Ion Bond or Melonite Cylinder?

[sprout]

I have a S&W Model 15-2 I bought used with a lot of holster wear but a great trigger. I'm thinking of using it as a game gun, but I would like a stronger finish on the cylinder that would also be easier to clean (I love using lead away cloths). At a recent match, I saw two guns with Ion Bond finishes from Springer Precision, and they looked beautiful. I was thinking of seeing if Springer would Ion Bond the 15 cylinder. I understand that Ion Bond is what S&W uses on the M&P340 cylinder, so it would seem an appropriate application. Would you guys do the whole cylinder assembly, or just the cylinder itself? Would Melonite be better (I think S&W used Melonite on a run of black 686s)? Anyone tried either? Thanks for all the help.

Edited July 18, 2010 by sprout

[scottyinAZ]

The Melonite is what smith used on the 627-4 38 super cylinders and that stuff is tough as nails. i get after it with stainless and bronz brushes and it shows ZERO wear. only places its worn at all is the cylinder stops, but i beat the crap out of the gun. i am goint to send my model 19 cyl out for melonite if its not to crazy $$$. if you get a price on the ion bond, let us konw. i am sure it would work also.

Scott

[Tom E]

Anyone have experience with Birdsong's Black-T coating? It's another option.

[Greg Q]

Anyone have experience with Birdsong's Black-T coating? It's another option.

Is that what the older 629 Hunters were plated in the green and black? That finish came off really easy.

[Rather-B-Huntin]

Who can do Melonite?

[Lentz]

I just got my whole 646 ion bonded in a satin black diamond finish, i got it back today. The gun looks really good in black. I put it back together and started to dry fire and practice my reloads. When i was done i looked at the gun to see how the finish was holding up, there where marks all over the side of the frame where the brass hits the frame when i throw my moonclips in. I tried to get the marks off but i couldn't. Some of the finish is also starting to come off around my firing pin bushing.

I did not get to shoot live rounds out of the gun yet,maybe when i do it will blow the finish off the gun.

[RevolverJockey]

I could be wrong, as I often am. I would think the only finish that would truly ever stay on a wheel with so many roughly used parts would have to be something like TiNi (physical vapor deposition type application) or a black oxide, something like a Glock or HK slide has. I am stretching, but I think it is called MIL-C-13924 Class 4 can be applied to stainless and most corrosion resistant steels with chromium. Often very cheap and most places will dip in a batch with other things assuming you send something that just looks like a box of parts. This process is done at a higher temp than regular blue and forms a bond without changing dimensions of the the source material. What it does for any hardening or temper I don't know. I know a lot of the Ti, stainless and S100 Al parts we used to get done help up well. Just another idea to kick around I guess.

Lee

[scottyinAZ]

the melonite is the finish on the m&p's also, its very tough and holds up well. it can be applied to revolver parts with no problem. i spoke with Jim Rae a while back about getting some parts and cylinder done in it. i think smith may do it in house now. maybe call them and see if they can give you a price on it. hard chrome finishes hold up well on revos also, they can be made in satin, and bright finishes.

Edited July 20, 2010 by scottyinAZ

[Carmoney]

Before he blew it up, Cliff had his 625PC Ion Bonded, and very quickly a good-sized piece of the finish flaked off the side. Frankly, I'm less than impressed with Ion Bond, particularly considering the high cost.

I just got my whole 646 ion bonded in a satin black diamond finish, i got it back today. The gun looks really good in black. I put it back together and started to dry fire and practice my reloads. When i was done i looked at the gun to see how the finish was holding up, there where marks all over the side of the frame where the brass hits the frame when i throw my moonclips in. I tried to get the marks off but i couldn't. Some of the finish is also starting to come off around my firing pin bushing.

I did not get to shoot live rounds out of the gun yet,maybe when i do it will blow the finish off the gun.

[RufDog]

FailZero nickel boron could be an option

[sprout]

Thanks everybody. I checked with Springer, and he said doing the cylinder would be $40, which seems pretty reasonable. However, given some of the problems people have had, I may check with S&W or Burlington Engineering (www.burlingtoneng.com) about Melonite.

Big thanks,

Dave

Edited July 21, 2010 by sprout