I am looking at hydro, cerakoting, or hard chrome dip as of now. I wear a springfield xd all day and all night. I also carry a Kahr e9 that my sweat has taken a toll on the mag release, steel frame, and slide release. Would like to clean up the Kahr and coat it and also coat the xd so nothing ever happens to either gun again.
Need help with the pros and cons of the finishes that are out there based on experience. I’m not trying to get extravang colors and all just really need something for durability first and then for the look of that is an option.

Ionbond Is where I’d start for steel.

However, I’ve owned three or four 1911s that I shot a lot in IPSC/USPSA matches years ago.
They were hard chromed at Accurate Plating & Weaponary and held up very very well.
A lot of handling and a lot of shooting for years and the chrome plating was great.

Thanks! Will look into ionbond, it sounds like the best solution. Is it expensive?

The ROBAR NP3 finish is stupid durable too. Especially if you want a hard chrome look.

The nitride finish sounds pretty good, but there's a lot more experience with hard chrome.

Even after nitride was introduced, the most used durable gun finish is still hard chrome.
If you ask most custom gunsmiths for the best finish available they'll tell you to get hard chrome by a top company.
Hard chrome is one of the very few gun finishes that's a true life time finish.
Hard chrome is nothing like decorative "bumper" chrome.

Some benefits.....
It's harder then a Swiss file.
Since it's bonded into the steel it can't crack, chip, or peel.
It's "slick" and that makes the trigger pull better and the action smoother.
It needs less lubrication.
Fouling won't stick to the slick chrome so cleaning is easier, and fouling is easy to see on the gray-white finish.
It's highly resistant to most acids, and is highly resistant to rust.
It's thin.  Usually around 0.0002" thick so even tightly fitted parts are no problem.
Everything can be plated except springs.
Sights that are not removable can be masked off so they don't plate.
It's so hard it's highly resistant to scratching.  Usually what looks like a scratch is actually a burnished area that doesn't break through the finish.  As example the line on magazines left by the magazine catch are just burnishing.
Unlike other plated finishes that form layers on the steel, hard chrome actually bonds into the steel, so there is no "under" for moisture to infiltrate.
It can be had in final finishes ranging from the original satin pearl-gray, to a stainless steel look, to a full mirror finish.
Final look is in how the metal is processed before plating.  Once plated it can't be polished or gunsmithed.
At least one supplier will also plate inside the bore and chambers.  Although some other platers question how well this works.
Because the standard hard chrome application requires no polishing for undamaged guns, edges and stamps are not damaged.  The standard satin-pearl finish is applied over an "orange peel" bead blasted surface.  This gives a very smooth, satin gray finish.

One down side is that most platers won't plate aluminum.  The soft aluminum can dent and that could cause the hard chrome to fracture and allow a flake to come off.
The platers who will plate aluminum usually plate it with bright nickel, then hard chrome plate over that.
Most platers just bead blast the aluminum to match the appearance of the hard chrome.

An early tester of hard chrome for guns carried a S&W Model 36 in his pocket with a bunch of coins, pocket knife, and keys for 30 days.  No sign of wear or damage to the hard chrome.
He put the gun on a table and covered it with damp salt for days.  No rust.
He had 1/2 of a nail plated and left the other half plain.  He soaked it several days in warm acid.  The un-plated half of the nail was eaten away.  The plated end was untouched.
Master gun refinisher Bob Cogan recommends plating stainless steel gun with hard chrome for maximum durability.

Each plater offers different pricing, different types of final look, and prices for extra magazines and small parts.

Here's the top platers.  Note that various brand names are used in the industry, but it's all hard chrome.

APW/Cogan is rated the best all around gun refinisher.  His hard chrome is perfection
Cogan

Ford's gets a caution notice..... A year ago several members of the Colt forum sent Pythons to be reblued and faded stamps restored.  They got back ruined guns.  Ford's had hired a new worker and he was a gun butcher.  Until further notice we won't recommend Ford's for any gun bluing, although their hard chrome was excellent.
Ford's.

Armoloy of Forth Worth plates inside the bore and chambers for extra cost.  Note the above note on other platers opinion on that:
Armoloy

Metaloy used to be owned by Bill Wilson.  Not sure if he still does.
Metaloy

TechPlate is big in the aero-space industry.
TechPlate

Elite used to be good.  I haven't seen their recent work.
Elite

Mahovsky has been in business a long time.  His reputation has been excellent, but there have been recent questions about quality.  He's always been bad about communication with the customer.
However, he offers the cheapest prices around.
Mahovsky

I had my CCO done in hard chrome by Advanced plating and weaponry and its the tits. If they use hard chrome for hydraulic cylinders  in industrial applications, how much worse can you give it? its tough as coffin nails

Is the frame aluminum on that CCO?

Hard chrome is badass stuff. My DVC Limited has been treated pretty rough and other than a couple minor scratches from banging into my aluminum race holster it is in great shape. It's been sweaty, dirty, and covered in Pro Grip for weeks at a time without the slightest hint of corrosion. It also cleans up extremely easy - everything just wipes right off.

Surface hardness is only important in moving applications for the most part.

Aluminum Oxide is extremely hard (Moh's 9) but since the underlying aluminum is soft and the surface layer is thin it is not all that 'hard' from impact.
The same occurs with hard plating of almost every type.

Drop the gun on concrete and watch it get dings and dents.
The very hard plating layer may even start to separate from the underlying softer material.
Hard anodize often has this problem also.

And hard chrome on hard chrome that gets any grit will grind itslef up nicely.
It is not all that difficult to scratch a hydraulic shaft and damage it.
Get the wrong thing on the cylinder flex seal (the rubber gasket you can see at the end of the cylinder) and you will be looking at a replacement cylinder.

We had an idiot trying to hammer the eye of a piston into a split tongue.
He missed and dinged the side of the piston on part of the travel surface.

The cylinder seal failed on the first cycle.
Torn up by the ding on the piston.