Beneath the Polycoat

[DualDomino]

Greetings all

Seeing as CZ has discontinued their stainless models, and long since stopped offering their blued models, I'm beginning to wonder what all the new CZ-75's look like underneath that thick polycoat finish. It seems very convenient to me that CZ only offers polycoat anymore, but no longer offers any finishes where imperfections and defects cannot be hidden (can't hide pitting and fissure cracks below a thin layer of black oxide). CZ could save money on labor and manufacturing, save time in QC, and even still sell metal frames that have defects that wouldn't pass QC for a blued or stainless pistol.

Before anyone relegates me to the tinfoil hat brigade: I'm not pulling this theory completely out of my ass. I've got a family friend who has a CZ-75B (I believe he said it was manufactured in 2021) that he stripped the polycoat finish off of in order to give it a different finish. He showed me pictures, and there was pitting along the frame below the slide, and a fissure crack on the back of the frame below the beavertail. I've also spoken to a local firearms finishing / coating service that claimed that they have had a few CZ-75's that had defects underneath the polycoat finishes.

I want to know what everyone's experience here is in this regard. Has anyone here seen what's beneath the polycoat? It would be especially useful if anyone here has any insight into this matter on recent production CZ-75's.
 
The only pictures I have been able to find on this forum are from a post made in December 2021, with pictures from another forum member being posted last month of a pre-B CZ-75 with the coating removed: https://czfirearms.us/index.php?topic=117591.0

[Grendel]

Unusual first post.

Please take a few moments to familiarize yourself with the sticky posts in the 'New Members' Forum and also the 'Important Information' sub-section.

[Earl Keese]

Not a new discovery. This is why they stopped selling the nitrided Shadow 2's and switched to all polycoat frames. Previously, they would sort the frames that were clean, and polycoat the rest.

[SI VIS PACEM PARRABELLUM]

Because we all strip the poly cote off all of our new CZ's??? I currently own 7 CZ's and have owned many others and never bothered stripping the finish from any of them nor have I ever had a structural failure of any kind with a CZ. Yes I'd like to see better finishes on the metal framed guns but I'm under no illusion that CZ is going to update the old guns when they will be looking to the future with striker fired models. Maybe the OP could just come right out and state what direction this is intended to go.

[DualDomino]

Never intended this thread to go any way in particular. And an unusual first post yes, I agree. I'm relatively new to CZ firearms. Only trying to inform myself and provide my experience.

[SI VIS PACEM PARRABELLUM]

Never intended this thread to go any way in particular. And an unusual first post yes, I agree. I'm relatively new to CZ firearms. Only trying to inform myself and provide my experience.

Simple answer for you is these guns are tough, accurate, and reliable. While there can be surface imperfections under ANY painted on finish whether that be Poly-Cote, Cera-Cote, or Dura-Cote there's no glaring structural defects with CZ's. You simply can't hide major pits, scratches nor actual cracks and a frame with a true crack would likely be rejected.

[Bret]

DualDomino, I'd encourage you to just wait a while.  CZ discontinues models and then brings them back quite often.  I'd bet money that we'll see blued and stainless CZ75 variants in the future.

[Stuart]

remember CZ frames are cast. so yes there can be  casting marks etc,

for a a premium finish. polish blue or using stainless, the surface must be clean and perfect.
The standard casting is strong and robust, but may have an imperfection that does not allow the premium finish or metal, so polycoat, a very tough finish in itself.

[M1A4ME]

How strong is a CZ pistol?

9MM 115 grain hollow point sitting on a compressed charge of Blue Dot powder in my Pre CZ85. 

Case failed (probably a week case as the base/rim/primer were fine).  The base/rim was ejected and the case walls stayed in the chamber.  Had to pull the barrel out of the slide to be able to get enough finger nails on the ragged edge of the case wall to pull it out of the chamber.  Put the CZ85 back together and kept shooting.  The top of the magazine well, top rounds in the magazine, etc. were slightly blackened by the release of the burning powder in the area when the case failed.





Tough as a tank.