I received my 16" Freedom midlength nitride upper (507280) a couple weeks ago, and finally paired it with a lower. I am questioning the finish on this barrel. I have used a few nitride barrels before (both the textured matte and smooth gloss finish types) and this one seems different. It is the textured matte type, but already has bare metal scratches on it in multiple places. Nothing huge, but my question is I've NEVER seen nitride barrels scratched, let alone so easily (I even tested a small spot with a dullish knife and it scratched quite easily to bare metal). What IS this finish?... it certainly does NOT hold up like nitride does. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice looking upper (nice deep black), but it appears to be COATED, not nitride.
Can you please explain to me what this barrel really IS treated with? Thank you.
Pic on one example of pre existing scratch:
ETA: the pic was under bright light, the finish appears much darker than it appears here. It's a deep black, but textured (and scratches) like phosphate.
Comparison of the Freedom melonite/nitride finish (right) to the flawless, unscratchable (as nitride/melonite SHOULD be) Ptac melonite/nitride finish (left):
And this is the marking on it (yellow lettering), in case this helps with identifying if this IS a melonite/nitride barrel or not: