Hey, got a question for you all -

I'm sitting here, cleaning some of my handguns, and I'm noticing that the "Nitron" finish that SIG put on my 229's scratches pretty easily...

My Glock 17, on the other hand, while being about a year newer, hasn't got a scratch on it.

It's got a noticeably different finish to it.

How is this AK related?

Well, I want a pretty AK, dammit.  I don't want my AK's finish getting all dinged up and scratched, and requiring a re-finish on down the road.  (And don't try to pawn something like that sissy pink AR off on me.  The AR kids can keep their sissy pink guns.)

What exactly is SIG's Nitron finish, and what does Glock do to their guns?

Well, if you don't want to skimp on it, I would have Teflon-S put on it. I refinish my own rifles with parkerizing then a few coats of Duracoat which works well too. GunCoat is great as well. But I got to say, nothing has held up better than Teflon-S that my local smith puts on for me. Hard like that Tenifer stuff on the Glocks.

Quoted: sig's nitron finish is not very durable. in fact, it's notorious for being easy to wear off.

But it looks so nice when it's new and clean!

Man, they don't have this problem with the finish on their slides...

With exception to say my Sig 220ST, other stainless pistols, and the few safe queens I have, I just accept that most factory finishes will need to be redone at some point. Electroless nickle is like a rock and looks good on an 870, but I could not bring myself to put it on an AK.