Sidearms & Scatterguns 1911 finish suggestions

[Unknown]

A buddy of mine is willing to swap a really nice all stainless Colt Commander. I doubt this pistol has more than 300 rounds through it. He has done all the "normal" bells and whistles such as high rise beavertail, trijicon sights, checkering etc. The problem is that the pistol has a buffed stainless finish and looks like a chromed car bumper. Other than having the pistol cerkoted, what might look good to fix the godawful chrome car bumper looking finish?

If anyone has stainless pistols that show how they solved this issue, I would really like to see them and figure out which way might look best. My only thought so far is to have selected parts of the pistol bead blasted.

All the factory roll marks look really crisp and pristine, and I don't know if the gun came from the factory with this bright finish, or if someone else buffed it. Usually, the amount of buffing required to get a pistol this shiny would mush out the roll marks, and every one of the roll marks on this pistol appear untouched by a buffer.

On the other hand, I have other pistols available, and if this bright stainless was a Colt factory finish, I should probably leave it alone rather than mess with it.

 

[clmayfield]

I would go ionbond, which is very tough. It only comes in black (to my knowledge). The SS makes it corrosion resistant. The ionbond will make it scratch resistant. That is a pretty solid combo.

If you like the metallic look, bead blasting will make it less shiny. Another option would be Birdsong Black-T. It comes in several colors, and has a lot of lubricity. Then there is good old fashioned cerakote. Depends on what you are going for.

 

[Adam B]

I have had several 2011 pistols melonite treated, one gun has over 10k rounds on it and it is just as tight as the day it was built

 

[Greg S]

As CL said.

Blast it with large beads at a lower pressure to give it a dull luster or small beads at a higher pressure for a more white matte finish. If you want it darker go with red garnet or aluminum oxide.

You could also do a two tone and send the slide out for ion bond. The advantages of ion bond is surface hardness and lubricity. You could re-blast the rounds and polish the flats with 220-320 on a sheet of glass with mineral spirits to give it a bushed appearance under the ionbond to give it a quasi traditional blued appearance just darker.

 

[din]

Send it to Metaloy, have it hard chromed.

 

[seg_steve]

Les Baer offers a coating called Baer Coat or something like that. I always worried about aftermarket coatings causing reliability issues.

 

[gvanhyning]

This is Cerakote on a Kimber SIS Pro. Colors are Tactical Grey H-227Q, Sniper Grey H-234Q, and Graphite Black H-146Q.

 

[Unknown]

I like Cerekote, and have had great success with it. On my bolt gun, the the finish on the bolt handle, and bolt show some thinning, but the barrel and other parts look like they came back from being coated yesterday.

Lots of people think the pistol is really pretty as it is, I'm just sort of put off by the pistol's pimp-gun looking finish. Two tone cerekote, or cerekoted lower and ion bond upper sounds pretty neat though..

 

[RollingThunder51]

They best finish for that pistol is actually more difficult than all mentioned thus far, but, if you willing to do the work, it's cost are nominal. I recommend the "UIAAP" finish provided by Ordinary Ordinance. The "Use It As A Pistol" finish essentially starts with a number of years of holster wear, followed by a ding bath of table tops, seat belts, fire place hearths, gun box scraps and assembly/disassembly sessions. The final "surface" treatment is a combination of chemicals representing de-leaders, de-coppers, cleaners and on-sale oils from Walmart. The result is a soft patina that resembles actual use and in no way interferes with the normal role of a stainless steel pistol not needing any other surface treatment. It is far tougher than every single finished mentioned above, bar none, as every other finish mentioned above is trying to stick on to...stainless steel. The finish is the finish of choice by the American Ammunition Society as they know that those that use it will actually buy more of their products with the saving over all other coating, plating, shake-a-can, slam it in an oven and Permamarker finishes. According to them, improvements in the accuracy of the pistol will follow as a result. A claim that they say is demonstrated by the vast majority of all pistol competitors using "UIAAP." Perhaps the only issue I know of with "UIAAP" is that it is unpopular with Mexican Gang Members, 4th of July parade officials and those watching reruns of Miami Vice on Netflix.

For more on the finish go here: http://www.snipershide.com/shooting...0456-1911-finish-suggestions.html#post2800642

Best

 

[snipe10]

I have an ion bonded Volkmann that's been to hell and back and still looks great, I love ion bond

 

[LRDD]

I like Cerekote, I have it on two of my 1911,s and they still look like the day I got them and I shoot the hell out of them. It has held up very well so far.

 

[rdinak]

Hard chrome the lower and cerakote the upper black

 

[Rob01]

Get with Michael at Controlled Chaos Arms. He cerakoted my STI and it came out great. He can do almost anything you want. He's a Hide sponsor as well. Here is a thread with lots of his pistol work. My STI is in there.

http://www.snipershide.com/shooting...-k-bars/189342-ccas-side-arm-work-thread.html

 

[Unknown]

I would even be OK with simply having the shiny parts of the pistol bead blasted, and leaving it at that. I see firearms as tools, not jewelry, hence my dislike of the pimp gun sort of finish that the shiny stainless steel has. Because I live really, REALLY close to salt water, I have to watch all my guns, knives, and tools for rust, but it isn't all that difficult.

RollingThunder51's idea is pretty close to reality for most of my firearms. I realize that the posting was "tongue in cheek", but it has more reality to it than I think he originally intended.

Thanks all for the input.

 

[truth]

Talk to these guys. Price List

 

[fdkay]

Check with ROBAR, they have several different finishes available and they have been doing it a really long time

 

[SporterII]

Fine Itallian pumice. Blast it, clean it, and use it like a tool. Cut that glare and not damage it.

 

[CaptNemo]

Scotchbrite finish the shiny stuff

 

[dragbag]

Birdsong Black T. Here is one of mine done.

 

[FreedomGunworks]

I'd suggest one of the PVD finishes for longevity purposes. TiAlN is a solid choice. Ion Bond is a trade name for DLC and you pay extra for the name.

 

[VJJPunisher]

ion bonding makes yer dingle dangle dangle in the dirt