Get'em Duck Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I'm looking to get my Kimber refinished so I'm looking at different ways to go. I want something that will hold up well to the abuse of a ton of dry firing and live fire from a kydex holster. My short list so far is Ionbond Robar NP3 Hard Chrome I like the stealth black matte with no gloss or shimmer, but also don't want my gun to look like everyone elses on the block. Any thoughts open for ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Hello: Ion Bond the slide and chrome the frame. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike cyrwus Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 harchrome and/or ionbond; nothing is stronger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Hardchrome it or dont do it at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Get'em Duck Posted March 11, 2009 Author Share Posted March 11, 2009 I keep coming back to diamondBLACK done by SP....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Yeah, but your Kydex holster is eventually gonna wear down almost anything but chrome. Maybe only in minor spots, but you will see some wear marks from repetitive draws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
busyhawk Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 Ion-Bond by Scott Springer/SpringerPrecision.com, I have had my done on both the Edge and Tactical and love the way they turned out. Have yet to see any wear from a Blade-Tech holster. I love to show others with my BenchMade knife and when someone says "I can see a scratch" I then just wipe it off and tell them it is the steel from the knife that is showing and not any finish from the Ion-Bond wearing! Now I did have one two toned like Mike and love that too! The Ion-Bond is advertized to be up to 3X harder than Chrome...I am still testing:-) Scott Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-JQ- Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I like the look of Robar NP3 but a buddy had a gun done in it and I thought it made the slide too slick when racking the gun...sure was pretty though...ymmv... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshF Posted March 11, 2009 Share Posted March 11, 2009 I like the look of Robar NP3 but a buddy had a gun done in it and I thought it made the slide too slick when racking the gun...sure was pretty though...ymmv... It's nice but Nickle based. I've seen two guns with it and it's just not on par durability wise with Hardchrome or the various coatings by Ionbond. Also remember Ionbond has serveral different coatings that are tough. I had my barrel/guiderod done in TB30 and even with the Ionbonded slide rubbing against it there is NO wear. It still looks mirror polished..... not EVERYTHING ionbond does is black Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Get'em Duck Posted March 12, 2009 Author Share Posted March 12, 2009 I was lookig moreinto Ionbond and found a few different labels can any one explain. PVD Ionbond CRC Ionbond DLC Ionbond what are the differences? Thanks for the help guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoshF Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Ionbond is the company name so they tend to generically label every coating with it. The PVD, CRC I believe are ways that the various coatings are deposited where DLC is the nickname for their primary black finish (diamond like carbon). To get the straight scoop on all this the best source is Ryan Flynn at Ionbond. Give him a call and he will get back to you. I was lookig moreinto Ionbond and found a few different labels can any one explain.PVD Ionbond CRC Ionbond DLC Ionbond what are the differences? Thanks for the help guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichiganShootist Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 (edited) I wore the dark finish off my Kimber Custom Target II. I chose to have the slide hard chromed ... I left all the controls stainless and then had the frame dipped in a poly coat. The slide and the controls is what gets all the wear any way. I like how it came out. The bottom picture is a before shot Edited March 12, 2009 by MichiganShootist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffWard Posted March 12, 2009 Share Posted March 12, 2009 Who does the best hard chrome, for the best price? I'm in Florida. JW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hany Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 I have one done by Tripp (no longer available), one by Metalife, and one by Metaloy, all were very good and have held up well. Mahovsky's Metalife seems to be running around 5 weeks or so, and their prices are very reasonable. They are also a good place to send an alloy frame, since they have the ability to put down the nickel base first, for a nominal fee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 I was lookig moreinto Ionbond and found a few different labels can any one explain.PVD Ionbond CRC Ionbond DLC Ionbond what are the differences? Thanks for the help guys. CRC is the coating they do here on Bend, used mostly on knives, not as tough as DLC (DiamondBLACK.) DiamondBLACK is much harder than chrome, I think Chris needs to try it if he thinks HC wears better in Kydex. We have several big name range instructors across the USA who use it everyday and swear it is the best wearing finish they've ever used. All IonBond coatings are PVD (that is the application method.) PVD Silver (TB-30) is a gray/silver coating, not as tough as DiamondBLACK, but a tad thicker in coating, very durable also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted March 13, 2009 Share Posted March 13, 2009 Scott, I'd be willing to try it if I knew more people (locally) who had it done. I would love to see it up close, after it's been used and abused. Anybody have any pics ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 (edited) Pm sent. One of the really cool properties of DLC is that the coating is only 4-5 microns, uniform and it absorbs oil. It also cuts the friction coefficient down from .7 to .05-.1. Can you say smooth? Edited March 14, 2009 by Loves2Shoot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Miles Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Does anybody have any info regarding the durability of IonBond on different metals? I did some trigger work for a friend who had his gun IB'd. SVI trigger was done as well as all internals. The trigger shoe (aluminum) was rubbing inside the S_I polymer grip and had rubbed through the IBing at the high spot. Understand that I am in no way poor mouthing IonBond as I have several friends who are happy with their finishes. Just asking a question. CYa, Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loves2Shoot Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 The coating of Al isn't as tough, as Al is soft, and the metal wears off, taking the coating with it. We use Class III anodizing for durability on Al. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Miles Posted March 14, 2009 Share Posted March 14, 2009 Scott, 2 inbound emails. CYa, Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now