Finishes?

[Cast]

Ok, now that I have my stainless Springfield Loaded I want to blue, parkerize, or Black T finish the slide for that beautiful two tone look. I'm gonna send it to Springfield to get that done plus a few other mods but I have a question about the different finishes. the website shows various pictures of their 1911's in different but it doesnt show any blued pistols and the parkerized finishes look different on different models. the parkerized version of the GI model looks dull sloppy/thick and the parkerized finish on the loaded looks smooth and somewhat glossy. If I sent my Loaded slide to get parked which version would I get, thick and dull or smooth and glossy? Or would the bluing option be a better way to go? Or spend the extra money and the Black T finish. It's going to be my primary duty/ SRT weapon, so it'll get alot of use and I know whatever finish I get is going to wear, so I'm not too concerned about that. Help/Opinions? Sorry for the long post but I wanna get this done so I can start carrying it, and I'm a much better shot with my Loaded than with my Glock.

[adamsbomb]

here is mine in blue and stainless, its a colt but you get the picture no pun intended

[SeanK]

Blued guns are custom shop only now. Here's the link you need to go to on the website to see some nice blued pistols:

http://www.springfield-armory.com/prod-pstl-cust.shtml

[auto45]

It was my understanding that stainless cannot be blued or parkerized.

Don't you have to do a "Black-T" or other spray on type of coating?

[MoNsTeR]

Stainless can be blackened. That is the finish you see on the Springfield Black Stainless and the Kimber Eclipse. Robar, and I think Techplate will do this.

Here's some nice pics of how it can look:
http://www.1911forum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64082

[BillK@tcmhmrs.o]

I have a Colt 1991 commander that is parkerized. I sent it to Mr Birdsong in Florence MS and he has put the Black T finish on the whole gun. It cost (4 years ago) $140 and he included 2 magazines- I had him Black T a Wison's combat mag and a factory Colts' mag that came with the gun. The gun is gorgeous! It has a deep black sheen and it is slick- there is teflon or something incorporated in the finish. It took about 60+ days to get it back. When you call his company, guess what- W T Birdsong answers the phone himself.

A few months back, I noticed a few hairline scratches on the slide; and around the slide stop, I buffed off a great deal of the finish. Yikes! I called Mr Birdsong up, fessed up to what I'd done. He said - " well Bill. I can't make it so tough you can't wear it or scratch it off if you try!" I allowed as he was correct in that, then he told me to send the slide back with a check "oh, I guess $5 would help for the return postage", he said. He is refinishing it gratis and I expect it back any day now. I like the man and his product.

I have a S&W model 10 that also has the Black T finish - it's beautiful also.I bought the gun last year at a gun show from a S&W afficianado, and he didn't like the fact that it didn't have that nice, dark blue S&W finish. It had a nice set of Ajax grips- I took those off and there was a brief note saying Black T on the gun and date. Bingo!!! A good gun with a great finish.

[ccr]

Stainless Steel can not be parkerized. It can be blackend like the Kimber. Please keep in mind the the finish on the Kimber Eclipse doesn't hold up. Your best bet would be to put a modern Teflon/Moly coating. It also will give your Stainless added protection.
If I can help at all please feel free to give me a call at 423-639-8924 The cost to refinish your gun would be $109.00 I have a 2 week turnaround time.:)
http://www.ccr-refinishing.com/pics/samp308.jpg

[Pupp86]

I have a Springfield "Loaded" that originally started off in the blued finish. After the finish started wearing and the proverbial "idiot marks" I decided to send it off to Mr. Birdsong for the Black-T finish. Couldn't be happier with the finish. Here is a pic. It is still a very deep black and slick like BillK said. Give Walter Birdsong a call. He really does answer his own phone. But be prepared to talk for QUITE AWHILE.