[Havoc35]

I bought a new Staccato P Duo and would like to get the barrel TiN coated. Do any of you have experience TiN coating STI barrels?

I cant imagine .0002" could effect the function of the barrel but I would like to hear from someone who's done it before I do it.

Also, any good recommendations for where to send it? The lead times are pretty surprising from the places Ive looked up.

 

[markm]

Did they stop using DLC on the Staccato barrels or are you just going for a different look? Mine has a DLC coated barrel which I've found to be extremely durable, but I kind of like my others with the rose & gold TiN colors.

 

[Havoc35]

No, the new staccato line doesn't include DLC coated barrels with exception of their compensated model (Forget the name). So my staccato p duo has raw stainless which shows a lot of imperfections in the steel.

If I had my choice I would go with a copper TiN finish but a lot of the suppliers offer a "rose" color instead which isn't my style. I'll probably go black instead just to be safe.

 

[markm]

Rose like this?

 

[Havoc35]

No, "rose" like this. It looks purple as hell.

 

[Havoc35]

Mark, to clarify the rose your referring to, is the copper I'm referring to. Which is the tone I want.

Below are a couple of images of my new gun. You can see a lot of rubbing and scratch marks on the barrel. I've only ran 150 rounds through it so far.

So the intent is for me to send in the guide rod and barrel. Just concerned about the fit, although I'm pretty sure it would be fine. The only other concern I have is voiding the warranty but I've already done that by changing out the grip from the G2.

 

[markm]

I'm not sure how much coating plays into it because I have uncoated barrels that show no hood wear and some the show lots, depending on how they're fit. Iv'e also seen some coated barrels that show a lot of wear, fortunately mine don't, but it makes one wonder if it's the coating, the coating job, the fit or what.

 

[Havoc35]

So, I got everything back. I think it looks really good. I plan on shooting in the next couple days. Once I do I'll post again if I notice any significant hood wear. But dry cycling it, nothing so far.

 

[tjpaxton]

Is that DLC? Who coated it?

 

[Hawkeye fan]

Looks awesome.

 

[Havoc35]

Is that DLC? Who coated it?

https://www.brazenfirearms.com/collections/tin-coatings

 

[Fryler]

Looks great! How is it functioning?

Did you get the standard coating or the "polished" one?

 

[Havoc35]

I haven't taken it out yet but I'm dying to. I've been dry cycling the living hell out of it and can see a small amount of hood wear if I look very carefully. Nothing you would be able to notice without scrutiny. The barrel bushing area wear is entirely non detectable.

The real test is going to be shooting it however, as soon as I do I'll post an update.

 

[Havoc35]

Back from the range. I put 200 rounds through it and have some interesting results. So I am still receiving hood wear and wear around barrel bushing area. It's noticable and I can only imagine it's going to get worse. Personaly I'm ok with it and still prefer the look of the firearm to its original but I don't see much benefit past that. Additionally the feed ramp being coated caused the rounds to jam on it for the first 10-15 rounds. The rounds caught like the ramp had sand paper adheared to it. Once the ramp had enough copper wore off onto it they started to cycle without failure. I'm going to polish the ramp when I have some time. Anyone intent on doing this should keep this in mind.

 

[UpperMW]

I'm a little surprised they coated the feed ramp.

 

[markm]

If that's suppose to be DLC I'd be upset, none of my factory DLC barrels show any wear except for the very edges of the lugs and that's after 10K+ rounds.
And yes, coated feed ramp is surprising, none of the coated barrels I have have that coated. Does it go into the chamber or barrel too?

 

[tjpaxton]

Back from the range. I put 200 rounds through it and have some interesting results. So I am still receiving hood wear and wear around barrel bushing area. It's noticable and I can only imagine it's going to get worse. Personaly I'm ok with it and still prefer the look of the firearm to its original but I don't see much benefit past that. Additionally the feed ramp being coated caused the rounds to jam on it for the first 10-15 rounds. The rounds caught like the ramp had sand paper adheared to it. Once the ramp had enough copper wore off onto it they started to cycle without failure. I'm going to polish the ramp when I have some time. Anyone intent on doing this should keep this in mind.

After seeing how yours turned out I sent in a Glock barrel for Polished Gold Titanium Nitride.

But now After seeing how your barrel looks after 200 rounds I’m nervous. Your feed ramp looks horrid. TiN is supposed to be harder than steel, smooth as glass with lubricious properties.

Every Gold TiN Glock barrel I have seen has had the feed ramp also done in TiN. (Zev, Agency Arms etc)

I’ll be quite pissed if my feed ramp looks like that after 200 rounds. However, Glock is a different more forgiving animal.

I guess I have to wait and see.

 

[Havoc35]

I am certainly disappointed with the result. My expectation was definitely not what I'm getting. That being said, someone earlier pointed out that they have seen barrels that get lots of hood wear and others that receive none. That to me just means a fitting/gunsmithing quality issue. I can only assume that the other interacting component (in this case the slide) is not properly cleared or "softened" to reduce the amount of felt ware on the barrel.

The ware issues aside the thing I am pissed about is the feed ramp. They should have never coated that area of the barrel. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that's a pretty vital area on a 1911/2011 when it comes to function. Polishing a feed ramp isn't a technically complex task but it shouldn't be something I have to do in the first place.

The gun is still shooting incredibly well. I've been shooting 1911's my entire adult life and its the most fun I've had shooting in years. Some might argue a $2500 pistol should be perfect in every way and I would be inclined to agree with you but at the end of the day, I'm still having fun.

 

[rangertrace]

The reason STI quit coating the barrels is because many owners were unhappy that the barrels quickly showed wear from shooting. All but one of mine are showing some wear on the barrels, but it doesn't bother me. All of the feed ramps where polished by STI.

 

[markm]

I would guess they just did it for cost. I have nine STIs will coated barrels some rose, some black DLC and a few TiN and none of them show wear so far. I thought one of the gold TiN ones was but it turned out to just be dirty. Conversely I had a barrel coated with super slick or something when I had a gun cerakoated but it wore pretty quick on the hood.
I don't know if its all the the preparation or what but I was just about to send some barrels out to be coated and for sure won't use them now.