Maybe there has been a thread on this, but I couldn't dig it up in the search function. So--

First let me say that I love my Legion 226 so much that I just bought another one. However, I carry it in a kydex holster, and when I'm at the range (often) I shoot from the draw. I began to notice that the trigger guard was losing the finish-- bare metal showing through. I loosened the retention of the holster to just tighter than what would cause the gun to fall out if inverted.

But the wear has continued. Both sides of the trigger guard are now worn through, and I'm starting to notice similar problems starting on the slide.

I thought this new finish on the Legion was supposed to be better than nitron? I've never had any such problems with nitron Sigs-- or any Sigs, for that matter. For all the great things about the Legion, I don't expect this kind of thing to happen on a $1200 gun.

Two questions: Have you had similar problems on your Legion? And, what is the best thing to do about the bare spots at this point?

There has been multiple discussions about poor finish and blemishes, but I have not seen anything on durability of the finish.

I shoot mine in USPSA and Steel Challenge matches and have zero wear on it, it looks like it just came from the factory. The rails also have all of their finish on them. I'm guessing here but I think I have 5,000+ rounds through it at this point. If not 5k, it's multiple cases of ammo.

The only wear I have is in the mag well from speed reloads.

The PVD legion finish is the same as Nitron, just different color.

I'd contact SIG and see if they will look at it, I don't think they warranty finish, but if it's relatively new maybe they'd look at it at the minimum.

I've purchased quite a few Sigs lately and I think the biggest weak point of current Sigs is their thin finish. They are listening to their customers on certain things, but I think they need to step up the game on their finish quality. I have a couple P228's that are about 20 years apart and the finish on the older one is much better than the newer one.

When it comes to gun finishes, the ONLY thing that's consistent about any of them is their inconsistency. With production guns, some gunmakers are better than others but every company has some degree of guns with finish issues given what I've seen come through our shop.

I recall that when I first signed up on SIGForum how so many were saying how great SIG's Nitron holds up, yet my very first SIG and its Nitron coating was wearing off down to bare metal along corners and edges after my six month escapade away from Glock when I tried carrying the P229R. Even the Gen2 G19 that the SIG replaced didn't show that sort of wear that quickly.

What is the best way to re-cover bare metal? (Apart from having the whole gun finished.) Is there a suitable fix?

How sure are you it's "bare metal" or just loss of the surface color in the anodizing/PVD finish?

quote:

Originally posted by Skins2881:
There has been multiple discussions about poor finish and blemishes, but I have not seen anything on durability of the finish.

I shoot mine in USPSA and Steel Challenge matches and have zero wear on it, it looks like it just came from the factory. The rails also have all of their finish on them. I'm guessing here but I think I have 5,000+ rounds through it at this point. If not 5k, it's multiple cases of ammo.

The only wear I have is in the mag well from speed reloads.

The PVD legion finish is the same as Nitron, just different color.

I'd contact SIG and see if they will look at it, I don't think they warranty finish, but if it's relatively new maybe they'd look at it at the minimum.

wow...this is my exact experience too, except I may be up to 8,000 rounds now. Yup...just a little wear around the mag well. Also, the barrel finish shows ZERO wear, which I find amazing.

On a positive note, I wrote to Black Point Tactical, who make the kydex and leather holster I use with my 226 Legion. They wrote back immediately, and asked me to send photos of the Sig. I wrote back to the customer rep and said that others have had problems with the finishes on new Sigs-- so, it may have had little to do with the holster itself. The rep's response was "send the pics anyway, we'd like to see if there is anything we can do about it."

I googled "problems with Sig Legion finishes" and got a bunch of hits from other boards. Posts very similar to my experience: The Legions are amazing pistols, but the finish is problematic.

stoic-one, it sure looks like bare metal to me.

thanks for the heads up..not very encouraging for a pistol being sold for (would you believe)$ 2800
here in our country....

I'm having problems with the finish on my 229 Legion also. I plan to send it to Robar for their NP3plus coating, or CCR for a custom finish.

I have to agree we are seeing many Legion's for refinishing this past year

quote:

Originally posted by CCR:
I have to agree we are seeing many Legion's for refinishing this past year

Finish wear or customization? If wear, any clue why some are impervious to it and some are having problems?