I was thinking about building a more rust-resistant Gen4 G19, only without having to send off any factory parts to be refinished. I came across the LWD Alphawolf slides and was wondering if anyone here has tried them and has any feedback as a result of their experiences. I'm usually not a fan of stainless slides but curiosity and my fervent dislike of constantly cleaning rust off my existing guns is driving this.

I've not seen one in person; I'm wondering what kind of sheen is the stainless done in. Any feedback would be appreciated.

funny asked the guy the mills my glocks about two blank slides one being Alphawolf being one of them and he recommended the other choice which was IDP Tactical. Thing with IDP it's a true blank, no serrations of any kind.

You're going to change the slide to make the pistol more rust resistant?

That's the theory anyways, as I'm looking at switching back to a G19. The current factory slide finish on my G23 has become too aggravating to deal with, having to wipe down the gun at least every other day. A lot of previously chambered HSTs go unfired as a result. I already have all the parts needed (except the slide itself and a set of i-Dot Pros) to build one. The one thing I have to get over is the light color of natural stainless steel; not in my comfort zone for a carry gun.

You have this G19 already, and you've shot it?

You can have a stainless slide finished to be dark. Even black chrome which is very durable. Also can have a rust resistant finish put on to your stock slide. The LW slides are good quality. Made a bunch of the G17 & G19 slides myself.

What locale or environment are we talking about here? Atlantis?

How old is your gen4?

My gen4 31 from 2010 has been dropped in the dirt, rain, snow and all I do is shake it off and reholster. It might get cleaned twice a year. No rust.

In fact, I had it out today during a snow storm. When I didn't need to have it out, I just threw it back in the holster. Not worried about it rusting.

I don't know anything about the alphawolf slide but I do have one of LW's older slides. I had CCR redo it in their house black. Looks great!

quote:

Originally posted by arcwelder76:
What locale or environment are we talking about here? Atlantis?

Yes, his location says "Drippin' wet".

I imagine Glock would rectify that problem, for free, if they were made aware of it.

Bruce

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
You have this G19 already, and you've shot it?

Yes. I've owned this particular subject Gen4 for about a year or so, purchased NIB. No rust, primarily because I've never carried it; that has been intentional until I could address my problem with rusting Glocks. Though religiously wiped down after shooting AND handling. Only about 300-400 rounds through it, mostly shot last summer as I was first pondering switching back to 9mm given the tendinitis in my shooting elbow and how 40S&W has been taking a toll. About 25% of that total was Federal HSTs, mostly 124gr. Originally I was going to send the gun out for refinishing in preparation for the switch to EDCing it, then life got in the way. Recently this notion of building a separate complete upper assembly was suggested by a coworker. It's an intriguing idea so for now I'm pursuing it unless someone brings up a compelling suggestion or reason that would convince me to go in another direction. So far I can't think of any, other than I would not using a factory slide on a defensive firearm. That point I admit does bother me.

quote:

Originally posted by archwelder76:
What locale or environment are we talking about here? Atlantis?

Water isn't really the problem; my skin oil and perspiration is. Every post-Tenifer Glock I've carried except my G43 (two G23s, one G26, one G27) for more than a couple of days start rusting, specifically at the left rear corner of the slide, the area that frequently comes into contact with my skin or...(ahem)...bodily secretions. With steel sights the rears also start rusting, although a bit more slowly (as they're set back a bit). Summer is the worst but even here in winter I have to be vigilant about cleaning.

My G43 has been spared the indignity only because I got KRounds to build me a custom IWB Kydex holster with a greatly exaggerated sweat shield. Works well though it did stab me at times when I was carrying the 43 last summer. With a larger compact Glock such discomfort is going to be even more exacerbated, I think. I have a KRounds Kydex IWB that I use with my G23 that has a slightly enlarged sweat shield from their standard mold that unfortunately doesn't really keep the gun completely free from direct body contact. So I continue the exercise of wiping off brown rust ever couple of days. The pitting on my primary EDC G23 has spread a bit since I first noticed the rusting several years ago but for now it's "managed" though given the frequency of cleaning, not very manageable.

I know, I must be eating wrong to make myself so caustic but it's easier to address the issue through working with the gun rather than to figure out if something in my diet or the daily regime of meds I take contribute to this, IF there's even such a solution.

quote:

Originally posted by RNshooter:
I imagine Glock would rectify that problem, for free, if they were made aware of it.

I'm sure they would. Last year (I think), someone on the forum posted about their own rusting Gen4 Glock (from the pics he posted it was FAR worse than what I'm currently experiencing). If I recall correctly Glock sent him a new gun. My concern is that at best they would just provide me with another stock non-Tenifer slide and I'll be repeating this with them in the future. They don't do black Cerakote so that's off the table; besides I've seen first-hand how iffy factory Cerakote slides can run on G19s. That's not a place I want to deal with. I'd rather try a more likely fix (assuming that I don't also corrode SS all tho hell as well) than have to drag this out additional weeks if not months.

The M45A1 took a sizable bite out of my gun budget, so I've got some time to research whether using an aftermarket slide is advisable. I'll probably post on that other forum that focuses on Glocks and see how beat up I get for suggesting that their beloved Glocks actually rust.

Have you tried an undershirt??

If you have a firearm that you trust to work reliably for you, for Heaven's sake, don't change the slide. You'll be back to square one. You won't be able to say how the pistol performs for quite some time, because one or two range sessions is not going to tell you everything.

Just get the slide refinished, unless you have time and money to burn.

If I remember correctly, the other member you mention was offered a replacement because of a fault in the coating process at Glock that allowed it to rust with considerably less provocation.
I figure at least contacting glock and asking about your issue is worth trying. If you don't like the answer, you can always explore other options. Everything I've read says they will likely do their best to solve in a satisfactory manner.

I have heard both good & bad about LWD, but have no first hand knowledge. If you feel the need for tennifer, have you looked into a used 19. My LGS has several PD trades in the case $400. Just another option.

Have you given much thought to having CCR do a CPII finish on it? I know that's on my "gotta do" list for a few pistols.

I have a G19 Alphawolf on the way for my Poly80 lower. I'll post some pics for you when I get it.

quote:

Have you tried an undershirt?

Winter or cool weather, yes I tried and still on rare occasion wear one. But indoors it can get warm particularly at work, especially when we get shipments of ammo or other freight in. When the sweating starts an undershirt normally gets saturated and it's just like not having it on at all, at least when it comes to the gun and it coming into contact with my caustic self.

Summer, no. At all times I use two layers (usually a tee plus some sort of shirt over my gun to help with concealment. I CC even at the shop; too much of a hassle switching holsters around when I leave or arrive at work. Adding a third layer is not an option in warm months, not if I want to try to keep my amount of perspiring reasonable.

quote:

If you have a firearm that you trust to work reliably for you, for Heaven's sake, don't change the slide. You'll be back to square one. You won't be able to say how the pistol performs for quite some time, because one or two range sessions is not going to tell you everything.

Just get the slide refinished, unless you have time and money to burn.

I'm not sure I have complete faith in this G19 yet given where its round count is currently at, but your point is well taken.

I can continue to use my G23 for the time being while the slide is being refinished. CPII would save me about $100 over buying a LWD slide and I wouldn't have to raid my spare parts bin to finish the build-out. But even so I'd still wind up putting a bunch of rounds through with the refinished slide, just to make certain that all is truly well and GTG.

The suggestion of using an older G19 is also a good one, though after 6 yrs with my G23 I am very much used to the Gen4 grip which plays more nicely with my baby hands. I already have a Gen2 and Tenifer Gen3; I suppose I could press either of those into CCW service if it comes to that.

quote:

Originally posted by bmo:
I have a G19 Alphawolf on the way for my Poly80 lower. I'll post some pics for you when I get it.

I'll be very interested in your impressions of the product. Looking forward to your posting.

Not meant to be offensive: are you female? Women have different chemistry. The wife can rust one of my guns in a heartbeat.

quote:

Originally posted by Udo:
Not meant to be offensive: are you female? Women have different chemistry. The wife can rust one of my guns in a heartbeat.

People have different chemistry. It is not limited to women. Some guys can't have blued guns.