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I need some help from the experts on the type of finish that I should be looking at when I have my commander-sized concealed carry pistol built. I'm currently considering Hard Chrome or a Robar type finish, but am open to suggestions. I live in Houston, and will be carrying with an IBW (you've convinced me its better than OBW).

I admit it - I sweat. Not that dainty little sheen on your lip, but the industrial grade splotchs on your shirt and front of your chest. I thinks its a genetic thing, at least that's what I tell my father - when I'm giving him hell for my bad eyes and my sweating.

Thanks for the input and advice.

JeffVN

If you want the toughest most durable finish available go with hard chrome. It gives very good corrosion resistance and its abrasion resistance is second to none, the only real down side is that one must be willing to live with a “white” pistol.

I have hard chromed guns that are 30+ years old (one in particular was not babied) and the finish is still in excellent condition. Additionally, my carry gun for the last 3 years is finished in hard chrome and after 24,000+ rounds and at least as many draws from a holster the finish still looks new. No B.S. hard chrome rules! All that being said, my next set of carry guns will be blue.

Jeff,
Just my own two cents worth, but whatever finish you pick, pull those grips off once every couple of weeks and clean out from under them. If you use grips made of a porous material (wood) get an extra set fitted and swap them out.

Around the deep South, the best finish to resist sweat and humidity is any of the "spray & bakes" such as Black-T, Armor-Tuff, et al. They aren't the most durable finish, but will handle the sweat better than hard chrome (seen plenty of rusted hard chrome here in the South), although hard chrome will certainly out-wear the spray & bakes.
Good Luck!

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www.HarrisonCustom.com

The grand essentials to happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for.

Jeff-

Been carrying a hard chromed GM concealed for four years and exposed while in uniform (my retirement part time job) for the last eight months. It has endured the high humidity here in Virginia as well as some torrential rains this summer. Even survived me crawling over, under, around and through wet, downed trees in the aftermath of a recent tornado. I just wipe it down every night and leave it out to air dry.

When carrying concealed it's in an IWB with a sweat sheild. Might not be as humid here as in John's home state of Georgia or as hot as Houston, but I also sweat a lot and the hard chrome is holding up very well for me. I probably have only 5000 rounds through this one.

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Sic Semper Tyrannis

In my experience, the best finish to resist corrosion while still having decent wear resistance is Robar's NP3. NP3, however, is much softer than hard chrome, and it does not wear like hard chrome. Like John Harrison, I have seen plenty of rusted hard chrome finished pistols, including one of my own. The chrome is somewhat porous and allows the underlying metal to be exposed to oxygen, leading to corrosion. The "spray and bake" finishes are great at corrosion resistance, but lack the wear resistance. Once a spot is worn to bare metal, corrosion can and will start.

I lived in Houston for four years, and the humidity is much higher there than it is here in the Atlanta, Georgia area. My choice of finish would depend on the base metal. If the base pistol was carbon steel, I would choose NP3 to maximize corrosion resistance. If the base pistol was stainless, I would choose hard chrome to maximize wear resistance while having decent corrosion resistance.

I also second John's comments about removing grips. I usually remove grips once a month, but I have done it on a daily basis when the pistol gets wet. While John's comments dealt with natural materials, I have also had liquid trapped under synthetic materials.

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Scott

Titanium Aluminum Nitride and other physical vapor deposition coatings are the best by far. They are impervious to salt water corrosion (and just about any other corrosion you're likely to come into contact with). They are "conformal coatings" in that they'll conform to the surface finish of the product you're coating. They can be had in charcoal, sometimes black and, of course gold! . It's expensive (~$500) but you're not likely to have to recoat your pistol.

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"It is a wretched taste to be granted mediocrity when the excellent lies before us."

My choice for me - dull black shake and bake. Not because it is the prettiest, not because it is the most wear resistant, not because it needs the least maintenance but because I can choose black or navy Polo or sweatshirts or what have you. I have some vague hope that it looks industrial rather than barbecue.

There is definitely a place for each of the other finishes and I would not hesitate to carry any of them. Given a choice and a purpose built concealed carry - not duty, not range, not field, not game - I'll go black shake and bake and expect to maintain it.

That said, I do want to brag that for open carry I'm quite happy to display a thistle on stainless with ivory.

I'm having Don Williams build me a new Commander that I anticipate being my carry piece. He's Black-T-ing it. I had him Black-T a Springfield that he built for me last year and it's wonderful! It does show a little wear, but nothing beyond good 'character'. Sure I'd like a black, rust-proof finish that won't wear and provides self lubricating qualities. It doesn't exist. I've learned to accept it.

I'm hearing great things about the Titanium Aluminum Nitride finishes, they are black to charcoal grey, the price seems to be getting down to the level where I might consider it ($400 or less), supposedly virtually no wear, and they are self-lubricating. Too good to be true - maybe, but it sounds very interesting so far.

Keep the suggestions coming guys - I'm learning a lot.

JeffVN

Hard chrome over electroless nickel-- sounds dumb but it works. Big improvement over chrome-only for corrosions resistance, big imporvement over nickel-only for wear resistance. Haven't done it very much, and you'll find some or most platers might not be comfy doing it (as in they haven't done it before so they decline to do it), but it does work well.

Metalife will do hardchrome over nickel. It is a must to do hard chrome on aluminum (nickel first that is).

http://www.mahovskysmetalife.com/

Metalife calls their hard chrome "Metalife" but I believe it is just their tradename for hard chrome.