Is it possible and what could I use?  I recently purchased a Ruger SP101 to replace one that was stolen from me years ago.  Its purpose is CCW when I am on my motorcycle (riding gauntlets didn't fit too well in the trigger frame of my Glock).  I have already done a trigger job and replaced the springs in it to eliminate the creepy, grindey factory feel of it.  Also I have done a bit of melting and smoothing on the sharp edges and polished the heck out of it using felt wheels on my dremmel and jewler's rouge.  Now that I have wasted probably about eight hours on making it shine I was wondering how possible it would be to refinish it in a nice matte black.  Thankyou for any advice.  matt

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I used alumihyde 2 on an AK and it turned out good but you have to let it set for ever and a day since it is not baked.

Brownells baking laquer, but it's not too durable.
Gun Kote
Dura Cote
The above are do it yourself coatings.

titanium nitride
Black-T a Teflon based finish
Black-Ti a titanium nitride finish, no relation to Black-T
Boron Carbide, not quite black though.  A very dark charcoal grey with a cool bluing like appearance.

There are a couple other coatings that I can't think of right now.
The titanium nitride and Boron Carbide finishes are the most durable, being harder than the steel they are applied to.

Cool, thanks for the info guys.  About how much would it cost for the boron carbide?

TAG. How do you apply that finish?

Another option would be to have the stainless bead blasted. It leaves the metal a matte grey finish. I've had a couple of pistols blasted (it's also cheap) and liked the results. BSW

How badly does the sand/bead blasting show scratches and wear?

Quoted: How badly does the sand/bead blasting show scratches and wear?

You want glass bead not sand.
Glass leaves a much smoother finish.
As far as wear and scratches go, it is the same for a regular stainless.

I have a 625 that was bead blasted.  It is very dull looking and does not reflect any light.

Actually you can apply black oxide to stainless steel for a nice black finish that has good wear properties..........

Bob Hostetter
Bar Sto Pistols