Take a look at these pics:
I asked him about the finish, specifically the abrasion resistance and the thickness, and he came back with this:
If applied properly and allowed to cure fully, Alumahyde is the same as Gunkote. I've had the stuff of a beater SAR-1 for 5 years and over 20K rounds, multiple cleanings and lots of abuse, it even melted to a truck bedliner once because it was tossed hot into the truck bed. Alumahyde never failed. Abrasion resistance specifically, I don't know if you mean crawling through gravel or abrasion like slide against frame?
Its very thin maybe like a light coat o paint, thicker than molycoats but not as thick as such horrors as high temp engine paint. Think of the paint on an HK rifle, it is a perfect match. Doesn't affect moving parts at least on an AK. I don't spray the bolt itself and mask the breech area, while thin it is still a coating and I don't want to have headspace issues.
It sounds like this might be an interesting solution to a problem I have.
I have ridiculously corrosive sweat (I dissolve stainless watches and eyeglass temples over time). My EDC piece is a first generation Kahr K9, and I carry in a Kydex IWB.
The slide is stainless, but the finish on the corners is gone at this point, and if I don't wipe it down with oil after I take it off for the day, the bare spots will rust overnight pretty thoroughly.
You can see the results here in this pic of the Kahr superimposed over a G21:
Actually the rusting isn't as bad as it looks, for some reason my camera sometimes makes the highlights of my guns look orange (you can see the effect on the plastic frame of the Glock, which obviously can't rust), the pic on the right is what it looks like after it's cleaned, and you can see the bare spots.
I've tried cold blacking the piece a couple times, and it works for a few holster draws, but wears off too quickly; no matter how many coatings I use, which formula, and how long I let it cure.
I dont want to hardchrome the piece (I dont like the color), and black chrome over stainless can flake or chip, plus both are a bit pricey.
So what I'm looking for is a spray on finish that is somewhat self lubricating, corrosion resistant; and will stand up to being presented from, and carried in Kydex.
For a while I've been thinking about using Brownells GunKote , but I'm wondering if this might be a better option. I've seen a few gunkoted guns, I like the results, and I'm wondering which finish might be the better choice; so if anyone out there has experience with both, especially in hard use situations, drop a comment.
