I was curious about anyone's experience in applying Gun Kote, DuraCoat, or Alumahyde.  Which ones offer the best durability, and which are easiest to apply.

How well do they wear?  I have a LE turn in that has a lot of holster wear and a loose front night sight.  I thought it might be nice to try my hand at a custom finish before I replace the night sights.

Thanks for any input.

Have you considered sending it to Glock to be refinished with Tenifer?

The factory Glock black finish on my G17 slide is worn at one spot, which I think comes from the prev owner open carrying and rubbing or hitting the 1 part of the slide constantly.

It's not as strong as people think and I've seen Glocks rust.

Posted by ExGrunt Member

Have you considered sending it to Glock to be refinished with Tenifer?

Tenifer is a metal treatment, not a finish.

From Answers.com:
"Tenifer is the end result of a chemical bath nitriding process that embeds nitrogen into an iron containing alloy to create a corrosion resistant finish that is a dull grey in color and extremely hard.

Glock, an Austrian firearms manufacturer, utilizes this process to protect the slides of the pistols they manufacture. The Tenifer finish on a Glock is the third and final hardening process. It is 0.05 millimeters thick and produces a patented 69 Rockwell Cone hardness rating via a 500 degree C nitride bath. The final matte, non-glare finish meets or exceeds stainless steel specifications, is 85% more corrosion resistant than a hard chrome finish, and is 99.9% salt-water corrosion resistant. After the Tenifer process, a black parkerized finish is applied and the slide is protected even if the finish were to wear off."

However, if you send Glock the slide, they will refinish it. I think it costs around $45.00. If you want to do this, just go ahead and send the whole gun, and they will replace any worn parts and perform any required upgrades.

www.ccr-refinishing.com/sample.htm
Also does great work, it takes about a month.

Tim

Correct, the Black on the Glock slide is an process like Parkerizing.  Tenifer doesn't have a color

leave the wear, it shows character.  My buddy's EDC G19 has a good portion of the finish worn off and it looks awesome.

Quoted: Posted by ExGrunt Member Have you considered sending it to Glock to be refinished with Tenifer? Tenifer is a metal treatment, not a finish. From Answers.com: "Tenifer is the end result of a chemical bath nitriding process that embeds nitrogen into an iron containing alloy to create a corrosion resistant finish that is a dull grey in color and extremely hard.

Oh brother...lighten up Francis!

I understand about the Parkerized over Tenifer process on the Glocks.  I was mostly interested in doing this to help increase my own refinishing skills.  But, I figured if I was going to apply a finish it ought to hold up nicely.  Otherwise I'd just Krylon the thing.  
Also by refinishing I get to personalize the weapon a bit so it doesn't look like all the other kid's Glocks at the range.

I took A G17 Gen 1 on trade I had a colt 1911 enhanced model tricked out and did not even want a POS Glock in the same safe with it. The Glock had most of the finish worn off the slide, and I figured what the hell I will Duracote it O.D. green, then Glock came out with O.D. green. Well then I will go Camo also in Duracote I like the way it turned out IMHO.
Oh and the much prized Colt 1911 sold it (after shooting the Glock I never want to shoot another 1911) so I got a G21 latest investment is a G17L.
The Duracote has been very durable no signs of ware or color change from oils or solvents in 8 months and 1100-1200 rounds. It’s easy to apply just make sure it’s clean and spray. I bead blasted all painted parts the second time around prior to painting.
I also did not shoot or clean it for two weeks after I painted it. (Just turned out that way)
They say it needs to cure for a couple of weeks!