Cerakoting Slide

[Raining_Brass]

You can say ?just fancy paint? all you want. But let me know when another regular old paint goes through the third party testing that H series cerakote has. It?s extremely impressive for what it is.
The bottom line is that NOT A SINGLE finish in the industry can touch it as far as corrosion resistance. For many people that means much much more than hardness. If you live in a humid climate and/or carry a lot where you may sweat on the gun - cerakote is a far better choice over nitride. Sacrificing a bit of hardness is a well worth it trade off for the slide not rusting if you happen to neglect it for a bit (and by a bit I mean literally surface rust will start within a day down here with our humidity combined with sweating on the slide).

Also have to think about cost. Nitride is a more expensive finish. One could have their slide refinished in cerakote twice for what it costs to be nitrided once.

They?re both great and both have their pros and cons. But to throw cerakote aside as inferior simply due to hardness is just plain silly. It has become an industry leading finish for a reason.

The hurt is strong with this one.

The question was about durability. Nitride is more durable than Cerakote because of its hardness. I never said Cerakote was "inferior". That's your emotions interfering with your reading comprehension.

Not really. We offer both finishes and at the end of the day whatever someone chooses doesn?t bother me. It?s their gun. ?Durability? has multiple meanings in regards to a firearm finish that go beyond hardness. Hadness is certainly not the one and only meaning of finish durability. I wouldn?t consider a finish with a fraction of the corrosion resistance another has to be more durable.

So I stick to what I said. They both have pros and cons and depending on what the user is looking for in the finishes attributes - one may not necessarily be better or ?more durable? than the other.

[Raining_Brass]

So we go from talking slide finishes to barrel bores? Lol man you?re really grasping at straws here.

Thanks for trying to teach me a thing or two about coatings though - something I?ve been educating myself on for years now.

[Vinny]

So, I've learned some new things from this discussion; but one question remains unanswered.....

What's the finish that HK uses on the VP-9 slides?? It has the thickness and smoothness of Polycoat, yet the hardness and durability of Ceracoat or Nitride. As mentioned, after 4000 rounds the coating on the underside of slide rails showed no sign of wear. Still thick and slick. 
HK's website implies that it's some special proprietary process. Anyone know what it is??

[Raining_Brass]

So, I've learned some new things from this discussion; but one question remains unanswered.....

What's the finish that HK uses on the VP-9 slides?? It has the thickness and smoothness of Polycoat, yet the hardness and durability of Ceracoat or Nitride. As mentioned, after 4000 rounds the coating on the underside of slide rails showed no sign of wear. Still thick and slick. 
HK's website implies that it's some special proprietary process. Anyone know what it is??

VP9 finish is nitride.
Lots of manufacturers have fancy proprietary sounding names for whats really just nitride.

[Vinny]

So, I've learned some new things from this discussion; but one question remains unanswered.....

What's the finish that HK uses on the VP-9 slides?? It has the thickness and smoothness of Polycoat, yet the hardness and durability of Ceracoat or Nitride. As mentioned, after 4000 rounds the coating on the underside of slide rails showed no sign of wear. Still thick and slick. 
HK's website implies that it's some special proprietary process. Anyone know what it is??

VP9 finish is nitride.
Lots of manufacturers have fancy proprietary sounding names for whats really just nitride.

It's way thicker and smoother than CZ''s nitride finish on P-07's & 09's especially on the underside of slide. As mentioned, the metal guide tangs rub along it, yet after 4000 rounds there's no sign of wear.
Could it be the underlying metal prep on HK's is superior?? I'm sure you've seen many many VP-9 slides. What do you think the difference is?

[fflmike]

It's getting deep in here.  Raining Brass does tons of both finishes at Primary.  Quoting Progressive, "Pretty sure he knows and has covered it cause he's seen em all."  He guided me right on my quest.  Gave me both options and I chose Cerakote.

[Vinny]

It's getting deep in here.  Raining Brass does tons of both finishes at Primary.  Quoting Progressive, "Pretty sure he knows and has covered it cause he's seen em all."  He guided me right on my quest.  Gave me both options and I chose Cerakote.

I was hoping for an expert opinion from Raining Brass who I'm sure has  looked carefully at HK's slide especially underneath. The rails are glass smooth and glide like butter. Primary's Cerakote looks close (I have two they've done), but not quite HK's; which comes out IMHO like a hybrid of polycoat and nitride.
I can simplify my question to:
Does Primary's Black Nitride finish come out like HK's superior thick and smooth finish, or more like CZ's P-07/09 durable (but a bit rough in texture) Nitride?

I mean no disrespect here to anyone; I'm very pleased with my Ceracoat P-07 & P-09; just trying to learn something to help me decide finish; before I send Primary my P-01 to mill for a Shield RMS.

[fflmike]

It's getting deep in here.  Raining Brass does tons of both finishes at Primary.  Quoting Progressive, "Pretty sure he knows and has covered it cause he's seen em all."  He guided me right on my quest.  Gave me both options and I chose Cerakote.

I was hoping for an expert opinion from Raining Brass who I'm sure has  looked carefully at HK's slide especially underneath. The rails are glass smooth and glide like butter. Primary's Cerakote looks close (I have two they've done), but not quite HK's; which comes out IMHO like a hybrid of polycoat and nitride.
I can simplify my question to:
Does Primary's Black Nitride finish come out like HK's superior thick and smooth finish, or more like CZ's P-07/09 durable (but a bit rough in texture) Nitride?

I mean no disrespect here to anyone; I'm very pleased with my Ceracoat P-07 & P-09; just trying to learn something to help me decide finish; before I send Primary my P-01 to mill for a Shield RMS.

Sorry, it was not you I was referring to, LOL.  You're good, in my opinion.

[Vinny]

It's getting deep in here.  Raining Brass does tons of both finishes at Primary.  Quoting Progressive, "Pretty sure he knows and has covered it cause he's seen em all."  He guided me right on my quest.  Gave me both options and I chose Cerakote.

I was hoping for an expert opinion from Raining Brass who I'm sure has  looked carefully at HK's slide especially underneath. The rails are glass smooth and glide like butter. Primary's Cerakote looks close (I have two they've done), but not quite HK's; which comes out IMHO like a hybrid of polycoat and nitride.
I can simplify my question to:
Does Primary's Black Nitride finish come out like HK's superior thick and smooth finish, or more like CZ's P-07/09 durable (but a bit rough in texture) Nitride?

I mean no disrespect here to anyone; I'm very pleased with my Ceracoat P-07 & P-09; just trying to learn something to help me decide finish; before I send Primary my P-01 to mill for a Shield RMS.

Sorry, it was not you I was referring to, LOL.  You're good, in my opinion.

Thanks Mike, no problem. I was just trying to get a better understanding.

[Raining_Brass]

So, I've learned some new things from this discussion; but one question remains unanswered.....

What's the finish that HK uses on the VP-9 slides?? It has the thickness and smoothness of Polycoat, yet the hardness and durability of Ceracoat or Nitride. As mentioned, after 4000 rounds the coating on the underside of slide rails showed no sign of wear. Still thick and slick. 
HK's website implies that it's some special proprietary process. Anyone know what it is??

VP9 finish is nitride.
Lots of manufacturers have fancy proprietary sounding names for whats really just nitride.

It's way thicker and smoother than CZ''s nitride finish on P-07's & 09's especially on the underside of slide. As mentioned, the metal guide tangs rub along it, yet after 4000 rounds there's no sign of wear.
Could it be the underlying metal prep on HK's is superior?? I'm sure you've seen many many VP-9 slides. What do you think the difference is?

It's probably just a matter of how they're prepped. That makes a big difference in the final outcome.
Some manufacturers tumble, some use glass bead, some use aluminum oxide. Depenidng on grit, pressure, etc, etc, you can get a wide variety of different looks form the exact same finish.

[changemyoil66]

Just got my wife's AR Gun Candy Stingray.  She's going to want to do the same to her P10C slide probably.

[briang2ad]

The nitride is superior in overall durability.  Period.  Again, I hammered my slide with a punch more than a few times and if it was Cerakote, it would have left the scene.  AND... the nitride is a finish that penetrates the surface, so even when abraded so that the color is gone, it is still there protecting.  Paint is a surface thing - it does NOT penetrate.  Once it is abraded to the metal, so is its protection. 

Now, you want the best paint? - use Cerakote.