Posted: 5/27/2009 6:08:53 PM EDT
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I recently received a LaRue Stealth with an Ionbonded barrel. I also just purchased a used Kimber Ultra Carry II that has a fair amount of holster wear. It's not a big deal and I care more about how the gun functions than how it looks but if there is one thing I wouldn't mind doing is making my carry piece match my Stealth. I know someone around here has done something similar and had their 1911 Ionbonded but I'm pretty sure they can't Ionbond aluminum. So, are there other options considering the aluminum frame of the UC II as well as the steel slide so both pieces will still match, the entire gun will come close to matching my Stealth barrel and is basically indestructible when it comes to Kydex holster wear?
And here's a pic, doesn't show much of the gun itself but it was still a good catch by the wife. 
TTNuge |
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You can go with Robar NP3 or RoGuard.
Here are a few pics of my Kimber Ultra CDP II, in full NP3. http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t165/cookieguy-guns/P1000602.jpg You could also go with IonBond DLC, Hard Chrome, or several other options. Here is my Combat Commander with DLC over HardChrome, just back from Heirloom Precision. http://i160.photobucket.com/albums/t165/cookieguy-guns/IMG_0033.jpg My pics are awful, you can find better pics here. http://www.louderthanwords.us/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=7592 How much are you looking to spend? Some people will say you are going to destroy the frame, by stripping off the annodizing, and then re-finishing it. I have put several thousand rounds through my Kimber since the NP3, and no problems yet. Make sure and change the springs on a regular basis, and use magazines with "skirted" followers. Mine has been a great carry gun, I just decided that with everything going on around me, I wanted a slightly larger gun, with more rounds. |
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Thanks, I really like the looks of that NP3 finish. They have a 15% off running through the end of the month but I'd have to send the gun out today if I wanted that. Not sure how often they run that sort of special.
I bought the pistol used and the guy said he used Kimpro mags exclusively but there is a bit of wear on the frame just below the feed ramp. I'm not sure if that is from the Kimpro followers or from other mags he may have used. They aren't really gouges, more just the finish being wore off right on the edge and I think it sounds like the NP3 would hold up better there as well. From what I've been researching the Kimpro's are skirted but possibly not quite as skirted as some other options. The wife just picked up a brand new Custom Crimson Carry II and a few Kimpro mags as well. It's primary use will be home defense, won't be carried and she wants to keep it pretty although she will shoot it a lot, and so will I. I think I may replace the followers in those Kimpro's with the ones from Tripp Research just to be safe. I would on my UCII but I don't want to lose another round of capacity on my carry piece. If you have any more pics of the NP3 finish I'd love to see them. I'll do some searches as well and see what I can find. Thanks! TTNuge |