Just the slides.
My point was lost in the title and body - sorry:
Why (& how) does S&W coat their M&P stainless slides with Melonite and for some reason Grant’s coater can not coat a BCG?
I am no expert, but I suspect that the metalurgy for different types of steel used in BCG’s has distinct characteristics. I can only guess that this will be taken into consideration.
Why (& how) does S&W coat their M&P stainless slides with Melonite and for some reason Grant’s coater can not coat a BCG?
The last thing I want to do is put myself forward as an expert on Melonite. I have had several long conversations with guys who are, and work with it on firearms specifically. Unlike an AR bolt, the slide is a low stress part that isn’t subjected to the type of pressure and heat that an AR bolt is. If you think about for a second and ask yourself how long does you average AR bolt last?, and what would be your reaction if the slide of one of your handguns failed as quickly as your average bolt does?
I am not telling Grant what to do. If he is comfortable with it and the guys who are applying it are then they should have at it. Personally I would never buy a Melonited bolt but that doesn’t mean that it might not make sense for someone else to.
Hmmm. I wonder if S&W heat treats their slides after the melonite process. They’re stainless, so they should be more susceptible to immediate degradation than an AR15 bolt which is made of a harder steel.
I have never seen a Melonite AR bolt so I am curious how it would work out.
Since I saw that Melonite has come up a couple of times, along with the subject of wait times, I thought I’d mention that I just got a Browning HiPower back from being Melonited by Drake’s Gun Works.
Total wait, door-to-door, was two weeks exactly. I sent it out on a Friday, which caught the weekend, otherwise it might have been a little quicker.
Also, it had a custom extended thumb safety that was silver soldered and he chose to black oxide and Teflon that part rather than expose it to the heat the Melonite requires. I dont know if that added anything to the time or not.
Obligitory Pics:
For a durable fininsh I would vote ROBAR’s Roguard for black fininsh and NP3 for a lighter gray finish. Roguard is very durable and wear resistant.
The NP3 seems like it would be the best thing going for a BCG being that it’s Electroless Nickle w/Teflon…making it self lubricating and resistant to any buildup of carbon residue. Increased reliability and easy cleaning. Cost wise, I belive they’ll fininsh your BCG and all AR internals for around $140.
Has Roguard changed? For the longest time, it was well document as NOT durable.
I’ve never seen any problems with it…plus it has a lifetime guarantee against peeling, flaking, and corrosion. Of course no finish is 100% wear proof, however I think the Roguard finish would be more resistant to typical holster type finish wear than Melonite or Tennifer.
I could not disagree with you more.
I’m going to get either Cerakote or Permakote on a few guns. Both are Ceramic based coatings, at have excellent corrosion and wear resistance(at least on paper).
Nighthawk Custom uses Permakote on their guns.
I believe Grant uses Cerakote on some of his stuff, maybe he can chime in here.
Would have to agree. Melonite or Tennifer are going to be much more durable then just about every other finish out there. This is why Glock and S&W use these finishes.
C4
Cerakote is fantastic I think, but not as robust as say Melonite IMHO.
C4
I was mainly referring to wear on the “finish” since the OP asked for help in that area. We have to remember that neither Tennifer nor Melonite are the metal finish, however they are a chemical treatment/process the metal undergoes harden and prevent corrosion…not stop basic wear. That’s why Glocks and M&P’s show early holster wear in my experience. Of course since Tennifer/Melonite are metal treatments, their properties are still present once the actual parkerized “finish” is worn. I admit that the Tennifer/Melonite process makes for some of the most durable & corrosion proof metal, but I still feel that any of the teflon, ceramic, or hard chrome coatings will provide a more wear resistant outer “finish.”
I beg to differ. Teflon and other finish coatings do NOT excel in the area of “wear” resistance, but in corrosion resistance. For instance, a gun with Black-T, the leading finish of the teflon type, will still resist corrosion in places that have worn down to bare metal. How do I know this? Because I have caused firearms with such finishes to fail in the area of “wear” resistance. This, just like the failures of Roguard which I alluded to earlier, is well-documented.