Hey guys-
Seriously thinking about buying a new 9c to try out. In my research it seems the m&p’s were plauged by rust issues.
Bottom line-has S&W resolved this issue in current run pistols yet or is this still something to be concerned about?
Some folks were saying that the melonite over stainless is not that great vs. Tennifer over the carbon steel glock uses.
So what’s the deal here???
Thanks in advance!
Drew
Melonite is a not a coating. It is a heat treatment process that is virtually identical to Tenifer.
Rust is a non-issue. Who is your source for all the mis-information?
Thanks for the reply.
I am well aware that melonite, like tennifer is a metal treatment and not a trad coating seen by the eye.
If you google “m&p rust” you will get a fair number of hits across the various gun forums.
Apparently it was something that s&w knew about and was replacing slides on a certain batch of pistols.
Its all news to me! Just trying to research prior to buying. I am not looking for problems if they can be avoided.
Thanks again for the reply!
-drew
There were several reports and pictures of rusted M&P slides, takedown levers and mags over on mp-pistol.com. I can’t remember what the issue was or if it was ever made public but I do know that S&W was correcting the issue with the owners.
Overall that wouldn’t prevent me from getting another M&P.
Never had an issue with my M&P9c, which is my daily carry here in FL, or any of my other M&P’s for that matter. I do wipe them down (and the Mags) with a cleaning rag that is pretty much oil soaked, or a silicone rag, when I’m done at the range though.
i had an issue with rust on the M&P. the slide on my full size M&P 9mm kept rusting (small spots), and i live in a dry part of the country. i maintained/stored it the same as my other handguns, and none of them had rust problems, so it was an isolated problem with that particular gun. i sent it back to S&W (along with issues with a tight chamber) and they replaced the slide and barrel. that fixed both problems. S&W has very good customer service.
I carry my M&P9c daily and I have had no rust problems. Just thought I would put my 2 cents in.
All three of my M&P’s rust.
1X full size
2X compacts
The slides rust, the takedown levers and slide releases also rust. Cover it with oil and its not an issue, its all surface rust, no serious pitting.
Seems hit or miss. Wonder if there is any correlation regarding rust and a certain date of manuf?
How can the stainless steel slide rust? 
Stainless steel can most certainly rust…it’s just generally more resistant to it.
On topic, I have not had any rust problems with mine.
Have owned 4 M&Ps to date, currently have 3, and NONE have exhibited any rust. And I have lots of outdoor exposure with mine, in the Pacific NW where it can be damp 8 months out of the year.
I recall reading a year or two ago on the M&P forums that early on in the M&P series, there was a problem with the melonite process they used and a number of those pistols had rust problems. But now, I believe that no more M&P’s are having rust problems than you would see with any other line of pistols, and let’s face it, even Glocks rust if not cared for.
I would not let worries over rust prevent you from trying an M&P.
I believe the deal was that a small number of M&P’s had problems in the meloniting process. AFAIK S&W was quick to resolve any rust issues that cropped up.
Any mass produced product will occasionally run into issues…especially firearms that are sent out to a third party (IIRC…I don’t think S&W melonites in house. I could be wrong about that) for finishing. I’ve seen Glocks with rust issues too.
Generally speaking M&P’s aren’t really very vulnerable to rust. As an example, when the hurricane came through in August of 2008 I was shooting my M&P .45. It was exposed to torrential rain for most of the first day and was put away wet in a case that got soaking wet…with no rust.
I have a co-worker who had rust develope on both his .40 full size and compact. He sent both back to Smith and they replaced both slides.
But, they rusted again. He then sent both slides to Robar and had them Roguarded. I haven’t checked back with him since they came back.
They are both carried daily on duty here in the Chicagoland area…
I just purchased a M&P 9l which appears to have been manufactured within the last 30 days - I found two small spots on the slide which appear to lack finish. The spots are small enough where I missed them upon a quick initial inspection…I’ll just keep the gun well lubed and send it back at the first sign of rust.
Thanks for all the feedback guys!
Drew, I seriously looked at getting a M&P9c back when I owned a full sized M&P and in the end I decided against it. Of course that was 18-24 months ago so things might have changed since then. But when I was looking for a something smaller to carry for “summer carry” I was trying to decide between the M&P9c and the G26 and in the end I went with the G26 for the following reasons:
To S&W’s credit they were taking care of the JHP feeding issues and their customer service was (and still is) outstanding correcting any issues people were having. But in the end I went with the G26 because I knew what I was getting and it was slightly smaller. However, rust was the last thing I would have been concerned about. Mostly because I saw S&W replacing parts that were rusting.
All that said I still keep my eye on the M&P9c for a future CCW. I’m not sure when I’ll pick one up but I know that eventually I will.
This M-Ef’er better not rust. I just bought a MP9c based on the koolaid I drank on this site! I have had my Glock 17 for closer to 20 years than 15, and I was thinking mid sized Glock… but the M&P line has been pounded into my head from right here on M4C! If it rusts, I’m gonna be jacked, then I’m going to buy a Glock, and never buy any pistol again that is not a Glock. Damn it. I was actually thinking of getting rid of my 1993’ish Gen 2 Glock 17 and getting a M&P9 full size to replace it. After hearing this, I’m not sure. With a Glock, cleaning and oiling is something you do once in a great while only because you feel bad because you never give any love back to the thing.
I fear no rust, dirt, corrosion of any kind with my Glock. If Glock was able to do that 20 years ago, everyone else should hang thier heads in shame for not being able to equal the “G” finish’s durability and corossion resistance.
Chill dude, chill. I wouldn’t worry about it. Even if it does S&W will take care of you. My first question to you is does it function with FMJ and JHP? If so then press on and enjoy it. I can’t say how widespread the rust issue was with the M&Ps but S&W took care of the issues as they cropped up. The nice thing about the M&Ps is neither the barrels or the slides are serialized so they can replace them and not mismatch numbers!
Larry-
Hopefully you will be good to go with your new 9c. I too never really thought about going away from my Glocks till I got on this site! Keep us up to date if you will regarding any issues you may have with the finish. Hopefully there will be none…
M4arc-
I’m with you regarding your last post. I think I am going to stick with my 19’s and 26’s for now and keep an eye on things re the m&p pistols. My 26 vanishes in my Sparks VM2, its just gone. I never had a lick of problem with it until late, and I blame that on 1 thing. My grip seems to magically gone to shite overnight for some reason. Its like I was just kinda holding on to it, vs gripping it tight and applying side pressure to the grips.
I also think I jumped ahead of my actual skill level in my mind. I guess I have been watching to much steel plate shooting with the pros and commercials with Todd Jarrett in them when he pumps 17 rounds into his target in about 3 seconds where I could cover his group with my friggin hand! Trying to shoot too fast, with a crappy grip leads to bad things. Time for me to get back to the basics at the range and work back up to the modest (at best) shooter that I am.
That m&p has a lot of things going for it though, hopefully they work out any kinks if there actually are any.
Thanks~