REFINISHING

The following is the most descriptive written paper on the basics of weapon refinishing ever offered to the consumer. It is designed to answer 95 percent of the questions you might have about what we do.  We have taken great pains to explain why we are different and offer more than just metal plating. It also serves to save you money and time.  Few companies tell you what they really do, we have no reluctance to keep you informed.  We feel we offer the best bang for the buck.

Just to let you know, we appreciate conversation but phone calls cost us both. We are a highly skilled, labor intensive business and the telephone is the number one distraction. On the other hand it is better than email if you have many questions. If we had to hire additional staff to answer questions we would have to raise the price of doing business. In addition, we have very highly skilled technicians who have to produce a certain volume for us to stay competitive.   We can't be working on your gun if we are on the phone with you. We welcome your calls but we try to maintain a fast turnaround in a market that changes daily.

Our business is unique.  We do not do bumpers, motorcycle parts, faucets or other household items......with the exception of golf clubs, that's our other downfall, we like to play once in a while.

SURFACE TREATMENTS

Your guns final appearance is based on two factors.  The surface treatment it receives and then the exterior top-coat or plating. These exterior coatings are either "Plated" or "Applied" finishes.  Plated finishes are just that.  Metallic particles applied through electricity to bond to the basic metal or alloy of the firearm.  Applied finishes are sprayed onto the firearm and cured or hardened by heat.  It's that simple....sure if you're an alchemist.  

All of our plated finishes, except Black Chrome, are available in four levels of surface texturing, or luster. They are: "AS-IS Matte", Matte, Brushed and Bright Finishes.  Due to the tight tolerances of firearms, we must prepare the part prior to plating to the level of polish we want after the plating is applied. Our plate will "mirror" the finish below. The Brushed Chrome is exaggerated for explanative purposes. Matte finish looks almost like the background of the page you are looking at.  Obviously all computer screens cannot duplicate the exact pictures we are trying to show you but this should give you the simple differences you can expect to see.

Plated finishes of any kind offer the greatest wear resistance and a very high degree of corrosion resistance.  The finish is the final covering of metal that resides on the surface of the firearm or golf club.  What ever the metal surface looks like before plating, when plated,  it looks the same. So we first create a surface, like matte or brushed or high polish and then we plate and the plate takes on the characteristics of the metal.  Most plated finishes have hardness ratings greater than the base metal they are applied to. And offer superb corrosion resistance in the 100 salt test level.  Preparation: We use both chemical and manual methods such as buffing and sanding to prepare the metal for finishing. We have to remove the old finish and make sure the surface is properly prepared to accept and bond to the new finish.  The plated finishes like chrome easily restore the dimensions. Proper preparation includes the texture, acidity, or neutralization, cleanliness, flaw removal, parts fit, and a hundred other things....

MATTE Matte Finish First we strip off the old finish.  Our normal procedure is to remove flaws prior to final blasting.  We use a mixture of fine and medium glass beads for our matte finishes which adds to the otherwise flat look of bead blasting.  In other words, you cannot plate firearms as you would plate a bumper. Bumpers are plated using multiple-layers of soft plate to fill the flaws which cuts down on the hand labor involved in getting to your final finish. Our standard Matte finish is used on certain areas of guns for glare reduction as with the top of the slide on a .45.  Also it is very popular on smaller concealed weapons.  It's very durable, just not as pretty as the brushed look. The most common surface finish is Matte since we get a lot of rusted or blued guns looking for an uplift.

BRUSHED Brushed finishes are skillfully created by the application of a 400 greaseless grit and buffer wheel combination applied by the technician. If you were to look at it under a powerful magnification, it would appear similar to the picture. Only our most skilled technicians do the brush finishes. It is our most popular. Most of the actual gun pictures on this site are the brushed chrome look. There are combinations available of some surfaces brushed and other parts of the same piece matted. Brushed finishes have a brighter sheen but are not as reflective as you might think.    Brushed finishes are applied after flaw removal and preparatory bead blasting have been performed and has a subdued luster.

MIRROR OR BRIGHT BRIGHT or MIRROR FINISHES:   Are the most difficult to accomplish correctly and have a mirror bright luster.  Extensive working of the metal is required with multiple grit sizes and polishing compounds.  Each successively finer grit should be cross cut to ensure full removal of the previous grit size.  Otherwise you can get the final bright and find lines you have remove taking you back through the process several levels of grit size. This is very labor intensive and requires personnel with a high level of skill and experience.  MORE ON THE BRIGHT SIDE Clients have requested combo bright finishes where the sides of the pistol are bright and the rounds are a dull matte finish.  We can do this type of texturing perfectly on a semi auto slide that has a sharp edge between the flat and rounded surfaces, but, cannot do this on the frame.  Disclaimer:  Do to the configuration of the final bright polish wheels and the amount of pressure that has to be applied to get the steel bright, the matte areas have to be done after the bright polish to avoid over run on the matte with the bright polishing wheels.  While we can tape off the flat surfaces of most slides perfectly it is next to impossible to accomplish on a frame do to all the curved areas.   The firearms manufacturers do this by clamping a padded frame to each side of the frame being textured with the blaster.  Unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of having extra frames available for all the different firearms manufactured.  Even 1911 Colt Style pistols vary in configuration of sections of the frame from manufacturer to manufacturer.  So at AP&W if you request bright finishing on your firearm we will matte the top and rear of the slide and the top rear of frame only.  This gives the shooter a totally non-reflective sighting surface.   Please realize that bright plated surfaces show finger printing and smearing of lubricants dramatically.  So make sure when handling your bright polished, or plated firearm you keep a rag handy to wipe it down.  Personally, I own six bright polished firearms. These handguns are display presentation, or collectibles, not pieces I use very often. When bright polishing is done the sharp edges of lettering and logos will always have a slight break to it and cannot be avoided.  Most people wouldn’t even notice it, but, it is there and as a client of AP&W you should be made aware of this.  Lastly, bright polished firearms show flaws dramatically.  Extreme care and extra maintenance is required to keep these finishes looking their best.

TYPES OF FINISHES

PLATED FINISH:  INDUSTRIAL HARD CHROME,  On Blued or Stainless Firearms.

Hard Chrome  offers the best all-around properties of any finish available for firearms that exists today.  Hard Chrome, when applied to a steel, or stainless steel surface that has been properly prepared, will not chip or peel.  No mis-understanding here, Hard Chrome is not Bumper Chrome.  We are not talking about thick layers of softer Chrome made to flow and eventually peel.  This is INDUSTRIAL Chrome used to make tooling stronger and more wear resistant.  How hard?  The hardness rating averages 65 R.C., or about 1000 on the Vickers scale.   Its friction co-efficient is .1 (point one) when working with all surfaces chromed.  Polishing the surface decreases the friction co-efficient even further.  The salt spray ratings average around 100 plus hours.   The surfaces available are Matte hard Chrome Finishes are a light grey and completely non-reflective, Brushed Hard Chrome Finishes are the easiest to clean and have a very low reflectivity.  

We plate a lot of Stainless Firearms with Industrial Hard Chrome.  WHY?
The stainless alloys they manufacture firearms from have a high level of Chrome-Moly Steel in them.  These are used so that they can be adequately hardened after machining.  You were told stainless steel is not magnetic.  There are hundred of varieties of stainless.  If you don’t believe me, put a magnet near your firearm, it will jump on it.  While gun stainless is far more corrosion resistant than any Blue Steel Chrome-Moly firearm construction, it is not as corrosion resistant as the stainless used in hardware or, surgical instruments.  Also, when stainless firearms rust, they usually pit deeply where the Chrome Moly part of the alloy is concentrated. Those pits are difficult to remove.

Stainless alloys have an inherent tendency to gall or bind when the two working surfaces are in the same alloy family.  Gun manufacturers try to limit this problem by varying the hardness of the parts that work against each other and increasing the tolerances between the parts.  For the most part, they are successful using these methods.  However, you pay a price in accuracy potential and having a tight, smoothly functioning firearm with these methods.  

Many firearm owners think stainless guns are harder then Blue Steel firearms.  This may be true of certain moving parts due to the  mentioned galling problems, but, is not true of the overall construction of the firearm.  Consequently, stainless firearms will scuff, or scratch at about the same level as Blued firearms.  Any flaws on a stainless firearm are much more noticeable than on Black Finished firearms.

So what does chrome do to help these inherent stainless faults.  
It imparts to the surface an additional coating that has to be attacked and penetrated before it can attack the base metal. 
Due to the type of bonding chrome plating has with a base metal the overall corrosion resistance increases more than the rating for each metal.  This may be the best combination of the two elements involved when corrosion resistance is a major concern. 
Hard chrome with its inherently low friction co-efficiency allows for smoother operation of the matted stainless parts with tighter tolerances and decreases the possibility of galling.  You now can have a tighter, smoother, more dependable operating firearm.  Third, due to the hardness of chrome, wear and tear is less noticeable and takes longer to happen.  You have a better looking firearm with less maintenance.

PLATED FINISH:  BLACK CHROME PLATING

Black Chrome is the second hardest black finish available for firearms and the hardest finish available at a reasonable price.  It is the premier finish when concealment is the first priority.  Black Chrome has many of the same properties as regular chrome.  However, in changing the plated deposit from a Light Grey color to Jet Black, we diminish two major properties of regular chrome, hardness and abrasion resistance.  Yet it (Black Chrome)  is slightly harder than Nickel, Chromes nearest competitor. 

It was never intended to be a highly wear resistant finish, like Hard Chrome.  It has much greater wear resistance than any form of Bluing (Black Oxide) and due to the presence of Nickel, or Chrome, as a base coat, a greater corrosion resistance than a single coating of Chrome, or Nickel the to the base metal.  Some of our clients are adamant about Black Finishes.  This is the best bang for your dollar, if you are stuck on Black.  For technical reasons we only offer this finish in a Matte surface texture and suggest the use of a wax impregnated oil on the exposed surface.  Brownells offers a water soluble oil “Pro-Sheen” that is wax impregnated and works well on Black Chrome at two parts oil to one part water.

PLATED FINISH:   NICKEL PLATING

Nickel Plating, has been extensively used in the firearm’s industry for close to 100 years.  Nickel finishes have a slight yellow cast to them and this coloring gives Nickel a softer appearance when applied to firearms.  The only time we recommend Nickel over a Chrome Finish is to do restoration on older firearms, or when a firearm is so heavily pitted from neglect that full flaw removal would create a dangerous firearm. 

Matte Nickel Finishes do not show flaws like Chrome does because of softer coloring.  Also, Nickel Plating solutions have chemicals in them that enhances the ability of the plating to fill in and fully cover the flaws that cannot be removed. Nickel Plated Finishes, in general, run about a 45 R.C.  This is as hard as most of the parts in firearms manufacturing, but way off of the standard Hard Chrome at 65 R.C. Also, Nickel can tarnish, or stain like silver.  Even some cleaning solvents can damage Nickel Finishes.  Chrome, on the other hand, will not change its appearance unless attached by certain strong acids, or bases.  Also, Nickel is more prone to show wear due to the lower hardness of the deposit, similar to Stainless Steel Firearms.  Nickel and Chrome Finishes cost the same at AP&W.  So unless there is special reason to choose Nickel, Chrome would be the better choice.  Salt spray ratings are about the same…100+ hours.

Note: Bright Nickel solutions, due to their chemical make, create a more brittle and less ductile deposit on the base metal.  This can cause the deposit to actually blow off, or crack where high pressure gas from the cartridge igniting come into direct contact with the plating.  This problem mainly occurs with magnum handgun cartridges.  AP&W uses a Semi-Bright Nickel solution that can be maintained with low levels of brighteners.  This allows for a much less brittle and highly ductile deposit.  We have used our tank to base coat magnum high power rifles and have not experienced any separation at the muzzles. 

PLATED FINISHES: HOT BLUE

Blue is the oldest and most common finish applied to firearms.

PLATED FINISH:  ALPHA BLUE FINISHING
" ALPHA BLUE Finishing".  There is another option in Blue finishing called Alpha Blue which is a combination of Bright Finish and Brush Finish.  In other words it has more luster than the brushed surface but it is not a high gloss "bright" finish. The additional cost for this process and added step for a handgun is $50.00.   The added step for a long gun is $75.00.


PLATED FINISH:  GOLD TITANIUM NITRITE
Note: Gold plating has been removed from our services.  It is not durable, not in demand, and the costs due to the value of GOLD have become prohibitive beyond reason. In some cases plating the gun would cost more than the gun.  The physical costs of maintaining a gold tank are absurd thus we have dropped it from our line. BUT GOOD NEWS !  We now offer GOLD COLORED TITANIUM NITRITE with the look of the gold color and the durability to make it worth while.  ( see Refinishing Price page)

APPLIED FINISHES

 APPLIED FINISHES:  CERAKOTE  Ceramic Polymer Vs. (Paints and Powder Coatings)

I resisted bringing these finishes on line for quite a few years.  It was due to the problems we had seen on firearms that had been done by other companies with Teflon, or Epoxy Coatings. Some of these home brew finishes involved cooking the Teflon in your kitchen stove.

We work daily with vicious chemicals and have to observe many safety precautions and we caution you about fooling with these bottles of magic that promise a lot and may deliver more than what you bargain for. There was one report of a refrigerator being shot by an errant bullet from a revolver that was ala dente.

These problems mainly revolved around the application of coatings that were too heavy.  Thus causing function problems. Also the softness of the coating wore off easily and exposed the bare uncoated base metal.  Back to ground zero.  We built and maintain our own equipment for the application of these products and we have nothing that looks like a kitchen stove.

We do the whole process differently. At AP&W we plate the larger parts of the firearm first with Nickel and then lightly re-blasting the Nickel surfaces before applying the Polymer Finish. Also, because Nickel Plating would protect the internal areas of the firearm from corrosion, especially with minor lubrication most shooters apply, there was no need to coat the inside areas extensively with the Polymer. 

This procedure eliminated one source of tolerance problems and the inevitable exposure of the base metal due to holster wear. Due to the variety of plated finishes, including Black Chrome, all small parts and pins are plated, not painted.  This gives AP&W clients the best of both worlds.

STATEMENT: AP&W is the only finishing operation currently offering these finishes applied in this manner. 

The 'H series two component ceramic hybrid Gun Coatings were designed to provide a high quality, long lasting finish.  After a full cure they have excellent resistance to most solvents and chemicals.  At Accurate we oven cure the parts for maximum durability.

That's "WEAR" the similarity ends. Tests have shown almost a 60% gain in wear resistance according to tests by an independent lab.  When we tested it here at Accurate we wore out a few things trying to destroy it as best we could. It's really tough stuff and the best part is it comes in colors. Many, many colors are available for the ultimate woodland combinations or OD concealment.

Also the product is self lubricating which means weapons can operate with little or no lubricants.  This makes it's excellent for the high cyclic rates most automatics have in competition.

This guy is a joy to shoot with the porting taking care of the muzzle rise and felt recoil and now you have a choice of colors...more colors in stock... see below. 

The low resolution does not allow us to display this perfectly and Cerakote has the same problem on their website. They are addressing the issue.  Items with a  checkmark are in stock, those without are extra cost. We do however have a sample of their colors:  (GO HERE)

CERAKOTE,  is available in three variations. One color, Two tone and Camo. Thus if you wanted a green slide on a matt brown frame 1911, It would be $216.00 PLUS 25.00 OR $241.00 total.  (See price chart for details)

UNEXPECTED SURPRISES

Only when a weapon is stripped and disassembled, do you get a chance to see all the little things you merely glanced over or the wonderful surprises the manufacturers have left us.  Here are a few of those encounters that we call "making our day".  That's when we call you to let you know what we found.

1. Flaws in the metal just below the surface that only show after striping. Sometimes this pops up under a Nickel Plated gun or a firearm that was welded or heat treated.
   

2. The steel wants to have an “orange peel” effect when we get to the final finish. Usually caused by the raw metal blend of steel or aluminum having imperfections.
    

3. Rough surface firearms can require re-engraving of weak lettering, or serial numbers.  This can run your bill up dramatically.  We have our own four thousand dollar Pantograph machine and can come close to matching most lettering.  We also have several of the more popular logos like S&W, Colt, RUGER and Walther, but, not all of them.
    

4. BLASTED FINISHES: While we offer blasted finishes without prior flaw removal at a reduced price, we do not recommend or warranty them. At AP&W, all bead-blasted final finish surfaces go through complete flaw removal (cutting stage) prior to final blasting, so machine marks, casting flaws, prior pitting and abuse marks are kept to an absolute minimum.  Without this process, the flaws would be amplified after plating. While our prices are not the cheapest, you get what you pay for (and then some) at AP&W. The procedures described above are not standard practice with most of our competitors whether they charge more or less than we do. 
   
    ERRATA
   

1. We do not plate pot metal, period.
   

2. EXTRA CHARGE: Minor flaw removal is included in our base pricing. If a firearm is heavily flawed, extra time and highly-skilled labor are required to correct this condition. Extra charges for restoration-type work are $60.00/hr. 
   READ: Incidentally, some  firearms currently being manufactured are leaving the manufacturer with virtually no polishing or flaw removal prior to the factory-applied coating.  In some instances a heavy coat  of Polymer PAINT is applied to hide the flaws, in others  a heavy coarse blasting media like aluminum oxide is used prior to the bluing process. An example of the first is Beretta Pistols and the latter is Desert Eagle.  Cost effective for them, labor intensive for us to remove. 
    

3. IPSC and other action shooting sports have created a need for extra charges due to the added number of parts and the complexities of dealing with compensators, scope mounts and numerous other add-ons. Minimum additional charge for full house race guns is $25.00. Please refer to the "Extra Charge" section for specific pricing on these pistols.
   

4. STRIPPING ...of plating or paint requires expenses for extra man hours, chemicals and waste treatment. There is no extra charge to strip bluing.
   

5. Note on SIGs, Browning's...On late model SIG stainless guns, they have been using a hardening process similar to GLOCKS Tennifer finish. The reason for this case hardening is so that the slide and the stainless frame don't start to gall. When we get a SIG top in to refinish or chrome to make it more durable we can on only bead blast and chrome it. The Browning lineup of pistols is also finished in this manner due to their hardening.
   

Metalworking is both a science and an art, but we are not magicians even
though some of our customers have mentioned that on occasion. 
 
  CLICK HERE FOR REFINISHING PRICE LIST