Preventing "Holster wear" and other things that wear off the finish

[wacki]

I recently bought a surplus Sig P226 and there is obvious holster wear. The grip and the rails look great. It's just developed some harmless character where the gun hit the holster. I'm a bit shocked that holsters can take the finish off faster than the slide will on the rails. I'm curious, what wears the finish off faster: Leather or Kydex?

If it's Kydex I'm wondering if spraying the inside of my Blackhawk Serpa's with teflon would prevent holster wear. Not that it really matters, it just seems like something that would be easy to prevent.

I tote my shotguns around in a cloth case and my rifles stay in the pelican cases. They seem fine. I know this pistol has probably seen many, many more miles though.

Anyway, this thread pertains to all things that wear off a guns finish and it's prevention. So I'm putting it in general.

 

[TanklessPro]

From my experience, it seems that leather does better than kydex. Lets see what others may say.

 

[allaroundhunter]

In my uses Kydex will also cause a pistol to show wear earlier than leather. It is more abrasive than leather so this expected.

 

[atomd]

In my experience the kydex will wear faster, but the areas of wear are a lot smaller. I guess since it doesn't make as much contact maybe. I actually had leather wear a smooth strip in the frame of a polymer pistol before. I like them both though.

 

[jmr40]

The only way to prevent wear marks on a gun is to keep it in the safe.

 

[Apple a Day]

Go stainless

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

WRT completely eliminating all holster wear, I think a reality check is in order.

I'm a bit shocked that holsters can take the finish off faster than the slide will on the rails.

The frame anodizing is harder than the matte bluing on the slide, and is also well lubricated (I hope!).

I'm curious, what wears the finish off faster: Leather or Kydex?

I think the plastic will wear the finish sooner at edges, corners and other points of direct contact, but it is self limiting. Leather will wear greater areas over time.

Realistically, there is only one 100%, sure-fire way to never have holster wear, and that is to never use the handgun. http://miltsparks.com/Questions.htm#5 You can help it by keeping the insides of your holsters clean and free of any abrasive grit. A good way to do this is to lightly moisten a soft cloth and pull it through the holster like a bore snake. (This assumes the holster is open-bottomed, as IMO a concealed holster should be.) Since the slide finish has some "character" anyway, you could consider refinishing it with something more wear resistant than the standard matte bluing. I would not do anything to the frame, as Sig's anodizing adds thickness and hardness to the metal.

 

[bearcreek]

I don't worry about it. Adds character. A gun is like any other tool that gets worn over time. If you don't want it to wear, don't use it. A well worn but clean and well oiled gun often indicates the owner is very proficient in it's use.

 

[Blackhawk30]

My Les Baer TRS was showing wear on the edges after i trip to the range in a psitol rug.They are notorious for extremely fast bluing wear.

 

[ObsidianOne]

Go stainless

Stainless will still get holster wear, it just won't be as noticeable.

 

[jeepnik]

Go stainless

Yep, for the most part, if I'm worried about finish, it's stainless. On my blued guns, I accept that wear will occur. Heck, mine are shooters, not safe queens.

 

[danoam]

After carrying in a Supertuck for 2 years, the side of the gun in contact with the leather shows significantly more wear than the side in contact with the kydex.

 

[gym]

Try leather half holsters. My Mitch rosen just covers 1/2 the gun, or "bikini holsters, that just cover the trigger and mid frame. I like my gun exposed anyway. Or belly bands if you get the newer ones that cover the entire gun. Just some suggestions for those who want to try and cut down on wear, Also "sticky holsters", Are a great new holster , running around $25-$30.00, they cover the entire gun in a felt like material inside and a sticky material outside. No clips or hooks, you "stick" it where you want it, IWB, and it stays there. I wore mine all day with jeans, and it didn't move. The good thing is you can change it around for driving or sitting down for dinner.The gun comes out easily when you want it out, but it won't fall out because of the resistance between fabrics. The good thing is the one I got fit 3 of my guns. It's light , weighs nothing, I think they have 2 colors, and fit most all guns. They are new, Google sticky holsters.

 

[bigfatdave]

After carrying in a Supertuck for 2 years, the side of the gun in contact with the leather shows significantly more wear than the side in contact with the kydex.

Same here ... both sides are minor, but the leather side is worse