4thHorseman
New member
I seen a Les Baer on another sight that had a boron carbide finish. Anyone ever heard of this and what advantage does it have over the nickel and chrome finishes?
Thanks
Thanks
Boron carbide
- Thread starter 4thHorseman
- Start date
Do a search on "boron"
Boron carbide was covered in a few longish threads. At first, it looked like the finish to end all finishes - a finish harder than chrome, with better lubricity, superior corrosion protection and good looks to boot. Several folks did wear tests and it seemed to come out extremely well, at least as good as a good chrome job.
Recently, on the www.pistolsmith.com there was a thread where someone had problems with the boron carbide finish chipping in several places. The boron carbide fans wouldn't believe it, but the guy seemed to be adamant that they were chips, and not abraded metal from other firearms.
I haven't seen too much on this, and it seems that the smiths are trying to work some kinks out of the coating process. You might want to hold off - I read some speculation that these crystalline finishes may have awesome anti-corrosion, lubricitiy and wear resistance - but turn out to be fragile under repeated impact (diamonds are super hard, but a sharp whack in the right place is all it takes to split them). Ceramics are well known to be brittle.
Guns with a slide slamming back and forth all the time may not be the ideal application for a brittle finish.
Steve
Boron carbide was covered in a few longish threads. At first, it looked like the finish to end all finishes - a finish harder than chrome, with better lubricity, superior corrosion protection and good looks to boot. Several folks did wear tests and it seemed to come out extremely well, at least as good as a good chrome job.
Recently, on the www.pistolsmith.com there was a thread where someone had problems with the boron carbide finish chipping in several places. The boron carbide fans wouldn't believe it, but the guy seemed to be adamant that they were chips, and not abraded metal from other firearms.
I haven't seen too much on this, and it seems that the smiths are trying to work some kinks out of the coating process. You might want to hold off - I read some speculation that these crystalline finishes may have awesome anti-corrosion, lubricitiy and wear resistance - but turn out to be fragile under repeated impact (diamonds are super hard, but a sharp whack in the right place is all it takes to split them). Ceramics are well known to be brittle.
Guns with a slide slamming back and forth all the time may not be the ideal application for a brittle finish.
Steve
4thHorseman
New member
Thanks Steve for the information.
I have boron carbided gun. I was taking delivery just as Bodycote was saying they wouldn't be doing any more guns until they had investigated a problem that one or two customers were reporting.
My gun (Colt M1991A1) has not been subjected to what I would call any harsh tests of the finish's durability. After about 300 rounds through the gun, and maybe two-dozen draws from a highly-molded leather holster, I would say that the finish, as it existed a month ago, is not as durable as hard chrome, but is better than bluing.
It shows wear on the part of the hammer over which the slide rides, the areas of greatest contact in the slide/frame rail interface, and the points of a couple of the checkering diamonds on the recoil spring plug are bright (from turning the bushing). The exterior of the gun seems to attract brass deposits around the ejection port, but the marks clean up about as well as those on a blued gun.
I very much like the appearance of the gun, and unless I start seeing holster wear on the exterior of the gun, I'll be happy with it - the only wear so far is in areas where two bc-coated surfaces are rubbing against each other.
My gun (Colt M1991A1) has not been subjected to what I would call any harsh tests of the finish's durability. After about 300 rounds through the gun, and maybe two-dozen draws from a highly-molded leather holster, I would say that the finish, as it existed a month ago, is not as durable as hard chrome, but is better than bluing.
It shows wear on the part of the hammer over which the slide rides, the areas of greatest contact in the slide/frame rail interface, and the points of a couple of the checkering diamonds on the recoil spring plug are bright (from turning the bushing). The exterior of the gun seems to attract brass deposits around the ejection port, but the marks clean up about as well as those on a blued gun.
I very much like the appearance of the gun, and unless I start seeing holster wear on the exterior of the gun, I'll be happy with it - the only wear so far is in areas where two bc-coated surfaces are rubbing against each other.
Bodycote is/was working on a deal with Colorado School of Trades, with CST doing the disassembly and metal prep, sending it to Bodycote for treatment, then doing the reassembly. The total cost was going to be $200.
I had my local gunsmith do the metal prep, then I sent the parts to Bodycote, and they returned them straight to me.
I had my local gunsmith do the metal prep, then I sent the parts to Bodycote, and they returned them straight to me.
I'm having my gun done by the Colorado School of Trades. RickB is correct. The price is $200 +$15 per extra mag +shipping. So far, I have been very pleased dealing with with Joe Jordan at CST. He answered a myriad of questions for me with out flinching and always answers emails promptly. He is also installing a spring kit and a SM&A alloy trigger for me when he does the reassembly. I will post a full review and pics when I get it back in about two weeks.