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Pitting in Hard Chrome


BelRiose

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I've got a custom 2011 that was hard chromed by the previous owner. I've had it for about a year, and have started to notice some minor pitting on the chrome along the slide serrations. There's also slightly more major pitting on the grip safety. Is there a good way to get this issue addressed before it worsens? Can the hard-chrome job be "touched up," or do I just have to live with what I've got? I love the gun, and want it to have a long life.

 

To preemptively defend myself, my guns never go more than about three days after shooting without getting cleaned and oiled, and my safe has desiccant that I charge regularly. 

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You can remove the hard chrome and hard chrome again. There was likely oil, rust or some other impurity on the slide. 

 

Your hands may may be acidic. I can rust / pit anything within 24 hours if I touch it. Clean sooner it sounds like. Are most of the pits where you touch?

Edited by mach1soldier
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I was thinking that acidic sweat might be the culprit because the pitting is definitely where my hands touch most frequently (particularly the grip safety). That said, I have a hard chrome DVC-L that doesn't have similar issues, so I don't know why this particular gun is worse. Maybe a thinner chrome job?

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Get a can of Birchwood-Casey Barricade or similar anti-corrosion spray.  I have extremely acidic sweat and I can rust stainless steel overnight.  I have a can of Barricade sitting on my safe along with a couple of large cotton cleaning patches, anytime I handle any firearm, I spray a little Barricade on a patch and run it over the entire gun before it goes back into the safe.  Barricade works well against my sweat, has a mild, fairly pleasant smell that doesn't last very long so I can even use it on my carry gun without smelling like a gun store commando.

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After some research, WMD’s NiB coating looks interesting. However, since the gun is currently Hard Chromed, I’m a little worried that I’ll need to redo the chrome to maintain the current tolerances/fit. Am I correct in my understanding that the NiB coating is significantly thinner than Hard Chrome?

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On 9/22/2019 at 12:36 AM, Ming the Merciless said:

Get a can of Birchwood-Casey Barricade or similar anti-corrosion spray.  I have extremely acidic sweat and I can rust stainless steel overnight.  I have a can of Barricade sitting on my safe along with a couple of large cotton cleaning patches, anytime I handle any firearm, I spray a little Barricade on a patch and run it over the entire gun before it goes back into the safe.  Barricade works well against my sweat, has a mild, fairly pleasant smell that doesn't last very long so I can even use it on my carry gun without smelling like a gun store commando.

 

+1 on Barricade (formerly known as Sheath).  Pretty much all my new builds I shoot in the white for a while before I send them off for finishing and I always use this stuff on them and have never had an issue with rust.  It's a great product.

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On 9/29/2019 at 9:38 AM, ltdmstr said:

 

+1 on Barricade (formerly known as Sheath).  Pretty much all my new builds I shoot in the white for a while before I send them off for finishing and I always use this stuff on them and have never had an issue with rust.  It's a great product.

Thanks for the tip. Once I get the finish fixed, I’ll get a can and use it. 

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On ‎9‎/‎29‎/‎2019 at 9:38 AM, ltdmstr said:

 

+1 on Barricade (formerly known as Sheath).  Pretty much all my new builds I shoot in the white for a while before I send them off for finishing and I always use this stuff on them and have never had an issue with rust.  It's a great product.

+2 also doubles as honing oil.

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