Best Way To Care For Black Polycoat ?

[billt]

I just picked up a new in the box CZ 97B yesterday. I'll try and get some pics up later today. This is my first CZ with the black Polycoat finish. I'm told this is a lot like commercial powder coat. Is there any special way to care for it? Are there any solvents I should stay away from? I normally wet clean with clean Kerosene, then blow completely dry with compressed air. I then relubricate, wipe down, and I'm good to go. I never shoot with rings or jewelry on, and I'm a bit anal about scratches. I just wondered how this Polycoat finish holds up over time?

[schmeky]

Polycoat is a "careless" finish    I have gone months w/o cleaning, covered it with my sweaty hands, powder residue, etc. and it is unaffected.  Lots of holstering will wear at the muzzle end, but even then it doesn't seem to rust the base metal.

It's tough stuff. 

[bang bang]

heres a general ROT to use when it comes to solvents/cleaners and such used on toys and life in general.

If youre not sure of what will happen, always try a little bit on an area not seen or covered like under the grips or under the slide.  that way if the solvent/cleaner does damage the finish, it wont  be in your face as on the slide or frame.  same for stuff used on cars, dont do it on the hood or door, do it on the door well or under the hood/trunk.

also, some grips dont take kindly to solvents either.  so if you want to keep on using Kerosene or whatever, again, try it on the underside of the grips.

ime, kerosene can be a good solvent/cleaner but it leaves a residue and that residue can stay around for a while. 

ime, scratches on guns is a way of life.  if you dont want a scratch, dont shoot it or buy another one to shoot/use and keep one in the safe as a safe queen.  you may get dings from brass too, you wont know until you shoot it.

[Dashpot10]

Hello:

 You pose a good question.  The black polycoat finish on my 97b is by no means as durable as the satin nickel finish on my 85 combat.  However, it is not affected by common gun cleaning solvents. 

 After a few years of use and hundreds of times drawing from a Kydex plastic holster, the finish has worn down to the bare metal in two areas on the front of the slide.  The bare metal has not tarnished, rusted, discolored, or otherwise been affected by this, perhaps due to the dry climate here in Colorado.

The folks at CZ-USA doen't seem to have a "touch-up" kit or anything else to fix this issue.  One guy there suggests I use a little black paint on the bare spots.  Maybe I''[l try that "solution" sometime soon, maybe not. 

Chris