My P30 with NP3+

[Sauer Koch]

For those interested, I sent it off to Wright Armory back on 12-10-19, and just got it back last Wednesday. I've heard that was a normal wait time even for Robar, but Debbie at CT told me on the phone their turn around time, once they receive the parts, it 4-6 weeks, so the rest of it is shipping, disassembly & reassembly, which I assume can vary from one dealer to the next, although there are only five right now, including Cajun Gun Works, which only deals with CZ.


As far as the NP3 itself, holy shit, what a beautiful finish! IMO, it looks just like bead-blasted SS, but slicker, due to the impregnated Teflon. I got the Norton Special which is all of the frame internals, the slide, and all internals, along with one mag. If you have a non-SS gun, but would like it to resemble SS, this is your finish. That being said, the wait was brutal, especially considering that I was initially told 4-6 wks. Overall, in terms of my level of satisfaction with the NP3+ itself, I'm VERY happy/impressed! As far as WA handling my gun, and the overall service they provided, not so much. To be fair, on the phone, and by email, they were professional and courteous, but to make a long story short, if I want to have NP3 applied to another gun, I will use another dealer. I'll share the details by PM if anyone cares to know, considering you may have thought of using them.
I will be shooting it tomorrow, so I hope it functions fine. A range report to follow.

If you've been thinking about getting NP3/+, it's definitely as great as what I have always heard, but hopefully the wait times with the other dealers, at this point in time, are better than my 6 month wait.

[TicTacticalTimmy]

Looks really slick.

Did they coat all the fire control parts? Do you notice a difference in the triggerpull?

What is NP3+?

[Sauer Koch]

Looks really slick.

Did they coat all the fire control parts? Do you notice a difference in the triggerpull?

What is NP3+?

https://coatingtechnologiesllc.com/processes/np3/

About the trigger parts; yes, all of the slide & frame internals were coated. I was concerned that the slickness of the finish would make the trigger pull weight feel much lighter, but honestly, it doesn't feel any lighter, or heavier, and I guess the pre-travel movement does feel a little smoother.

About the feel of the NP3...I guess the best adjective is 'VERY smooth'.

[flyrodr]

I have a P2000SK Lite LEM that Robar coated in NP3+ as well as stippling the grip. The coating was really classy looking and super slick (almost too much so for racking the gun). The stippling was great too. At the time, Robar said they'd coat all the parts they could, which didn't include springs and other tiny parts.

Nice looking P30!

[Sauer Koch]

The coating was really classy looking and super slick (almost too much so for racking the gun). Nice looking P30!

Thank you. Yeah, it’ll be interesting to see how difficult it’ll be To grip the slide with sweaty hands, during an outdoor course in the summer.

[Mark D]

Good looking pistol! I've considered sending a P2000 to get a similar treatment. I've always wanted a stainless USPc, but they're rare as hen's teeth and priced to match in my area.

I've wondered if the coating may detract from reliability by changing the tolerances. Does the coating change the dimensions of the parts?

[farscott]

What is NP3+?

NP3 Plus is NP3 over a base coating (whose specs are not public) to increase the corrosion resistance of the resulting duplex finish. Based on my experience, NP3 corrosion resistance is more than sufficient, so the base coat is not needed.

[CraigS]

I am not surprised you like it. I have a couple of NP3 trigger job in a bag from LTT in my Beretta 92s. Several of them have SS slides and the NP3 is as close to an exact match as one could expect from two completely different processes. I love the slippery feel. After you have shot it some please comment on whether it makes cleaning the gun easier.

[beenalongtime]

Was the virus/shutdown, used as a reason 6 weeks became 6 months?

[Sauer Koch]

Good looking pistol! I've considered sending a P2000 to get a similar treatment. I've always wanted a stainless USPc, but they're rare as hen's teeth and priced to match in my area. I've wondered if the coating may detract from reliability by changing the tolerances. Does the coating change the dimensions of the parts?

To the naked eye, an according to their (CT) info, it does not. The coating is thin enough, that it doesn't look like it's been coated, meaning, the roll marks are as definitive and sharp as they were originally. So, if they can coat the firing pin, it must be thin enough for it to function properly. I've never heard of any reliability issues, and Robar was around a long time.

I am not surprised you like it. I have a couple of NP3 trigger job in a bag from LTT in my Beretta 92s. Several of them have SS slides and the NP3 is as close to an exact match as one could expect from two completely different processes. I love the slippery feel. After you have shot it some please comment on whether it makes cleaning the gun easier.

Yes, the quality of the finish is astounding. So much so, that if I just showed my gun to someone, they'd say, "that's a nice two-tone SS P30". It's so well executed, it meets or exceeds the quality of a factory finish, no question! *hopefully this iPhone close up, will show how sharp the roll marks remain after NP3. The best compliment I can give, is that it looks like a factory P30 with a SS slide, which don't exist.

Was the virus/shutdown, used as a reason 6 weeks became 6 months?

Partly. The transition from Robar being gone, to the new dealers was rough, and there was a huge rush of business, so I assume there were kinks to work out, and I had a feeling sending mine in at the very beginning might be a bad idea, but I went for it. I hope it's gotten better, but not sure. I spoke with Debbie at CT, and she was very nice, and said that their current turnaround time is about 4-6 weeks. So that means the other time is getting it torn down and shipped off, and back together. So, if WA is very busy in general, that means long wait times.