ltwguns.com

Or Diamond Like Carbon Coating, are these the same thing?

Also, do any of you guys have access to this type of finish?

P.S. Ned Christiansen, I have not been able to get an e-mail through my yahoo account to you! But I believe the last one I sent made it, if you have not recieved it yet, let me know and I will post on here regarding my Kimber. Thanks!

It's a top notch coating, but they are more than a bit reluctant to do guns. I have heard of Diamond Like Coating (DLC) but not one with carbon in there as well, it's probably the same though. They are literally five minutes down the road from me (they're called IonBond now) and I oh so wish I had a buddy that worked there!

Wait until Ned gets settle from Shot. He can answer these questions completely. DLC is a great finish. And no, through the right smith they are not reluctant to do the finish on guns.

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Alright awesome! Ill be waiting patiently. In the meantime anyone have any photos of pistols finishedin DLC?

If it looks as good as a quality bluing job, but more durable, heck It sounds perfect! Also it would have to be able to be done on stainless steel.

The only thing I have against armorkote and parkerizing and such is that its a coating on the metals, and it looks "painted" since DLC is a chemical process I'm thinking it will look more organic

The short reply:

Tungsten DLC by Ion Bond looks to be a good finish for guns. It is super hard and looks great, but does not offer the rust resistance that some coatings do-- they say it's about equal to bluing in that respect. I don't have personal long-term ownership experience with the finish but all accounts and indicators are that it pretty much wears forever.

Ion Bond has given me access to the finish but we're still establishing a relationship. More info as things happen there.

Joseph, I was out for a few days and I think my Email account runneth over, but I did get one from you and youshould have a response in your inbox.

If you're looking for a rust resistant finish that also has that 'hard as diamonds' characteristic... You might take a look at the e-treat finish that George Smith (EGW) is offering. I have one gun finished in it already and they're treating another for me. So far, it looks like a home run.

Keep in mind, this finish is not the gorgeous deep blue finish that we all love. It is, a very attractive black finish that looks similar to fine black parkerizing or perhaps matte bluing.

Mark, got a photo of your gun with George’s e-treat finish?

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I believe that the slide on this gun has the E-Treat finish. http://www.louderthanwords.us/forum/vie ... php?t=4613

Unfortunately, I haven't had time to get any pictures of it since it's return, and it's not here right now. It's off getting it's slide stop replaced. It should be back in a week or so.

As to the link above, that certainly could be e-treat, but you really can't tell. It really does look like matte bluing or black parkerizing. George has some pictures of it on his site at http://www.egw-guns.com/.

It's pretty neat stuff. I wouldn't use it on an heirloom type weapon, but on a hard use sidearm, it really looks good. Nothing beats bluing for great looks, but this looks to be a very durable, rust resistant finish.

Here's the link to my Kimber that EGW E treated.

http://louderthanwords.us/forum/viewtop ... highlight=

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Ted

Ted the photos are missing

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Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.
Winston Churchill

OK I fixed the links and the pictures are up.

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Ted

I had a gun done by Bodycote, five years ago, and it is holding up very well. Into and out of both leather and kydex holsters, almost every weekend for a couple of years. No "handling" or holster wear of any kind, but where two coated surfaces rub together - slide/frame rails, safeties/frame, etc. - it wears about like bluing. It would be great to have access to the finish without having to go through a middleman. Bodycote used a university gunsmithing program, and it added about $100 to the cost.

I'd very much like for the "right smith" to step up and get something going. I'll be among the first in line. IonBond thrives on running huge batches of stuff, faucets, drawer knobs/handles, they are interested in $$$, not how nice a gun finish they can provide.

I know several knifemakers who have discontinued their relationship with them out of pure frustration and lack of attention.

I have been looking into setting up my account with Bodycoat for the coating. I have one pistol and my father's 50th birthday present (built as a matching pair) finished in Bodycoat. No wear anywhere over the last 4 years (not holstered and carried - we live in Illinois).

I love the finish, but when I worked at the "Rock" that was the owner's reason to discontinue the finish - lack of attention.

It's this reason I am a little hesitant to add this to my list of finishes to offer. I'm a bit of a perfectionist so I look for the little things...these guys (4 years ago, much could have changed) would send parts back that weren't even coated and sometimes flaking off from lack of proper application.

I don't know the process, or how it's done, but that was a frightful experience that I don't want to repeat in my shop. When you start adding up the prep time, shipping, shipping back, "oh no, something is wrong", send it back, stripping, sending it back for re-prepping, shipping again, shipping back. It adds up, especially when the process is repeated 3 or more times. A guy can really lose his butt on something like that.

There may be some issue with the material of the slide or frame too. I've talked with some chromers that talk about the application of hard chrome and heat treated slides requireing more current, longer bath times, and different blasting media in order for uniform color and applications to work.

There is a science to a lot of this smithing. As the new, latest and greatest finishes come out and are introduced, the latest and greatest hurdles come out too.

Take care,
Bob

I got a grasp on the process when I was invited to the open house of BC's new facility in Madison Heights, MI. In a nutshell, parts go into a vacuum chamber that has an intert gas in it. All parts are on spinning racks which are in turn mounted on a central rotating table. An arc is struck onto a piece of tungsten and it is vaporized into the chamber, then to precipitate upon the rotating parts. The rotation keeps some flow so that the coating goes on evenly.

A guy named Kevin Reed has studied this deeply and has been posting about it on various forums for years now. He's close to IB and helped get me "in". Search around for Kevin's posts and you'll learn a lot. I believe he has posted here a little too.

I guess there have been ups and downs with IB. A gun I just displayed at SHOT came out very well, it was my first with them. I understand there may have been some changes at IB and I have not had the need yet to do another gun.

I had heard of a few different processes, mainly people's own conclusions and assumptions...nothing really to invest a whole lot of stock into the explanations.

Do you have a picture of the pistol you displayed online somewhere that we can see?

Thanks again,
Bob