and this produces a tough Mil. spec. finish.

 

[Gary G23]

"The polycoat on later guns seems to be better than earlier ones."

I agree.

 

[atblis]

Why don't they offer all their models in standard blue?

I have both polycoat CZs, and gloss blued CZs. The polycoat is much much more durable. You don't have to oil it either.

 

[Quadkid]

From CZ FAQ:

Q: "What is the finish called "Black polymer"

A: Black polymer is electrostaticly applied powder coating that is then oven cured to a hard shell. The coating is applied over a Parkerized or Phosphate finish which is very corrosion resistant in itself, the parts are then racked and given a negative charge and sprayed at the guns components. This charged attraction literally draws the coating to the parts, this gives the parts a uniform finish and reduces overspray. The parts are cured in a oven and this produces a tough Mil. spec. finish.

I just like how they try to make powdercoating sound super high tech. Theres nothing in there, except the parkerizing, that is any different from how they powdercoat any steel product. And honestly, after reading about parkerizing, it sounds like a fancy name for zinc coating which isnt a huge advancement in metal finishing.

EDIT: not saying its a bad finish by any means. I just like how they hype it up for what it is.

 

[armoredman]

Mine seems to be holding up extremely well for a cheap, low tech crappy finish, (yeah, right), with every single day holster use, for several years. But who knows, I must be lying again.

 

[SwampWolf]

There are some that advocate using a "universal black matte" auto touch-up paint (Duplicolor w/brush in bottle) and/or "High Heat Ceramic Black Engine" paint and/or Duplicolor DH1620 spray paint as being excellent at touching up the CZ polycoat.

 

[JohnBT]

"I just like how they try to make powdercoating sound super high tech."

Like many things, it requires selecting the right formula and then doing a proper application.

www2.dupont.com/Powder/en_US/uses_apps/index.html

Heck, if powder coating holds up well on wheels, exhaust systems, battery boxes, torsion bars and springs, a gun shouldn't be too much for it to handle. It's not just paint.

John

P.S. - www2.dupont.com/Powder/en_US/products/deco/alesta_advanced_technologies.html

The more I read, the more amazing it is what they've developed so far. Here are just 2:


Alesta® NIR technology increases your line speed and can melt, flow and cure in as little as 3 seconds. This technology is ideal for pre-assembled products and faster throughput.


DuPont Powder Coatings acrylic clear coatings are designed to meet the needs of high demanding applications requiring super-durable weather-resistance, high brilliance, top surface level and scratch-resistance.

 

[Quadkid]

exactly. powder coating is very durable if the right powder, temps, bake times, etc are correct. Working in the steel industry ive sent a lot of parts out for powder and you can definitely tell between good and bad powder coaters. Ive even had to weld up aluminum fixtures for the Navy (mil spec) and in dealing with the powder guys there isnt a "high tech" way of doing it. It just needs to be done correctly, to their exact specs, inspected, and signed off on. Its really no different than if the common Joe were to bring wheels to have coated, the mil spec just has a more strict tolerance.

 

[mainmech48]

The only place where the polymer finish on my CZ97-B shows significant wear is a small spot on the grip frame where my wedding ring rubs it. It took about 700-800 rds. of generic ball for it to do it.

After nearly 2K rds, the rails are down to the steel over some of their length, but that was to be expected. There are few, if any, signs of holster wear. It is carried in either a leather OTB Tex-Czech rig or a Bianchi UM 84/92 synthetic. It's seen a lot of carry time and practice draws from both.

Whatever the various powder/poly finishes might lack in purely aesthetic appeal they more than make up for in practicality, IMO. If durability was really that much of an issue, I don't believe that so many of the world's military organizations would still be using them.

While I haven't had my 97-B for "decades" yet (it was made in mid-1998) I expect that the finish will hold up a great deal longer than the factory bluing did on several of the handguns that I have used that long. FWIW, IMO the main reason why there are relatively few models offered with a "blued" finish is that the bulk of CZ's handgun production is for the global military/police market.