Ok. So I love my bi-tone XD. The overall aesthetic of the combo is really appealing to me. Problem is, I don't think that mine has the same finish as the rest of the bi-tone XD's for a couple of reasons. Like when I bought it, I had only seen pictures of the Bi-tones on the web and the slides were really bright and had a nice sheen to them. I picked mine up locally when they got one in and the finish on my bi-tone is very matted and almost looks like it is some kind of metal fleck coating or something. It just does not have the smooth sheen that the ones in the photos I was looking at had. I really didn't think much of it (photo quality or whatever) but yeasterday, my buddy went and got one in the OD green and in the shop we went to, they had a bi-tone and the thing was like, gleaming. This XD looked more like what they advertise. I showed my friend the difference between the two and he agreed that there is a big difference in the finish on two of the same weapon. So now I am pretty curious about what the deal is. I want to call Springfield but I thought I'd post here first so see what you guys have to say. Someone else who looked at it said that it looks a lot like the finish they put on maritime weapons for the Navy and stuff. Anyone have any thoughts on this?
Finish.
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I usally notch the diffrence in mine off to flash from pictures, also maybe just how "clean it is" Most peoples pictures have Armodillo or a fresh coat of oil, yours may have been handled many times before you got it. Mine was that way and almost dingy I cleaned it down sevral times and strocked it with my silicone cloth while I watch tv-lol nows it pretty nice.
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My guess is that the newer guns are stainless with silver armory kote.
Is the finish of the older stainless slides just bare metal? Maybe Springfield was getting to many warrantee returns from the stainless rusting (people not caring for thier guns) and put on a silver armory Kote to help. If they did, they can still go by the claim that the slide is stainless steel. Now if the metal under the coating is regular steel (like on the black guns) with just a silver finish they would be in the wrong. They would have to sell it as stainless steel "like" finish.
Is the finish of the older stainless slides just bare metal? Maybe Springfield was getting to many warrantee returns from the stainless rusting (people not caring for thier guns) and put on a silver armory Kote to help. If they did, they can still go by the claim that the slide is stainless steel. Now if the metal under the coating is regular steel (like on the black guns) with just a silver finish they would be in the wrong. They would have to sell it as stainless steel "like" finish.
I don't know. I called SA and they said that there have been no changes to the finish of the bi-tones but I am even more curious now with that being said. Mine even has a different tactile texture than the other stainless I handled the other day. And when you get right down to it, it looks a lot like silver armory kote. It isn't dirty bacause I cleaned the living sh!t out of it and it still looks the same. Whatever is on there, it's there to stay. Who knows?
I have never seen the Bi-Tone advertised as Stainless Steel. I am under the impression that it is no more than a silver coating. I don't believe you will find the Bi-Tone referred to as Stainless Steel anywhere other than forum discussions. Any factory Bi-Tone I have seen, has a matte appearance.
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