So I am getting my Kimber Warrior frontstrap textured, and MSH done to match. This will obviously require a refinish of the lower frame.
So I need to get a highly durable finish that holds up to repeated draws from a 6004 or Sidearmor kydex since I will be getting the entire pistol re-done to match.
The LTW raffle pistol had been hard chromed under a layer of Ion Bond top coat…
Finish I am considering:
From what I understand, Ion Bond is some hard, hard, durable stuff.
Lastly, I’d appreciate pics of your pistols with the finish you recommend, and a quick rundown of how hard it’s been used.
Ion bond seems to be all the rage nowadays. I am toying with having one of my guns done by them. Till now I have usually gone with matte chrome on my competition guns. I have a single stack Caspian that has seen 30,000+ rounds and more draw strokes than I care to remember and it still looks good.
I prefer a black gun but there wasn’t as tough as hard chrome until now. I am impressed with the looks and quality of Ionbond. One of the guys I shoot IDPA and USPSA with has his limited/ESP gun Ion Bonded and after a full season of shooting and thousands of draw strokes it looks the way it did the day he got it back from the gunsmith.
Ion bond or E-Treat by EGW. The look dark, similar to matte blued finishes. Ion bond is too new and I haven’t seen enough usage of one. My ‘smith had a bunch of his customers’ guns Ion bonded and they look very good. A friend who shoot IDPA and uses kydex holster has a 1911 with the E Treatment process. After a year, the gun looks brand new.
The ion bond over hard chrome looks very promising. Another option you may want to consider is Melonite from Coal Creek Armory. Just like/ Is tenifer a la Glock.
This is after a very hard use summer as I was lucky to be able to shoot often. It was carried in either a HSGI drop leg rig or a 6004. It was drawn 100’s if not low thousands of times.
Additionally, someone who wanted to check it out dropped it on a concrete floor and THEN kicked it across the floor as he bent down to get it.:eek: It was also dropped once at a gravel pit where we shoot. Add that my sweat is stronger than an Alien creature’s blood and it was a rough few months.
Nonetheless, outside of a little zinger on the Heinie rear sight, there is ZERO visible wear. The pistol ate a little less than 12 cases of ammo without a hiccup. The barrel is Melonized inside as well.
I highly recommend it. CCAs site is down right now but the phone number is there. Ask for Tony. Cost last Dec. was $200 with a 4 week wait. I hear the wait has grown considerably but it’s worth it. Just another option for you.
Chuck Rogers built me a full house gun, and I left the finish, and a lot of other things, up to him. I told him about my physical characteristics and environment. He chose Cerakote as a finish. Something to think about.
For the record, I have rusted parkerization, bluing, Armory Kote, and hardchrome. I have never been able to get my Diamond Black, or Black-T guns to rust–even under the grips. Something else to think about.
Nice looking gun. Melonite is similar in many regards to Tenifer but it isn’t the same thing. Tenifer can not be applied here in the states due to EPA regulations. Melonite is the process used by Smith & Wesson on the M&P slides. One of the things that has kept me away from Melonite thus far is that fact that the parts are subjected to a great deal of heat during the plating process. So much so that most folks who do Melonite won’t touch the small parts for fear that they will fail prematurely. If done correctly it is a really nice finish for the slide, frame and MSH.
edited: I corrected the last sentence to make sense.
Excellent point on the small parts that I failed to mention. Certain small parts, springs, pins were not Melonized because of what you stated. CCA was very careful to make sure that the pistol functioned perfectly before being returned.
We are going to start doing AR bolts, 10/22 SS upper receivers, SS barrels and some other things in Melonite as we have a shop local to us that does excellent work. I will get some pics up when I get them done.
I’m looking at having a future John Harrison 1911 done in IonBond. I’ve seen pictures on louderthanwords.us and it looked pretty nice. By the way Grant, I sent ya an e-mail.
Close but no cigar. Go back and re-read the specs for the process. When you do you will notice that the process is done at 580 degrees centigrade, or 1075 degrees Fahrenheit for 90 minutes. And it will certainly effect the tempering of the part. Think of an M&M. The part will be very hard right at the surface but soft underneath. That is fine for parts that don’t flex much but a total disaster on parts that do. I also suspect that there will be issues with the locking lugs over time.
Grant, are the guys who you talked to experienced in the application of Melonite in a firearm? I ask because the guys that I have talked to won’t apply it to ejectors and extractors on a 1911 because of the issues I mentioned earlier in this thread. While I haven’t discussed AR bolts with them I am sure the same principal applies.
