Metalife/Armoloy/Hard Chrome Plating

[Confederate]

I just had a Beretta 70S .22LR plated by Mahovsky's and am happy with the results. The only other gun I've ever had plated was a S&W 29 that had been previously nickel plated. I ended up swapping it for a 629 because the 629 was considered "the" hot item to have. I wouldn't have done it if I'd had it to do again.

Mahovsky's, which has the best prices I could find, did a great job. It's promo literature says:

The Metalife finish, otherwise known as SS Chromium M, is our most durable finish. Metalife looks like stainless steel, but has a hardness of about 71 on the Rockwell "C" Scale, which is even harder than stainless steel. It is guaranteed not to chip, crack or peel when applied to metal in good condition, and it is highly rust resistant and holster-wear resistant. It requires reasonable care and is guaranteed for the life of your piece.

Also, the Metalife has a maximum build up of only .0002. This means it will not affect the tolerances of even the finest fitted parts. Unlike some platings which coat the metal, the Metalife plating process fills the pores of the base material to form a molecular bond.

Has anyone else had a Meltalife/Armoloy finish? If so, how well does it resist rust when compared to stainless steel? Has anyone found any problems or weaknesses with it? Does it wear as well as it's reputed to?

 

[rklessdriver]

Some one over in the Revolver section just had a S&W Mod 10-5 snub done in Metallife. Pics look very nice.

I don't own one (yet) but a guy that works for me had a Beretta slide done in Metallife and has about 4-4.5yrs carry use on it. Honestly he takes good care of his equipment, but still if he told me it was just re-finished yesterday I would belive him... it looks that nice. I'd have never belived 4yrs of use was on it. He carrys it around in a Bianchi 19 (strong side belt holster) so its not really a super tight form fitted job, but it will wear the finish off one in time. So far Metallife is holding it's own on his peice.

I have a Sig 225/P6 that I'm sending the slide to Mahovsky's. If it comes out as nice as my buddys Beretta, I also have a Beretta 92F and a Sig P226 that he'll get to put Metallife on soon after.
Will

 

[owlhoot]

Could you please post a link for Mahovsky's?

 

[rklessdriver]

Sure, here is your link.

http://mahovskysmetalife.com/

 

[bannockburn]

Confederate

You've seen my Beretta Model 70S, and that was done back in 1979. I carried it for many years when I'd go hiking through the woods, or while I was out checking on new hunting areas. Never any problem with rust, or any finish wear for that matter. I put it away for a while, then I brought it out again when my son was old enough to start shooting handguns. I was worried he was going to wear it out with all the rounds he put through it. But it always performed perfectly and kept right on shooting no matter how much he used it. I finally had to get him his own .22 just so I could get my Beretta back.

 

[dfariswheel]

Metalife is just another brand name for hard chrome plating as is Armoloy.

Hard chrome is about the best all around gun finish.
It's HARD, tough, and very corrosion resistant.
It's one of the few gun finishes that's considered to be a true life time finish.

 

[Confederate]

Thanks, as always. How resistant is it compared with stainless steel?

I've heard great things regarding wear. Some folks who had Colt Pythons would, a few years back, have the wratchets and hands hard chromed to keep them from going out of time so often. The Python frames were large enough to handle the full throttle magnum rounds, but the hands were designed a bit small.

The hard chrome made the parts wear against each other far more efficiently, I understand. I sure wouldn't hard chrome a nice Colt royal blue finish, though!

 

[gaucho1]

Looks like a great finish.
Do they disassemble revolvers
as part of the plating process?

 

[dfariswheel]

Hard chrome is more rust resistant then the stainless steel used in gun making.

Hard chromed guns WILL rust, but you have to work harder at it.
Years ago, the first company to offer hard chroming to gun owners was Armoloy.
A gun writer did a test of the finish with great results.
He had half a nail plated then put the nail in hot acid over night. The plated half was untouched, the un-plated half was GONE.
Another test was to bury the gun for a week in a pile of damp table salt with no corrosion.
Last test was to carry the gun in a pocket full of change and keys with no damage.

Honestly, I don't think I'd do any of that, but I very seldom ever saw a rusted hard chrome gun.

 

[dfariswheel]

gaucho1

Yes, they have to.
Different platers have different processes, with some charging extra and some not removing "some" parts.
Some will even plate inside the bore and chambers.

 

[Confederate]

Mahovsky's seem to have the best price, over all. With the price lists on other sites, I simply wouldn't have had my pistol done. If you have something you need done, now's probably the time to do it as even Mahovsky's prices have gone up over the years. He's still the "best for less" than anyone else I know of.

It's difficult to believe that something so thin can produce such an increase in wear, but I've heard of people who have tried to file it off and have failed.

I wonder if it would be possible to darken or change the color of the finish?

 

[dfariswheel]

Hard chrome is actually harder than a Swiss needle file, so it's HARD.

You can't "color" or darken hard chrome.
The darkest it gets is if the metal is given a rougher bead blasted finish prior to plating.
The finish comes out a dull, flat gray.

 

[Snapping Twig]

I had this one done close to 20 years ago through Mag-Na-Port.

This 29 started out life as a blued pistol.

 

[Boarhunter]

Approximately 20 years ago, I had a Smith .22 and a Smith .44 mag plated with Metalife and they look as new today as they did at that time. But one word of advice: If you plan to get an action job on your gun, do it BEFORE you get it plated, because the finish is so hard as to make an action job after plating virtually impossible (at least with the plated parts).

Boarhunter

 

[capttom]

Armalloy

I had a detective Special years ago with Armalloy that possessed (to my eyes) a very attractive pale blue-gray. The plating was hard and slick. It proved impervious to every form of abuse we threw at it. I also had an aquaintance who had a pair of Remington 51s hard chromed. She wouldn't let me talk her out of one.
Mahofsky's prices are reasonable. I have the slide of an old 9 mil that would benefit from their work.

 

[461]

I had Metalife done on an old Walther PP that I carried quite a bit and never had a complaint. The service was perfect and I'd have no questions about having another one done. I actually have plans to do a few this next year.