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I'm looking at putting together a custom 1911-A1 in stainless but don't like the bright/light finish of stainless. I have looked at several options available as far as finishes but not really sure what I want?

I know that I don't want a coating as that adds to the critical dimensions of the weapon and not generally uniform as far as thickness at angles. My concerns is this will make fitting more of an issues prior to the finish to be applied (to much to lose, not enough to tight!).

That is why I thought a molecular bond finish might be the way to go, but am not sure what is out there that would give me the properties that I want (resistance to corrosion, and wear) making it a little more user friendly.

I've thought about the Nitrides, but a neon blue or even a pink 1911 just doesn't do it for me. I know that S&W and a few others manufactures are use now Melonite finishes on several of their service pistols but haven't heared how that finish holds up after time?

Can someone give me some insight and direction on this issue?

Thank you!

Well, all I can tell you is what I know about.
I had a dura-coat put on and xd.40 slide a few years back. Did not like it. it was to thick. I tried some eezox cleaner on that slide and it took the dura-coat right off.
So I contacted a few places, the one I went with was the ION Bond. WOW. This is NICE. the only problem is it only comes in black, which I have no problem with black.
I sent my slide to Springer Precision. They are located in Bend Oregon, and the turn around time was only 4 weeks. That was to have the slide and all little parts done. You have the choice of the slide only, slide and all parts, or entire pistol done... Just give him a call.
For my slide and small parts to be ION-Bond, it was $105.00. Slide alone would of only been $75. Now these are the prices for the Springfield XD, so I don't know how much for yours.
Here is the link.
http://www.springerprecision.com/art/Di ... KSpecs.pdf
Also in this link, is a link to the Springer website.

He has photo's on his website of some 1911's and XDm's that he has had done.
Hope this has helped a little.

As always, Stay Safe.

Thank you very much for the info and link. I check out the site and what I see is very interesting. I have heard of Diamond Black before but couldn't find a company that offered the coating nor could I find any really information on it properties. This sounds like what I've been looking for and appears at this point better then even Melonite. I'm going to continue to look around to see what other finishes might compare before I make my decision, but this definitely is at the top of the list.

Again, thank you very much for your guidance on this matter.

You are More than welcome.
I really Love the finish on mine. I also had new sights put on as well and couldn't be more happy.

Good luck, and let us know what you end up going with.

As always, Stay Safe.

Check out E. Arthur Brown.

www.eabco.com/cssfg.html

Since you have a stainless steel gun already why don't you just have a soft bead blast finish done? You already have corrosion resistance and wear resistance built in. If you insist on an applied finish you might also consider RoBar in Phoenix. You would mos definitely like their NP3 finish or their RoGard finish.

I have had a black Teflon finish on my Colt Combat Commander for 35 years. I have Pachmayer wrap-around grips with rubber front strap and flat mainspring housing. I has been a constant companion, fired thousands of rounds, and still looks a whole lot better after 35 years than I do. It is an old-fashioned finish, but has worked well for me.