Teflon coating? anyone have any experience with it?

[arinvolvo]

There is a local shop in town that will do teflon coating on a handgun slide for 35 bucks...I have seen the work and it looks good, but how well does teflon hold up? Will it last as long or longer than a parkerized finish?

I dont really like the finish that is on my Steyr, and was thinking about having it redone...but I just dont know much about teflon, other than it looks nice.

What other coatings are available, what ones are the most durable, and what would you recommend? I would also appreciate some links if any of you have any to provide.

Thanks in advance.

 

[CWL]

Teflon is usually just one component in what is more commonly called a polymer finish nowadays. It comes in a whole bunch of proprietary formulas and brand names like ArmorTuff, Cobracoat, Bearcote, etc. It just needs to be sprayed on and baked in an oven at ~300 degrees. You can get it directly from Brownells in spray cans.

Teflon is soft stuff and provides the lubridity in metal-to-metal contacts, it is other components in a polymer finish that provides anticorrosion/antiwear charachteristics.

They are generally pretty good and protect better than phosphate or bluing against rust. Depending on the teflon % content, the finish can be soft & will wear just like phosphate or bluing. It will not make the metal more resistant to scratching if you drop it. Probably will wear as long as phosphate with better anticorrosion characheristics.

 

[Rembrandt]

The looks and wear properties are OK, but the thickness of the finish can cause some problems.

I had a Desert Eagle (6" & 14" barrels) done with it, the finish on the bottom of the barrel was too thick and the slide would drag each time it cycled....causing jams. Could be that the Smith applied it too heavy...a bad experience that soured me on the product. Had the gun plated with a black hard chrome after that, no more problems.

 

[Hkmp5sd]

I had it done to my Glock 17 back in 1988. It has been my CCW gun since '87 and the finish is still holding up very well. Other than the obvious 15 years of holster wear, it still looks good.

 

[Wildalaska]

I'd be leery of a $35 teflon job from the guy next door...

I will say that the Teflon jobs done by RMA (bear Cote) are the best I have ever seen..my personal pistol was done by them....

WildlikeafryingpanAlaska

 

[arinvolvo]

WA...do you have a website link for RMA bear cote? I would like to check out their work.

 

[Wildalaska]

Bear Kote

 

[arinvolvo]

WA

WA, thank you for that...Boy, i sure hate websites that have music playing....

I would be rather skeptical of the 35 dollar guy except that I have seen his work, and it looks very good...He actually used to work at Les Baer.

 

[Wildalaska]

Bear Kote

 

[Handy]

Holy crap, that's some expensive teflon paint! $300 to do handgun. That's twice the price of hard chrome!


Why not ask to see examples of Mr. $35 work, then decide?

 

[Tweek]

Forget Teflon. That's old school. Find someone who does Solid Dry Film coatings like HPC. This is what Swat and SF operaters use. Looks good, better wear characteristics that Teflon and is avaiable in various matrixs that either hold oil or shed oil. Automotive race engines use this stuff on piston skirts and engine bearings. It's tough.
HPC charges about $150.00 to do a handgun.

http://www.hpcoatings.com/

http://www.hpcoatings.com/s_series.htm

http://www.hpcoatings.com/engineering/weapons.pdf

 

[Wildalaska]

Forget Teflon. That's old school. Find someone who does Solid Dry Film coatings like HPC. This is what Swat and SF operaters use.

Operators?

Ok Listen that HPC is just a variation of the old Teflon/Moly/whatever...

Ive seen it and its not quite as nice..

Holy crap, that's some expensive teflon paint! $300 to do handgun. That's twice the price of hard chrome!

You get what you pay for...

 

[WESHOOT2]

YOU WANT TEFLON?

Then pay more for this: NP3

www.robarguns.com

My 1911 (Caspian, of course) is perfect.

 

[Tweek]

We use several differnt HPC coating on race car parts so I've been to several of their facilites. The owner is ex-miltary and they do a lot for the goverment. I've seen stack of surpressers, Mark 23's, 1911's, MP5's all being coated for goverment agencies. They coat .50 cal bullets for Barnes that are used in Barrett's Sniper rifles. They just got a contract to do coatings on the new Marine Corp amphibious landing/assault vehicle. They don't use off the self coatings from DuPont, they develop their own stuff.
They don't activley pursue the civilian market, that's not their main business. I've switched several Teflon coated gun owners over after the bitched that their 300.00 coatings wore off after 2 years.
My opinion, give em a try.

 

[Handy]

Weshoot,

NP3 and Rogard cost $245. That's cheaper, for a more involved process. That seems closer to getting what you pay for.

What I think is funny is how phosphate is always written off. I have an early 80s HK that's Parked and have seen a ton of military arms with the same finish. They all look good, even the edges. It holds oil, seems tough and you can get a whole pistol done for less than $100. It can even be colored.

BUt $300 for a paint job does strike me as outrageous. It may well be the worlds best paint. Maybe they prep the gun with $80 steel wool and use only the finest Dutch thinner, but we are still talking paint.

Hot blue is another one that is no good for scuba diving, but can be done starting at $50. I haven't rusted any of my blued guns, but maybe I'm not trying hard enough. You can touch it up and redo it every 4 years.

I guess I'm not buying the paint thing.

 

[Handy]

Just read that Birdsong's Black-T finish can be had for $150.


Of course, it must be half the finish that Bear Kote is. I guess.