Refinishing the P22

[arkansascontrols]

Hello All. First Time Poster, long time lurker.

I'm considering purchasing a P22.

I really like the look and feel of the P22, however I don't like the fact that the slide is a Zinc Alloy, which is my primary holdup in buying one. If it were Steel and cost 150.00 more I would buy one in an instant.

I have a few guns with a Hard Chrome finish but I'm not sure it can be successfully applied to a Zinc Alloy, comments on this topic welcome.

Has anyone tried hard anodizing or other 'Hard Finishes' to the P22? I realize that in most cases you'd probably be spending as much on the finish as you did the gun, but the end result might be worth it in the long run.

Alternately is anyone building Steel Replacement slides for these little guys?

Cheers

[Twrecks]

Anodizing is a process for aluminum. It won't work for the P22 slide (zinc alloy) I believe the slide on the P22 is painted. Zinc requires a compatible primer before painting.

Twrecks

Originally Posted by arkansascontrols

Hello All. First Time Poster, long time lurker.

I'm considering purchasing a P22.

I really like the look and feel of the P22, however I don't like the fact that the slide is a Zinc Alloy, which is my primary holdup in buying one. If it were Steel and cost 150.00 more I would buy one in an instant.

I have a few guns with a Hard Chrome finish but I'm not sure it can be successfully applied to a Zinc Alloy, comments on this topic welcome.

Has anyone tried hard anodizing or other 'Hard Finishes' to the P22? I realize that in most cases you'd probably be spending as much on the finish as you did the gun, but the end result might be worth it in the long run.

Alternately is anyone building Steel Replacement slides for these little guys?

Cheers

[ans1215]

the "hardest" finish you'll be able to get on it will most likely be powder coat. and it will be expensive, heres what need to be done:

1 - remove current finish- DO NOT USE A CHEMICAL STRIPPER, zinc allo is a very porous metal the chemical wont react nicely with any coatings you put on it. get it media blasted but NO SANDBLASTING, zinc alloy is to soft to be sandblasted, it has has to be a different sort of media, a lot of places use pecan or walnut shells, this works well.

2. preperation - once the finish is removed do not allow the bare metal to come in contact any sort of chemicals, waxes, or oils, best method is to make sure its always handled with clean cotton gloves and placed on clean cotton towels when being set down

3. refinishing - you will have to take it somewhere for this. you need to find an automotive repair facility that uses Spies Hecker refinish products and has acid etch primer and epoxy primer on hand. give them your carefully handled slide and tell them you want it acid etched and then epoxy primed, and make sure they apply the epoxy no sooner than 30 min and no later than 1 hour from the time they apply the acid etch primer. then let it dry for 24 hours and take it somewhere that does high temp powder coating.

4. enjoy!

this will cost you anywhere from 150 if you have connections to 250-300 without them, its really not worth the price unless you absolutely have to have it, the alternative is to lightly sand the black off yourself and polish it to a nice shiny finish with a buffing wheel, home depot carries lot of attachments and adapters for use with air grinders and dremels. these kits should contain the cotton polishing wheels and compounds to buff it, plan on spending $20 and about 4-5 hours for a flawless finish.

[1917-1911M]

Originally Posted by arkansascontrols

Hello All. First Time Poster, long time lurker.

I'm considering purchasing a P22.

I really like the look and feel of the P22, however I don't like the fact that the slide is a Zinc Alloy, which is my primary holdup in buying one. If it were Steel and cost 150.00 more I would buy one in an instant.

I have a few guns with a Hard Chrome finish but I'm not sure it can be successfully applied to a Zinc Alloy, comments on this topic welcome.

Has anyone tried hard anodizing or other 'Hard Finishes' to the P22? I realize that in most cases you'd probably be spending as much on the finish as you did the gun, but the end result might be worth it in the long run.

Alternately is anyone building Steel Replacement slides for these little guys?

Cheers

Welcome arkansascontrols. There are no replacement slides of any kind for the P22 other than the stock units with different color finishes. If you break one S&W will replace it. Some have broken, most on 5" models. I've never managed to break one in over 100K rounds but some of them have certainly cracked. Join in the fun here and welcome again. M1911

[arkansascontrols]

Thanks for the warm welcome and the replies gents.

[MD426]

Hey guys. Just signed up today. There are other options available. I personally used Cerakote. The finish is pretty durable as it's a ceramic/epoxy coating. It adheres to just about anything, metal, plastic, wood, ceramics, and a few others. Here is what mine looks like at the moment.

[Cokeman]

Welcome. How long have you had the finish on the gun and how many rounds have you shot since applying it?

[ans1215]

i recommend cerakote as well, my original response was solely intended as a process for a quality chrome finish, or any other custom color that cerakote doesnt carry

[todd44044]

Originally Posted by MD426

Hey guys. Just signed up today. There are other options available. I personally used Cerakote. The finish is pretty durable as it's a ceramic/epoxy coating. It adheres to just about anything, metal, plastic, wood, ceramics, and a few others. Here is what mine looks like at the moment.

OMG! Awesome looking pistol! Congrats!

[MD426]

Originally Posted by Cokeman

Welcome. How long have you had the finish on the gun and how many rounds have you shot since applying it?

I just previous 100, 300 last weekend. There was powder residue on the muzzle which came off easily. Recently bought a Fobus paddle holster, big mistake, the gun became lodged in the holster. Trying to draw the gun I pulled the holster and all out of my pants. It was wedged on the front the slide. The finish didn't dent or ding even from tapping the front of the gun on a wood floor to dislodge the gun from the holster (gun was empty, no magazine, the chamber was checked to be clear prior to placement in holster)