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- Feb 22, 2009
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I picked up a nearly new gen4 G17 on via Armslist a few months ago, and noticed the finish looked weirdly different than any other Glock I'd owned. Comparing it to others, it was smoother, and very thin looking, and the color was difficult to describe, but it wasn't your basic black.
I did some research, and apparantly they stopped using Tennifer several years ago, supposedly due to environmental concerns, and this new,thinner finish is now used. I've read numerous complaints about it scratching and wearing through very easily, as well as rusting more easily, and most owners didn't sound very impressed.
My others G's are early gen3's, and I believe have tennifer finishes (yeah, I know it's a 'treatment', not a finish), with no complaints.
I called Glock HQ about dating a pistol with a serial number I couldn't find a manufacture date for, and asked about the Tenifer while i had him on the phone, and was told by a tech I spoke with that they stopped using it in early '11, but I've read credible reports from others that the date was a bit earlier, so who knows.
I'd heard much the same thing as you except that the quoted changeover occurred in mid- to late-2010. The 'new' process is apparently carbonitriding done in an ammonia atmosphere -the NH[sub]3[/sub] acts as a nitrogen donor which also aids in increasing surface hardness.