chrome or NP3

[ktyler]

I did a search and didn't find enough of the "why" answered. Which coating and the reason why. Any meaningful input is welcomed.

thanks ktyler

[skeeter]

NP3 it's a hard chrome with teflon added to it. very long life, and self lubrcating, very easy to clean.

[Dan Burwell]

" NP3 it's a hard chrome with teflon added to it. " not true.

It is closer to Nickel Plating. its wear properties are the same. It is no where near as hard and will show holster wear pretty quickly. Yes it has some lubricity to it.

At one time I thought sounded pretty cool for my carry gun so I got it. Now, would I do it again? Nope, too expensive for what it is.

I would much rather have the harder surface of hard chrome and use a drop of oil. And I am still talking about my carry gun.

With a competition gun and all the draws/ holstering I would only go with bluing (cheap, easy to touch up), Hard chrome or if stainless just leave it alone.

just my $.02

Dan

[shred]

I have a friend (that's on here very occasionally) that had a comp gun just about ruined by a poorly-done NP3 job. Get chrome, its a lot tougher and plenty slick, especially if polished.

Alternatively, if you need a "why", ask the top 16 shooters at any major match what their blaster is coated with. The answer will be split between chrome and blue.

[.40AET]

Hard chrome requires very little maintenence. Strip the gun down, wipe the frame down with a little solvent on a rag, oil and reassemble. Hard chrome is very hard and lasts a long time as long as a reputable chromer does the work. I have not seen any shooters at a match with a gun done in NP3, that doesn't mean it's bad, just not as good as chrome. My limited gun is stainless, and the next gun will be hard chromed.

[skeeter]

had NP3 on an ar bolt for a while and thought it was the greatest stuff since sliced bread. but for a gun i'd just as soon have stainless as anything. or in my case a glock.

[rishii]

I've done both.

My limited gun and an open gun were NP-3 over 10 years ago.

they have been used hard with an occasional wiping down and the finish has held up. before I knew any better, I used to use a propane torch to heat my comps for removal.

and I did use one on a comp that was NP-3ed. hit it with a torch till the locktite 272 (which is red, high strength, high temp)melted, the finish turned a carbon black. took a cloth with flitz to it, and it clean up in no time. with no apparent damage to the finish.

the down side to it is, NP-3 is slippery, I've got skateboard tape everywhere I need grip. also the claim that you don't need to use any lube is BS.

plus it's pricey and who knows when you'll get your gun back.

I had 2 frames hard cromed by tripp research a year ago, one is a safe queen, the other is an open gun, it has been used hard with an occasional wiping down and has held up. tripp's prices are hard to beat, and his turn around time is short, I think I got frames back in 10 days, including shipping time.

which would I choose, they both work, tripp is a lot cheaper and faster, so tripp wins.

[Kimberkid]

Hard Chrome or NP3?? I've got hard chrome on a couple match guns and would do it again in the future, but for a daily carry gun, you gotta go with the Desert Eagle Gold plating baby!! works great when smackin hoes.....

[dirtypool40]

To clarify, not that I am an expert on this stuff, but I read up a bit. NP3 is a complex molecule of Teflon and Nickel, so it's hard and slick. If my source was correct it started life as a coating for salt water oil rig parts and the like. ROBAR got the license to produce it in the US. It's a homogenous coating, not some layering, and though will polish in wear spots, it wears evenly to more of the same coating instead of different layers.

I have had 2 guns NP3'd and 3 guns done with a competitor's comparable finish (actually I like it better). That's five guns. I know a local guy, an "A" shooter who has three. Based on what I have seen and experienced with those 8 guns, I have never seen anything that wears as well or stays as new looking as this type of finish. It is also a non-porous coating where as I have seen some bead blasted hardchrome guns look like they could develope surface rust.

NP3 type finishes do require lube like anything else, but is slicker-n-hell and looks great. A little different than all the hardchrome guns out there.

Yes, a poorly applied finish, or a gun delivered without the 'smith checking things after plating could lead to troubles, but that's obviously true of any finish.

My first Limited gun I had for four years and roughly 65k rounds. Wipe it down and it looked ready for a magazine cover. I would highly reccommend it.

The Competitor's finish I have used is called TEFNI-2000 costs about $150 and as of this posting they have a true 1-week turn around. It is just a hair shinier than original NP3, but I like the look better, a dark pewter with a hint of bronze.

[ogiebb]

tungsten carbide or diamond finish is what im going to use in my next limited Gun..

[Carmoney]

Dirtypool40: Can you (or anyone) supply some further information on the TECNI-2000 finish? I did a quick internet search and found a bicycle manufacturer that's apparently plating gears with it, but nothing more.

I just finished building up a single-stack with an aluminum frame and am considering getting it plated (of course, chrome is not an option with the alloy frame).

Mike

[warpspeed]

Mike,

westfield plating has it listed as a finish offered.

[kevin c]

While the main question is on gun finishes, I did get the Westfield coating done on my mags. I wouldn't do it again. It wasn't very durable (to be fair, mags take a lot of abuse what with metal to metal contact during reloads, and being dropped into dirt and rocks all the time), not very attractive (to me, at any rate), and worse, made them unreliable. Chrome works better for me all around.

[dirtypool40]

yup Westfield is the place. Sorry I was not subscribed to this thread. PM me with any other questions. I would deal directly with Pete at Westfield.

[XRe]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't his Toddliness coat his .38 Super brass in TEFNI-2000 at one point?? This was before the .38 TJ rimless stuff - when he was still running regular Super brass.

I'd ended up w/ a few of those cases at one point. Attractive color, and seemingly very slick finish.

Dave

[TMC]

I have guns with each finish. Both are equaly easy to clean, both seem to be standing up to use without any issues but for my money fomw not on I'll do hardchrome. I had a Robar N3P cert so I used it. IMO it's not a nice looking. its a grey/green color to my eyes and I like the shine of chrome. If I had a site that hosts photos I'd post a pic of the 2 together.

[kevin c]

Todd was the one who suggested the tefni finish for my mags - the only bit of advice I got from him that didn't work out for me.

I don't know about the brass color, but my mags ended up a sort of battleship gray. It got beat up pretty quick. The tolerances also changed so that my GE follower kits became unreliable. I ended up polishing out the mag interiors to take Beven's kits, and, when I got him to tune the mags, had them refinished in chrome. They look better to me now with a matte chrome finish that came out after stripping off the Tefni (usually Para mags come out with almost a mirror finish if you just strip the usual paint used on the factory mags).