I did some searching and didn’t find a thread that matched this question, so my apologies if dupe.

What is the ideal approach to finishing 1911 barrels in the white, such as Kart barrels?

I know the finish options these days seem to have expanded.

Melonite?

Ion bond? Not sure if vendors available.

Park? Seems like a park is best on matte finish, not sure how this would work on the smoother surfaces of a barrel.

Blue? Seems like it would wear.

Bake on (eg cerakote)? Seems like it wouldn’t be good for moving and sliding parts.

No finish? Probably fine if gun is kept oiled, but I am drawn to an all black look.

Just curious if any of you have wrestled with this choice.

mel, blue, or in the white.  For best accuracy you want a slight interference fit of the bushing and barrel. Any finish that adds thickness is going to wear away and cause feeding issues until the parts are worn in. YMMV

When I had a Kart NM fit by a respected smith, we refused to send it to meloniting because he/they were under the impression the high heat would warp the thin 1911 barrel.

Ended up leaving it in the white on his recommendation, and him promising to touch it up for free should any rust arise.

Then he got a job with Ruger and moved to Arizona

I hardly shoot the pistol, but kept it well oiled and never had a problem with rust in the white. I would definitely have preferred melonite and then IonBon compared to what I have though.

I'd probably just try to match the finish of the gun, to be honest.  Parkerizing would probably be the cheapest, it would just be media blasted beforehand.

If the Kart barrel is properly fitted, it will show wears disregard what type of finish you choose.

Here is how Black-T looks like in the properly fitted match barrel. If you cannot stand the look like that, just leave Kart barrel in the white and coated with oil to prevent rust.

Pretty much this.  If you shoot your pistol, the finish on the barrel hood and at the exterior of the muzzle is going to wear regardless of what it is.  It's pretty much like brass kisses on the receiver of a semi-auto rifle; it just shows that you actually shoot the gun rather than just taking it out of the safe and fondling it before wiping it down and returning it.

That said, melonite would probably be the most durable since it's IN the metal rather than ON the metal.

That’s an interesting anecdote for sure.

Anyone have experience with Titanium Nitride? Looks like it’s available in black. I see it is used on Kimber Rapide barrels.