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 "Black nitride" barrel coating problem? 
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Location: Olympia, WA
Joined: Fri Oct 26, 2012
Posts: 53
Real Name: Wyley
I recently bought a conversion barrel to modify a Glock 23 to shoot 9mm. The barrel is described as having a "black nitride" finish. As usual with new pistols, I put a patch down the bore before installing to remove any oil, grease or other residue. The patch came out black with fouling. So I then cleaned the bore using Hoppe's No. 9, a bronze bristle brush and cotton patches. The more I tried to get it clean, the more the patches came out with a brown/black fouling. I routinely clean pistols using the same method and even heavily fouled barrels clean up just fine. I contacted the seller who said I was removing the finish and that was "fouling" and also that the bronze bristle brush was being dissolved by the Hoppe's and adding to the mess. Needless to say I was not satisfied with that response.

Does the "black nitride" style of coating have this problem? I haven't installed the barrel nor shot it yet as I'm concerned about the quality. If the coating is really that soft, I can't imagine it holding up to being fired. Anybody have any info about "black nitride" finish on barrels? Thanks.

Wyley in Oly

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Tue Mar 22, 2022 12:17 pm
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Location: Renton, WA
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Hmmm. Seems to me that any finish that can’t hold up to Hoppe’s #9 shouldn’t be used on a gun. That doesn’t sound normal.

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Leave it cleaner than you found it.


Tue Mar 22, 2022 12:25 pm
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Location: Maple Valley, WA
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Real Name: Young
Definitely sounds off.

Especially if done correctly should not be coming off from routine type cleaning.

Can you take a pic?


Tue Mar 22, 2022 1:00 pm
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Location: Everett, WA
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I haven't encountered a problem like this on any of my nitride barrels (and I have scrubbed the crap out of my revolver to get rid of some nasty lead build up).

The black nitride finishing process increases the hardness of the steel it is used on. I doubt you'll be able to easily scratch it with a bronze brush.


Tue Mar 22, 2022 2:21 pm
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Location: Tenino
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sounds like a used, dirty barrel to me.....

Nitride is pretty tough stuff, usually takes sanding or polishing to remove that type finish


Tue Mar 22, 2022 5:39 pm
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Location: Puyallup
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Posts: 3027
No, this is a defect. I had a similar experience with a nitrided G19 barrel from UnbrandedAR.

Noticed roughness inside the bore. Cleaned, still looked rough, & black shit was coming out. Shot a few rounds, the rough finish in the bore "ate" right through the plating on the bullets, left silver-looking lead ring at the muzzle (you know, like when you're shooting bare lead!).

To their credit, sent me an RMA, took it back, and promptly refunded my money. They're a good company. Shit happens, and they were very cool about it.

But yes, what you've got is a defective finish on the barrel. I have other nitride barrels, they are NOT like that at all. Get your money back, or get an exchange, they're full of shit about the Hoppes dissolving the brush and causing this.

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Tue Mar 22, 2022 9:05 pm
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#1 - Nitride is not a coating, it is a form of case hardening of the steel. It doesn't come off.

#2 - Black nitriding has to be finish polished, and some of the cheaper places are probably skipping some or all of that step to save cost. The process leaves some black smut on the surface that is can be a little rough until it's polished. Wrap some fine (like 000 or 0000) steel wool over a copper brush so it fits tightly in the bore and scrub it back and forth, you can add a little gun oil, hoppes, or wd40. This won't hurt the hardened steel bore but will get rid of the softer crud on top that shouldn't be there. (also a great way to remove lead fouling) You can also use a cordless drill to spin the same thing in the chamber.


Tue Mar 22, 2022 10:32 pm
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Location: Puyallup
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Exactly, sometimes some of us are loose with the term "finish", thank you.

If the OP cant get a refund, that process sounds hopeful.

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Wed Mar 23, 2022 8:49 pm
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Location: Olympia, WA
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Real Name: Wyley
Thanks to all of you who have shared your input. I'm now a bit more knowledgeable about this type of "coating". I'm leaning towards agreeing with the reply from Yondering in that a "cost saving" step was skipped. I held off on providing specific details about the product and the supplier until I gathered more information and had contacted the supplier to let them know what I was experiencing and what thier response would be.

It was a Brownells G23 Conversion barrel that has been the problem. I'm glad to report that Brownells has lived up their excellent reputation and is allowing me to return the barrel (unfired) and is refunding me the purchase price. (It has not been used) It did take a bit of back-and-forth with one of their "gun techs" before they told me to return the barrel. After the reply from Yondering, and from additional input from other people I've contacted, it does seem very possible that I could "fix" the problem. But, although I am very much a DIY kind of guy, that's not really my issue here. The barrel "should" be ready to go and it should not give "less technically involved" Glock shooters such a big mess to resolve. I did not try "cleaning" the outside of the barrel so I can't say if all the finish has the same issue. But I suspect that the outside surface got adequate preparation as opposed to the bore.

Anyway, once again thanks for the replies. And from now on I'll stick with KKM barrels.

Wyley in Oly

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Wed Mar 23, 2022 9:28 pm
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Location: Puyallup
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Best possible resolution, good to hear.

I actually know of a guy who's run a KKM conversion barrel in a G23, he reports 100% reliability. Expensive and sometimes long wait, but they're great.

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Thu Mar 24, 2022 6:37 pm
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