[DetroitDuramax]

I just picked up a XD40 4" at the gun show. The slide is not rusting but does have some scratches. I live in detroit so M&R arms diamond coat is cheap and easy for me no shipping etc. My question is has anybody had them do their gun. I am somewhat concerned with the fact they said they would have to "deburr" the gun. They said all the sharp edges would be smoothed so the coating has more surface area I agree won't chip. I was just wondering how it looked when they did this and how the gun felt function ie racking the slide etc. They gave me what sounds like a good price $110 complete every metal piece in the gun including the pins and springs barrel slide everything. Any pictures or opnions will be appreciated.

 

[ajamesp51]

Dont do the springs

 

[DetroitDuramax]

Why not the springs? They are the local finsh repai shop for kimber and kimber coats their guns including springs. He gave me a number to kimber and told me that if I had a finish problem on a kimber that Kimber would send me to him. HAven't called them yet. He had a lot of pictures of kimbers that he refinished. He is currently coating to of my Ar15 40rd mags including the springs. Also the springs in my xd look kinda rusty.

 

[nikon777]

im abou tto send my 4" slide to them. let me know how it comes out. i think diamond kote is KG gunkote with their extra little twist. not sure what they do different. but the basis of the procedure is the KG gunkote process.

 

[ajamesp51]

Springs compress and stretch, I would not think the finish would be that elastic and would eventually flake off sice the finish has the potential to flake off the outside of the pistol on non dynamic moving parts...but of course I am not the engineer that works there so if they coat kimber springs I guess they make it work. No one else that does aftermarket coatings redo the springs, I was going by that. If the spings are rusty that would be more of a problem than anything else since they will eventually loose power.
Any one else have any thoughts or know of other refinishers that recoat the springs...If you bake the springs though cant the springs loose some of the temper? A spring person tell us what you know.

 

[DetroitDuramax]

I was told the finish will not flake off the springs.They said once the finish is baked on it isn't coming off lifetime warranty. They coat every part of the gun including barrel and feedramp. Then they reploish the feedramps and all the surfaces that need to be polished. They have been doing it this way for years I hope that if it flaked off they would have stopped coating the springs.I have never herd a complaint about their work. I am not sure if the springs themself are rusting.But after I clean the gun the next day or so if you dissassemble it the springs look kinda brown.It could be rust on the bottom side of the slide just oozing onto the springs? M&R also showed me the orders and some firearms they are doing for a police department in new mexico and Nevada. I asked them about the gun kote finish from SA they just laughed. They told me about a few guns that people had recoated by SA and then sent to them. They said the finish was peeling off. They said SA dosen't always remove the old finish before applying a new one. I would just like to see a XD slide refinished by them so I can see how the serations look. The guns they showed me look beautiful. They said they did a special XD price on one of these websites $45 slide. I want the whole gun coated inside and out.

 

[southy]

Another reason not to get the springs coated is that springs do wear out eventually and will have to be replaced depending on how often you shoot. So, if your gonna have to replace them later, whats the point in having them coated, especially since you never see them except for when tou strip the gun. Just my $.02.

 

[msidner]

They give you a location on that $45 special? If I ever get mine refinished it'd be slide only, and their website doesn't list slide prices. They've got a wild selection of colors too, and though that red looks cool, I just couldn't bring myself to carry a fire-engine red XD.

Matthew

 

[Verm]

110 and they debur it as well? hmmm, that's sounding better and better for my SC. the smoother and rounder the edges are, the more comfortable it is to carry.

 

[Verm]

They give you a location on that $45 special? If I ever get mine refinished it'd be slide only, and their website doesn't list slide prices. They've got a wild selection of colors too, and though that red looks cool, I just couldn't bring myself to carry a fire-engine red XD.

Matthew

I would guess the XD would be similarly priced as the Glock pricing.

 

[tc300mag1]

wonderhow electroless nickle would look on a SC

 

[synchro]

wonderhow electroless nickle would look on a SC

If you can wait until next week I can show you what it looks like on a service and you can estimate from there. i should be getting my XD back from Robar on Tuesday. I had them do all metal parts inside and out. they call it the "Norton Special."

 

[tc300mag1]

Sweet i can wait a week ive been laid off since oct so nothing getting done real fast

 

[msidner]

So which is better? The Diamondkote or the NP3 by Robar? From looking at both sites they both claim to be the 'best' and list extensive levels of abuse and misuse as their testing regimen. The diamondkote is cheaper, but is the NP3 better in some way or another? Any folks out there have one or the other and care to share opinions?

Matthew

 

[C.H.Luke]

"...a lifetime warranty (abuse or neglect excluded)."

Abuse or neglect? Covers a lot of ground?

Any handgun requires prep work before refinishing. If they are close to you they should be able to explain and show you exactly what they mean by de-burring, etc.

http://www.mrarms.com/index.htm

If ya' wanna know what NP3 really is {Basically, it is an "electroless nickel plating process that co-deposits sub-micron particles of Teflon."}
read this article by Charlie Petty:

http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BQY/is_7_45/ai_55605672

 

[DetroitDuramax]

They didn't have any pictures of the XD's they have done. They said they normally charge $55 for XD slide inside and out and the dissassembly lever on the side. $45 was the xd special but they said they will still do it for me for $45. But if I get the XD redone its getting completly redone. They told me the warranty is against defects but said if it wears he will fix it. Thats why he deburs the gun to give more surface area so he is going the extra mile it seems IMHO. He said abuse is like you put your gun in a vise and gouge it or you sandblasted your gun LOL etc. He said you can tell wear from abuse. It also covers anykind of flaking or peeling. The only gray area he said was where you have metal to metal contact like top of the barrel you get those wear marks. He said there is no coating that protects metal to metal. Make sense to me. They are also gonna start doing hard chrome and a teinifer like finish. But I don't want my gun looking like a 57 chevys bumper lol. They said that should be started by the end of the year.

 

[ajamesp51]

Nice thanks for the information, when you get the service done let us know more.

 

[C.H.Luke]

Then living close has the advantage of easy examination to determine what normal wear is once you run a bunch of rounds thru rhe gun. Not to mention if it ever needs touching up.

In own experience hard chrome against HC only burnishes nicely rather than wearing down, etc.

 

[dpwdave]

I live just a few miles away from M & R. I took my CPL classes there. I bought my Kimber Pro Carry II from them. I know Mike & Ron fairly well.
They run a tight ship there, and I can't say anything bad about them. They do very professional work. That being said.... I just sent my XD-9 out for refinishing. There wasn't anything wrong with it. No rust, ect... I wanted a hard chrome finish on the slide. I sent my gun to ---

http://www.trippresearch.com/chrome/chrome.htm

I couldn't be more pleased with the finish ! I wish I had some pictures to show you. I also had them install my Trijicon night sites, Don's guide rod & 22 lb. Wolff spring while it was there. All in all, it was back to me in about 2 weeks. Excellent results. Do your research before you decide on your finish.

 

[EX_DE-NYN]

M&R did an AR 15 for me in OD green

Their work was top notch and a very fast turn around time!

Here's a pic of their work on My "Coltmaster"