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Old September 16, 2000, 11:06 PM   #1
Jordan
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Join Date: February 25, 1999
Location: crow pass trail head, Eagle River, AK
Posts: 228
I love my Sigs but they are rust buckets.

My P228 was in my center console the day I left the sunroof open during a thunder shower. By the time I returned to the car it was deeply rusted!

Took it to the local gunshop for a parkerizing job to give it a little more rust resistance.

Well, he warned me about to two-toned effect around the heat treated areas of the slide which is fine with me but it also came back splotchy all over... Looks pretty bad and I'm not even picky about looks.

He said everything else in the batch looked fine and that Sig must make their slides out of some bad quality steel or something. Right...

Any ideas?
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Old September 17, 2000, 12:27 AM   #2
Badger Arms
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Join Date: July 2, 2000
Location: Harnett County, NC
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I'd ask for a refund or for him to redo it. Sig slides are made from good metal and even bad metal wouldn't do that. He might have chemically stripped it. In this case, the finish on the slide could have slowed the action of the chemicals. He could also have bead-blasted it and then did a poor job of handling it before it went into the tank. It's not the metal, it's operator error. Don't settle for his excuse. There is no such thing as a 'bad quality steel' in this respect. Sig does not heat treat parts of their slide and not other parts. Sounds like he was sloppy with the process.
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Old September 17, 2000, 06:52 AM   #3
George Stringer
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Jordan, Badger is right. Preparation is the key to all refinishing. At the very least he should have tried to do it again before even telling you the gun was ready. George
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Old September 17, 2000, 10:55 AM   #4
Jordan
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Join Date: February 25, 1999
Location: crow pass trail head, Eagle River, AK
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Before I go back there can you guys think of any possible GOOD explanation for this happening... I want to be ready to counter any excuse he gives me.
Does anyone know of Sigs that have been properly parkerized and turned out well?
BTW, I'm only talking about the slide here... I obviously didn't do the alloy frame.
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Old September 17, 2000, 01:27 PM   #5
Badger Arms
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<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Jordan:
Before I go back there can you guys think of any possible GOOD explanation for this happening... I want to be ready to counter any excuse he gives me.[/quote]

Hmmmm. I hate to say it but, no. The 228 has a carbon steel slide to my knowledge. I think some of the newer Sigs come with a stainless slide which wouldn't take the parkerizing. The fact that it's blotchy is a sure sign of a bad preparation job. There are many shortcuts you can take in parkerizing. I've seen guns I've sent out with four blotches on one side and one on the other side where the 'smith' had grabbed the gun with bare hands. Take it to another smith for a second opinion. Better yet, get it refinished at another smith and take it back to the original smith and call his bluff. Heck, you're going to have to do this anyways. Are you seriously thinking about letting this guy (who's likely lied to you AND sucks at refinishing) have your prized Sig again? I doubt it.
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Old September 17, 2000, 03:43 PM   #6
CITADELGRAD87
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Join Date: August 30, 2000
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I noticed poor finish on my 226 slide, meaning major holster wear after 2-3x in and out of a holster. I've seen others post similar experiences.

I highly reccomend hard chrome--it looks kind of like matte stainless (kind of), and is VERY hard and durable.

The factory 2 tones will give you an idea of how it will look.

I had mine done about 6 - 7 years ago, no wear after several formal courses involving major work from the holster.

Even with the hard chrome, don't let this bozo touch it--get it to somebody who does quality work, Terry Tussey did mine, not cheap but first rate work.

It always amazes me how many gunsmiths get so far over their heads rather than just say I don't do that. I've learned a few lessons the hard way, which is how I finally found Tussey Custom, and gladly pay the premium for known quality.
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