[mrheythere]

Which is the best and most durable finish: Tenifer (Glock), Nitron (Sig), or Hostile Environment (HK)?

 

[JMB109]

I'm not in expert on this but, from what I have seen and heard the Glock Tenifer finish is the best of the three.

 

[RobP7]

All three are pretty much the same. They are all nitrocarbeurized finishes. Tennifer (as done by Glock) is a process that is patented and done in Europe. Here in the states, you can't "Tennifer" metal. You nitrocarbeurize it. The Nitron finish (that Sig offers) is simply another name. The same goes for the Hostile Environment (like on new HKs). All three involve a heat treating process with chemical bath to create a very hard surface with an oxide (black) finish. I hope this is helpful for you.

 

[mrheythere]

Yes, thanks

 

[JLStorm]

I have owned a bunch of different guns and have carried most of them, they all wear in similar contact areas eventually. They get character over time unless you go stainless, but then they have less protection from some of the elements. I guess it depends what kind of protection you are talking about whether its from wear, salt water, humidity, etc.

 

[Kost]

I hear the black finish FN puts on their stainless slides is killer. A guy on the FN Forum.net tried polishing the hood on his black FNP barrel (big no no in my book), he got the job done like he wanted, he put some oil on it - and it returned to the same pristine black finish as the rest of the pistol. Pretty amazing finish FN has! He cant polish this black finish off his FNP...hehehe.

 

[MONEY]

Which is the best and most durable finish: Tenifer (Glock), Nitron (Sig), or Hostile Environment (HK)?

Glock has the best factory finish that comes stock on the pistol. I own & carry both Glock,s & HK,s & the Glock seems far superior to scratching , wear & rust (less maintenence) but like others have said , if you take care of your firearm & oil it there should be no problem.



TENIFER
Unique GLOCK hi-tech surface refinement for barrel and slide. Apart from optimum corrosion protection and anti-reflective finish, a degree of hardness of 64 HRC - close to that of a diamond - is achieved.

 

[Powder Burns]

Between the HE, nitron, and tenifer finishes the tenifer is the hardest and most difficult to scratch. It doesn't have that pretty satin look of the nitron or HE finish, but it is definitely the best out of those 3. This can be a pretty interesting and informative thread if we had some chaps that really knew a lot about blueing/finishing guns to put in their 2 cents. I want to refinish my s&w 629, but its a stainless steel gun so I dunno what will take to that. Its no good for hunting as it is though, worse comes to worse I'll get some steel wool and a can of spray paint. ^_^

 

[Tecumseh]

In my experience Glock seems to be the best finish as well.

 

[230GrainRemedy]

D) Tripp's Hard Chrome

In the weapons I have owned over the years, only the SIG has proven to be the weakest finish. My 220 was exposed to water briefly and rusted immediately after only owning it for about 5 months. It was refinished with Robar's Roguard spray and bake, and the lower with their NP3 Teflon for a black over gray appearance. Some with the Glock will complain about the parkerizing wearing away over time, but this is purely cosmetic and doesn't affect the tennifer's protection. Tennifer is purported to rival stainless steel finishes in its ability to protect surface metals. I own two black HKs, one much older than the other by about 10 years, and the HE finish shows no wear. My third was hard chromed by Tripp last year, if you don't want the teflon offered in the NP3, this is the way to go in my book for the hardest of the hard... umm... that seems wrong on so many levels, but you know what I mean.

 

[Hoplite]

All three are pretty much the same. They are all nitrocarbeurized finishes. Tennifer (as done by Glock) is a process that is patented and done in Europe. Here in the states, you can't "Tennifer" metal. You nitrocarbeurize it. The Nitron finish (that Sig offers) is simply another name. The same goes for the Hostile Environment (like on new HKs). All three involve a heat treating process with chemical bath to create a very hard surface with an oxide (black) finish. I hope this is helpful for you.

They may indeed be similar in nature but that does not make them equal to one another. I can tell you first hand that Sig's Nitron finish is no where near as durable as Glocks Tennifer treatment.

 

[AviatorDave]

I'd swear I read that the Tennifer process doesn't actually change the color of the metal, and that the black color of Glocks is another coating that is applied on as a liquid (like paint, but actually an epoxy or some other liquid.)

 

[Kost]

I'd swear I read that the Tennifer process doesn't actually change the color of the metal, and that the black color of Glocks is another coating that is applied on as a liquid (like paint, but actually an epoly or some other liquid.)

Thats right! Tennifer is a colorless/clear metal treatment, its covered with a blackening agent to get the blue/black color

 

[joshuap]

But what is the best current non-factory finish?

 

[JLStorm]

But what is the best current non-factory finish?

There are a bunch of threads on this...the current favorites are hard chrome of some sort or np3 depending on your priorities.

 

[mikecleonard]

Anyone have any experience with Walter Birdsong's Black-T finish? I have read a number of times that this is one of the premier after market gun finishes for corrosion protection, lubricity, and durability. I have been very interested in it, but it's hard to find a ton of info as Walter does not have a website.

 

[AviatorDave]

Anyone have any experience with Walter Birdsong's Black-T finish? I have read a number of times that this is one of the premier after market gun finishes for corrosion protection, lubricity, and durability. I have been very interested in it, but it's hard to find a ton of info as Walter does not have a website.

Not sure if this is still a good number, as I entered it several years ago, but at one time you could contact Birdsong direct at 601-939-7448.

 

[vanderson]

I'm not in expert on this but, from what I have seen and heard the Glock Tenifer finish is the best of the three.

The Glock Tenifer still rusts the same as the HK if not faster depends on the situation.

Just to show that a Glock DOES RUST! I noticed this first hand with my friends Glock http://glocktalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=755842

 

[Capp325]

But what is the best current non-factory finish?

TiNi/PVD - as hard as hardchrome and more corosion resistant

 

[Scooter]

Best non-factory finish would have to be IonBond. Not many finishes will allow you to take a high quality knife and shave the surface only to have the metal come off the knife and not the finish.