Coatings

[BLR]

First a little background:

I've wanted to develop a better, at least what I consider "better," finish for a while.

Without dipping too far into corrosion, tribology and aesthetics, I'll say I'm a fan of composite electroless nickel. However, current EN technology (at least as it's applied to the firearms industry) has some pit falls. First, some coatings are too slippery (too high PTFE content). Some are "yellowish" in color (cadmium added to the bath). Some are to "nickely" in color (too much brightener). However, EN is great for wear and corrosion resistance. And it doesn't suffer the issues of hydrogen embrittlement and electrochemical throw that hard chrome does. To remedy this, I started playing around with a four component system. That being, nickel, phosphorus, PTFE, and tungsten. I added tungsten for a few reasons, one of which is hardness and another color.

So far, this has been a 3 year development process (albeit, part time). I borrowed heavily from some other industries in terms of final composition, but man, no one wants to share their plating bath compositions. And I didn't find any suitable off the shelf baths that could be modified to suit. The mot technically challenging bit? The PTFE loading. Surface energy is a wonderfully rich field of study.

Now some teaser pics:





The frame you see is that abomination of a 1911 that SA made in Brazil. Again, you can assign whatever meaning you like to that statement.

[WDW]

Very cool! Will you be offering this new finish to others?

[CCT125US]

I really think you need a lab assistant. I will work for ammo and 100K per year, PM me if interested

[BLR]

Very cool! Will you be offering this new finish to others?

You are only seeing 1/3 of the coating system being developed.

But yes, that is the hope.

[WDW]

And perhaps forum members who gave you the motivation you needed to succeed get first dibs?

[BLR]

And perhaps forum members who gave you the motivation you needed to succeed get first dibs?

I likely could be talked into some beta testers.

[Sparks2112]

I likely could be talked into some beta testers.

I'm local, and I've got stuff to coat.

[WDW]

I likely could be talked into some beta testers.

Well I think this is awesome and I'll gladly send you a slide or two to "test". I love electroless nickel, both for looks & function.

[JAD]

Bill, have you thought of heat treating the nickel? There are pitfalls, but if you want the coating W.D. hard, it can produce remarkable results.

[Savage Hands]

Hmm, how will it compare to the Nickel Boron or DLC type finishes?