Why Hard Chrome?

[half inch groups]

All the hot guns I look at have the option for hard chrome. I grew up around a machine shop and car builder my whole life. 20+ years ago I was an Amateur BMX racer with a chrome plated bike. As I grew up I noticed less and less asthetics on cars to be plated, then stainless and polished aluminum were the bees knees. I also noticed that the plating on bumpers, Crager 5 spoke mags, and even the chrome on my old Bmx was bubbling or cracking off, leaving a big rust spot wherever the chrome plating was stressed over time. My family inherited a knickel plated Belgian hi-power (pimp gun) that started bubbling too.. I love the look of hard crome, titanium, aluminum, stainless ect. The one thing I keep thinking about on a gun is the glare factor in your average outdoor shooting match, and why everyone with a hot racer or limited gun is willing to spend so much money to plate a gun that could initially deteriorate the finish. Why is Hard Chrome so hot in the competition world? I always figured a matte koted black gun would minimize glare, and be a pro's choice. I look at my super match and the frame is stainless but the slide is parkerized. this makes perfect sense to me as it would cut down the glare factor considerably, and it is my favorite gun, not neccasarilly my favorite to look at, but my favorite to shoot. As I look at S_I's, People want so much more money for a hard chromed gun, and that seems to be what all the people with the money do to em. Please.. someone.. anyone.. Why Hard chrome and not parkerized, stainless or a kote?

[Loves2Shoot]

For me, it wears MUCH better, and it is super slick. It is not at all similiar to nickel plating as far as performance thought it may be similiar in appearance when polished. Did I mention is shows virtually no wear even after hundreds of thousands of rounds?

Edited October 22, 2006 by Loves2Shoot

[Kory]

You are also comparing decorative chrome plating to hardchrome plating, they are very different.

[Run n Gun]

>HERE'S< what Virgil Tripp (THE hard-chrome Guru) says about it...

Ed

[Mistral404]

You might want to call Taran Butler. He is sponsored by ION Bond. It looks to be a great product.

[shred]

None of the 'kotes' or anything else lasts as long or wears as well as a good hard chrome job. With the right surface prep (aka: not super polished), glare isn't a problem. Supposedly some of the PVDs are getting close, but I think the jury's still out on those-- HC has been around for many years.