SP01 Tactical Urban Gray Polycoat Vs Ceracoat

[Crow]

So I picked up an Urban Gray SP01 recently because it was suppressor ready and came with the full Cajun pro package, tuner springs and extra goodies for around MSRP. While I don't particularly hate the Urban Gray, I've been thinking about some other color options to really make it "mine". My biggest hurdle is trying to decide from a reliability/durability standpoint, what's going to last longer, the factory polycoat, or a  fresh ceracoat (assuming of course that it's done correctly and professionally)? Has anyone had longterm use with both to attest to the strength of one over the other? This is a gun that will spend a lot of its time in thermoplastic holsters, so factor in normal holster wear as well. I just don't want to spend the money on a ceracoat just to find out the factory finish would have gotten some extra mileage out of it.

There are some imperfections bugging me on the factory finish around the slide serrations and grip texturing that have me leaning towards just stripping and ceracoating it anyways, but I figured I'd stimulate some healthy discussion and get educated a bit beforehand just the same.

[chomorro]

My friend got an urban grey shadow 2 and mine was factory black. He cerakoted his black.  Mine still looks new and his looks like it has 5k more rounds.



Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[Crow]

My friend got an urban grey shadow 2 and mine was factory black. He cerakoted his black.  Mine still looks new and his looks like it has 5k more rounds.

I had a feeling that was going to be the case.

[inthevalley]

wouldn't the cerakote be going over the polycoat? If so, as it wears you will just see the gray poking through, no downside in terms of durability. If you are planning to strip off the polycoat, then the cerakote will be less durable probably.

[chomorro]

It looked good at first but every little bump would take some off.  He got so mad about it he went and bought a factory black one.  Which in CA is hard to do lol.   If I were to cerakote I would do custom colors and patterns and not just black. Then it will look battle worn!

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[recoilguy]

Have you considered Nitride coating
The Black Nitride AlTin coating is unbelievably reliable and durable.

I have had it done to a couple of my guns and I believe as any others require a face lift I may do them all
AlTin or the variance that will give it a different color.

Cost is higher but in my opinion it is well worth the extra $$$$.
value is not always the lowest price. Rarely in my exoperiance.

RCG

[Crow]

Nitride does sound like a good option. I was only really considering ceracoating because I have easy access to it with several places near me that do it for a pretty reasonable cost. I may inquire if they also do nitride.