Proper firearm finishing is essential for maintaining peak performance and long-lasting durability. Quality gun finishes protect firearms from rust, corrosion, environmental damage, and the wear and tear caused by regular use. Whether you’re a hunter, collector, or shooting enthusiast, investing in the best firearm coating ensures your guns stay in top condition for years. Given the firearm industry’s stringent requirements, consistent, high-quality firearm finishing is crucial to a successful project. With over 35 years of experience, Silvex provides advanced plating technologies to many of the industry’s prominent firearms manufacturers. All of our types of gun finishes comply with military specifications.
Types of Gun Finishes & Coating
As an industry leader, we have specialized in a variety of firearm finishing treatments, including black oxide, zinc, and manganese phosphate, hard anodize, electroless nickel, and Teflon. Below, we review these three types of gun finishes, their characteristics, and the benefits associated with each to help guide you in choosing the ideal treatment for your firearm. Learn more about the variety of weapon coating options, and contact us if you have any questions.
Black Oxide (Bluing)
Black oxide finishing, commonly called bluing, is a traditional way to finish steel that protects firearms from corrosion while reducing glare if properly pre-finished. The black oxide finishing process oxidizes metal surfaces and is achieved by an electrochemical reaction that transforms surface iron into magnetite. The black oxide finishing treatment is a high-quality, corrosion-resistant finish that won’t chip, peel, or change the physical dimension of a firearm piece. As one of the least expensive corrosion-resistant finishes on the market, black oxide is often the preferred finish used on gun barrels and small components. Gun oil is important to these types of gun finishes to avoid rusting. Methods used are either a hot or cold process. Silvex offers the hot black oxide process per Mil-DTL-13924.
Hard Anodize (Hard Coat)
Type III Hard anodize, commonly referred to as hard coating is an electrochemical process that is performed by submerging an aluminum item in a chilled sulfuric acid bath that results in a hardness of 330 to 450 vickers. However, unlike black oxide, hard anodize results in a dimensional increase of the parts treated. The hard anodize process thickens the oxide layer by 50% on the surface of the base metal and penetrates the base metal by 50%, therefore tolerances need to be adjusted accordingly. Other benefits of hard anodize, in addition to hardness, include abrasion and corrosion resistance. Depending on the aluminum alloy, the natural color will vary from tan to dark gray. Most firearms products are coated to a thickness of .001 +/- .0002 and dyed to black, then sealed in either hot water or a nickel acetate solution by Mil-A-8625 Type III.
Manganese Phosphate (Parkerize)
Phosphate coatings, also called Parkerizing, are conversion coatings done on steel that require submerging a firearm in a phosphoric acid solution. Phosphate parts are self-lubricating in that the porous nature of the phosphate finish allows the oils to seep into the phosphate coating and become interlocked after drying. Manganese phosphate coatings are a heavy crystalline finish measured by coating weight, a minimum of 16 grams per square meter. Other benefits of manganese phosphate include its superior corrosion protection in comparison to black oxide, as well as it’s anti-galling and self-lubrication properties which provide continuous protection on gun parts subject to wear. Silvex offers manganese phosphate coatings in Mil-STD-171, Mil- DTL and DOD-16232 specifications.
Contact the Gun Finishing Experts at Silvex
Silvex is proud to provide the expertise and services that allow our customers to achieve their goals utilizing our various types of gun finishes and gun coating options. With our experience and investment in the firearms industry, commitment to providing certified quality finishes, outstanding customer service and lead times, look no further than Silvex for all your gun finishing needs. Have questions about our surface treatment services?
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