blacken stainless?

[Guest 556or762]

I have ordered a Kahr TP45 for a project and want to blacken the slide, I would like to chemically blacken it if possible Dura Coat wont last on a carry gun. I am going to put the TP45 slide on my P45 frame to give me a longer sight radius and better accuracy but still keep the shorter grip for concealability. I have heard Dura Coat it and when it scratches coat it again but I want it to last I cant get a response from Kahr on having them do it like my P45 so I need some ideas.

[Caster]

Stainless isn't stainless as some blindly believe. It can be acid etched, it just takes some seriously potent stuff to do it. Call some nashville based chromers and finish shops. I've seen Titanium etched before, so it's possible. I dunno if anyone in TN is capable. Call some machine shops [real machine shops, not bubba tractor shaft repair;)] and ask where they get black oxide done. It's a beginning.

[R1100R]

There is a product called HARD HAT for Severns Custom. https://severnscustom.com/Hard_Hat_Treatment.html

From what I have heard it is the real deal. Does allot of Dan Wesson SS pistols. It is not cheap and it is not spray on. Last time I check it was 300.00 for a pistol.

[Tennjed]

I do not know anything about them personally, but Taurus sells a "black stainless' version of some of their autos. They still sell the blued version so this is completely different. ?you might want to look into what they do/offer

[bronco302]

I"m thinking about getting my CM9 Cerakoted this summer in black. There is info on Kahr Talk in the Kahr - Tech section. Also look up Black magazines. HTH.

It's Done! PM9 Cerakoke - KahrTalk Forums

Joe W

[hornett22]

I do not know anything about them personally, but Taurus sells a "black stainless' version of some of their autos. They still sell the blued version so this is completely different. ?you might want to look into what they do/offer

Looks like Colt has a Cerakoted Stainless 1911 out now.

I hear good things about Predator Custom in Knoxville.

[peejman]

Stainless isn't stainless as some blindly believe. It can be acid etched, it just takes some seriously potent stuff to do it. Call some nashville based chromers and finish shops. I've seen Titanium etched before, so it's possible. I dunno if anyone in TN is capable. Call some machine shops [real machine shops, not bubba tractor shaft repair;)] and ask where they get black oxide done. It's a beginning.

Absolutely correct. Stainless steel will both stain and corrode under the right conditions. We routinely etch titanium weldments with an HF/HN mixture. A nital etch might do what you want. I'll poke around and see what I can find.

[Guest 556or762]

I know of two places in Nashville that do black oxide but I wasnt sure how it would hold up to daily wear I guess I should call to find out, the nital etch sounds interesting also. thanks for the ideas, if anybody else has anyhting let it be known.

[Guest BungieCord]

Tenifer.

MMI-Trutec in Sevierville or Coal Creek Armory in Knoxville can apply it. No dimensional changes, raises surface hardness to +/-60 Rockwell C scale and makes it near impervious to rust. They call it Isonite because trademark laws don't allow what's applied in the US to be called Tenifer.

Yes, it can be applied to stainless, only takes half as long.

[peejman]

I know of two places in Nashville that do black oxide but I wasnt sure how it would hold up to daily wear I guess I should call to find out, the nital etch sounds interesting also. thanks for the ideas, if anybody else has anyhting let it be known.

In my experience black oxide wouldn't be the prettiest thing. It's typically used on plain carbon steels to help prevent corrosion. We use it a lot on tooling where I work. Perhaps the shops that do the work aren't trying for pretty because it's just machine tooling. Personally, I think black chrome looks really cool, but don't know where to have it done.

I could've sworn I updated my post above, but I don't see it there for some reason...

A bit of memory refreshing has reminded me that you'd need to know the exact alloy the slide is made from for an acid etch. There's various etchants for the different grades of stainless. You'd also want a few scrap pieces of this alloy to play with to figure out how to get the look you want. I wouldn't experiment on the gun itself.

Cerakote, Tenifer (Isonite), sound like better options.