I'm through with Springfield(rant)

[manygunner]

I still think it is people not taking proper care of their guns. Western WA near Seattle is humid and hot right now, and I have no rust issues. Never had. Geez guys, take proper care of your guns and stop gripping. I wonder if this Blue Wonder stuff does not cause it, I never used it, just CLP and MPro-7 goes on my guns.

[demented]

IF the manufacturer isn't properly neutralizing the acid used in the Parkerizing process, these will rust even if literally soaked in an oil bucket. From what I've seen on some brand new XD's, still in display cases, this is what I think is the problem. I looked at two that Academy Sports had, both had rust, one of which was still in the factory box, never before opened. If SA can't keep them from rusting in their packing boxes, how is anyone else suposed to do better?

[manygunner]

I guess mine was made while they stil had good quality control. The finish is getting a bit worn in places but no rust.

[DJDan]

Well.....I just got home from work and had my XDSC Bi-tone on me.
There are TINY little beginnings of rust specs in the slats where you grab the slide to pull it back.
It is the first night I have been so hot that I sweat on it. I looked closely and SURE ENOUGH...the rust is starting!

I keep the gun well oiled. I wipe it down after handling it and it stays clean. I had it on for 5 hours and it started to rust. That just is not acceptable any way I look at it.

I will except nothing less than SA refinishing slide for me at no charge.

I understand that I will need to reach a compromise as I might as well have all other metal parts done while it is there at a pro-rated charge but I refuse to give them more money to fix a design/manufacturing flaw that should be taken care of out of the box.

My questions are-

What is the difference between "Hard Chrome" and "Nickel Teflon"?

Is there a difference in color between the hard chrome and nickel?

Is the Nickel really better?

Do either of these finishes have problems wearing off the gun from holstering and general use?

Are they going to do a good job or should I just spend MY hard earned money on a "Cobra Coat" or other coating...and if so which one.

Thanks!

[jcrich33]

What a bummer to hear about so much rust. Mine has only rusted on the slide once. That's because I tried to make it rust. I purchased my XD in '02, and it has the black finish. About once a month I would put TetraGun on the slide, trigger, etc...no rust ever.

So, about three months ago, I decided to see if I could get it to rust. First, I left it in the bathroom every time me or my wife took a shower. Nothing. So then I sprayed the entire gun with water. Nothing. Finally, I cleaned the entire gun inside and out with degreaser, and placed it in a foam lined case that I had sprayed the foam with water, closed it and left it there until it rusted. It lasted about four days (I checked every day). I finally had some rust on the outside of the slide and a spec or two on the mag release !

I took pictures and e-mailed Megan at Springfield and politely inquired as to what could be done about it. I was offered a re-finish in Armory Kote. I thanked her and told her that it would not be necessary. I cleaned the rust off and resumed my normal care of it. No rust since then. I guess I just have a "rare" XD.

[M1Thumb]

I guess I don't get it. Manufacturers have been making blued guns for decades upon decades, (if not centuries.) Springfield comes out with the XD, with a finish that is comparable to bluing, and suddenly it's the manufactuer's fault if you neglect your gun. It's almost like people are whipped up into some sort of hysteria before they even have their XD for a single day. My subcompact has never rusted. Then again, I keep it oiled with the same sort of thing people have been using forever - your standard Outer's gun oil, not some wonder product that does who knows what to it. How many of you own shotguns? Hunting rifles? Treat your XD the same and you won't have a problem. I've got a Ruger 10/22 that I left in my safe for awhile after what I thought was a routine cleaning. I took it out to find that the barrel rusted in a few spots. I guess I missed a few fingerprints. Did I spend an hour on the phone with Ruger complaining about their "defective" rifle and then swear them off forever when they made me take responisbility? No...I realized that it required a little more care than I had given it. Maybe Springfield should post a warning in their manual: Warning - This XD has been delivered to you in a defective condition. For the first time in the history of metallurgy, a gun has been produced with a chrome-moly alloy that will rust if not oiled.

[manygunner]

Originally Posted by M1Thumb

I guess I don't get it. Manufacturers have been making blued guns for decades upon decades, (if not centuries.) Springfield comes out with the XD, with a finish that is comparable to bluing, and suddenly it's the manufactuer's fault if you neglect your gun. It's almost like people are whipped up into some sort of hysteria before they even have their XD for a single day. My subcompact has never rusted. Then again, I keep it oiled with the same sort of thing people have been using forever - your standard Outer's gun oil, not some wonder product that does who knows what to it. How many of you own shotguns? Hunting rifles? Treat your XD the same and you won't have a problem. I've got a Ruger 10/22 that I left in my safe for awhile after what I thought was a routine cleaning. I took it out to find that the barrel rusted in a few spots. I guess I missed a few fingerprints. Did I spend an hour on the phone with Ruger complaining about their "defective" rifle and then swear them off forever when they made me take responisbility? No...I realized that it required a little more care than I had given it. Maybe Springfield should post a warning in their manual: Warning - This XD has been delivered to you in a defective condition. For the first time in the history of metallurgy, a gun has been produced with a chrome-moly alloy that will rust if not oiled.

+1 I think all those complaining are either Glock trolls or people who like to complain and have no idea as to proper gun care. The other theory is that they are 1911 and Glock nuts who are jelous of XD's success and are trying to drive Springfield to withdraw the gun due to their demands for refinishes.

[locosteelersfan]

Yeah that all makes alot of sense M1 except the fact that I stated I
wipe off my gun and put Eezox on it.
Now factor it that none of my other guns rust INCLUDING MY XD40,
which get treated and stored the same way.

Now can you conclude it has an inferior/defective finish or it that
an overstatement.

Sorry manygunner but your conspiracy theory doesn't apply to me.

[drewbaru]

Originally Posted by locosteelersfan

Sorry manygunner but your conspiracy theory doesn't apply to me.

Hmmm...looks kinda familiar.

http://glocktalk.com/showthread.php?...hreadid=406638

[NiK]

Originally Posted by manygunner

+1 I think all those complaining are either Glock trolls or people who like to complain and have no idea as to proper gun care. The other theory is that they are 1911 and Glock nuts who are jelous of XD's success and are trying to drive Springfield to withdraw the gun due to their demands for refinishes.

I'm not sure if you're right, but it IS a pretty interesting phenomenon. I've probably mentioned it before, but I shot my XD at least once a month and didn't clean it for 6 months to see how it would affect reliability. The only maintenance I performed was to wipe an extremely thin coat clp on the outside of the slide which mostly evaporated/wore off every subsequent time I went to shoot with it. I keep it stored in a quick open safe by the bed in the humid Georgia weather. I finally broke down and cleaned it a few weeks ago. Never had any problems with rust.