How a gun looks is about 5th on the list of stuff I consider when choosing to purchase.
but

I am interested in two types of finish's.

this ultra shiny black number:
https://www.sigsauer.com/press...the-unknown-soldier/

and
this style:

question #1:
can most 1911 guns be finished like these?

#2
what is the sigs finish called? (black one)

#3
whats the decision making progress when deciding between nickle or hard chrome?

#4
Are their problems with applying any of these finish's to guns? either during the process or with normal holster / shooting wear ? (durability)

Colt Royal Blue.

Pimptastic!

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
How a gun looks is about 5th on the list of stuff I consider when choosing to purchase.
but

I am interested in two types of finish's.



question #1:
can most 1911 guns be finished like these?

Yes,
The Colt is called Bright or Ultimate Stainless depending on the era of the firearm's manufacture. It is simply a high polish on a stainless firearm

quote:

#2
what is the sigs finish called? (black one)

Since the slide is stainless, it gets the same very high polish as the Colt that you have pictured, but then is coated black. SIG is a big user of PVD PVD.

quote:

#3
whats the decision making progress when deciding between nickle or hard chrome?

Nickel has a slight yellowish cast to the color while Hard Chrome more closely matches stainless in color

quote:

#4
Are their problems with applying any of these finish's to guns? either during the process or with normal holster / shooting wear ? (durability)

No,
All of the discussed finishes are durable

Hard Chrome is about the most durable finish you can get. Prep work is what is going to determine whether you get a shine or a matte finish. All finishes will show holster wear if you use them enough. I suspect it would be super noticeable on a high shine finish.

Looks like they were too lazy to remove the sights. Why?

does one obtain the pistol first, and then send it to a special place to be masterfully re done?

is one style much more expensive than the other?

Colt Royal Blue is just regular bluing of highly polished steel. Same thing available widely. It is pretty but not durable, it shows wear quickly. You could keep a case-to-target-to case target pistol looking nice for a long time but a few holster draws would start showing.

DLC by IonBond or other is dark and much more durable than blue. It looks pretty bright on polished steel. Can be used to get a dark finish on stainless.

A shiny white finish can be had two ways.
Nickel or hard chrome plating on polished steel or by simply polishing stainless steel.

See the common phrase "Polished steel."
Getting a high shine is a skilled craft and does not come cheap. The outfit that apparently does nothing but polish stainless guns is nearly as expensive as bluing, DLC, or plating.
Hundreds of dollars to get a gun well done in high polish.

quote:

Originally posted by Jim Watson:
Colt Royal Blue is just regular bluing of highly polished steel. Same thing available widely. It is pretty but not durable, it shows wear quickly. You could keep a case-to-target-to case target pistol looking nice for a long time but a few holster draws would start showing.

I ran into that with a nice matte blued Dan Wesson A2.



The blued finish looks great, but is not durable at all. It took exactly ONE insertion and removal from a leather holster to cause this scratch/swipe in the finish on the slide. I've had other blued guns that were significantly more durable, and took quite a bit of handling to start showing wear.

yikes

That looks like a scratch, not holster rub.
Could there be something imbedded in the leather?