Anyone with a Melonite finish??

[Mark M]

Originally Posted by SAXD9MM

I emailed SA inquiring about mine. They responded, asking for the serial number. I replied and gave it to her and she let me know that it has the Melonite finish. I only have one mark on mine which was my fault - a small scratch on the rear of the slide. Even though the scratch is silver in color, it has not begun to rust at all.

It would be helpful if you would post most of your serial number (except the last two digits?) so that others could determine if ours were made before or after yours.

[SAXD9MM]

Sure, no prob. US8009XX

[Mark M]

Originally Posted by SAXD9MM

Sure, no prob. US8009XX

Well, cool! And thanks!

The serial number for my XD9SubCompact is US8035XX so it looks like mine was made about 2600 pistols AFTER yours.
If pistols are made and assembled chronologically by serial number, then I hope that would mean that mine is definitely Melonite.
But then I have to wonder if the XD9Service pistols (yours) were done at different times than runs of XD9SubCompacts (mine)??

[deapee]

Mine is US9360XX (Xd9 service model) It left their manufacturing line in late March of 2006. Mine has the melonite finish. ALL xd's that left from April 06 on have the melonite finish.

[Mark M]

Originally Posted by deapee

Mine is US9360XX (Xd9 service model) It left their manufacturing line in late March of 2006. Mine has the melonite finish. ALL xd's that left from April 06 on have the melonite finish.

That's interesting because since yours was made in March '06 and is Melonite finished, it means that they had changed over to using Melonite much earlier than when they actually announced it.
My guess is that they wanted the existing inventory of the TuffCoat finish (or whatever it was called) to be sold off so that customers wouldn't go into stores and pick and choose thereby leaving the earlier pistols unsold.

For reference to anyone who's interested, I sent Springfield the serial number of my XD9SubCompact and asked if they could tell me what finish it had. Here's their response:

"Your pistol was manufactured in June of 2006, which means it does have the Melonite finish on the slide. Originally, only .45 caliber XD pistols were made with this finish.
This process is done during heat treating. This treatment slightly embeds itself into the steel itself making the finish very durable.
We are using the newest treatment used today! At Springfield, we are constantly improving our products."

[Dhunter55]

The melonite, aka tennifer is great. Should hold up much better than the bruniral plus the benefits of improved rust resistance.

[I'mGatman!]

When I went to decide which gun was for me, I had trouble choosing between the G-26 and XD-9sc because I knew the Tenifer treatment was going to withstand more than the bruniral. Reading through these pages made me curious so I sent an email to a couple people at SA. This is the email I sent, and the return messages I received:

Mine:

To whom it may concern,

I am interested in learning whether or not my
XD-9sc was treated with the melonite finish you recently began using on
your XD line. The serial number of my firearm [which was bought in June of '06] is US803xxx. Could you please also tell me when my firearm was manufactured? Thank you for your assistance.


Theirs:

Hello J,

Your XD was manufactured in June of 2006 with the new Melonite finish.
Thank you for your interest in our Springfield Inc. products.

Teresa Anseeuw
Customer Service
Springfield Inc.
420 W Main St
Geneseo, IL 61254
800-680-6866


And another:

Hi J - That gun was built in gun and will have the melonite finish
on it.

Thanks, Tom

Tom Macke
800-617-6596
309-944-8490 - FAX
tmac@springfield-armory.com

And still another:

J,
The melonite finish is actually part of the heat treatment process when
the firearm is made so it cannot be added to any firearm later. As for
your manufacture date the serial number shows June of 2006 and all XD
models starting shipping with the melonite as of April 2006 so your's
does have it.


Have a great day!
Dawn Oleson
Dealer Assistance & Response Team
Springfield, Inc.
800-617-6638
dawn@springfield-armory.com

I think, seeing that I received the same answer from all three people, it's safe to say that if your gun has a born-on date post April '06, your slide is Tenifer treated. I would be pretty vexed if my gun was a bit older, though.

[Jake_Witmer]

Originally Posted by Mikeyboy

Does anyone have a newer XD with the Melonite finish? How is it holding up? I really hate that the old black XD finishes had problems with wear, and I was looking in buying a Bi-tone version, but if the XD melonite and Glocks tenifer finish is almost the same thing then this finish should be better than stainless, right?

My new X-D is a great improvement over the previous gun I had, a Llama 1911 knock-off (this gun would often be covered in rust in 1 day after cleaning and oiling). I carry it with me always, in my waistband, no holster (I'm about to post a catalogue of my holster woes for obtaining the IWB, leftand, right-canted SOB carry in the main XD .45 forum area). I'm in Anchorage, and this fall has been wet and humid.

Incidentally, <and I know I was ultimately at fault here, believe me, I won't ever make the mistake again>... I lost my junker 1911 to theiving Johnsons's Tire employees after I left it unsecured in my car (while I went to Sportsman's warehouse across the street on 36th, near the Borders books there, to buy a holster, so I wouldn't have to leave unsecured it in my car). So, if you're in Anchorage, there's one more armed thug out there who has a complicit friend at Johnsons's Tire. If I were you I'd withhold your business from that branch -none of the other 4(!) employees saw anything.

-Jake

[Mikeyboy]

Jake ...hopefully it will rust up on them and will be non-functional.

[jsxtreme]

So do you guys think that my Xd-9 sc would have a melonite finish?
US9323XX