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Smith & Wesson M&P Pistols All Variants of the Smith & Wesson M&P Auto Pistols


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  #1  
Old 11-11-2021, 05:18 PM
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My local shop always gets out the odd balls to show me when I go in, I'm not sure what that means about what they think of me, but I'm going to assume the best.
They got in a 2.0 M&P9 Compact recently. Someone, no names were mentioned, decided the gun could look better then the factory finish, so they took all the bluing off the chamber on the barrel. Now, the bottom is still blue,as is the rest of the barrel. The top. and the left and right sides are in the white. I have no idea why anyone would do that and if you have any logical reasons, let me know.
It appears to have been done chemically, there's no scratches or buffing marks. It is even and deliberate, it's not a spill.
Okay, I did buy it. It was marked alot lower then a new one, looking inside it appears unfired. There's no residue from powder anywhere.
How hard would it be to get it refinished? Being stainless, I assume it won't corrode or rust quickly, at least I hope not.
This is why they bring out the oddballs for me, I'm a sucker for the unusual.
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Old 11-11-2021, 05:42 PM
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I have no idea how to refinish it... but actually I like the work somebody did.
The barrel and chamber in my M&P9 looked awful after thousands of rounds and this trick, having pure shiny steel, would probably help with a better look.

Hopefully somebody gives a solution for you.

I have chemically darkened my stainless steel magazines... and believe me it doesn't look good. They are dark, but not nicely and evenly. And get scratches during usage.
You may ruin your chamber's charming look.
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Old 11-11-2021, 07:21 PM
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Below is a photo of my 1.0 M&P 40c with its non-coated stainless Storm Lake .357 SIG conversion barrel. Looks cool. My advice: Leave yours as-is.

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Old 11-11-2021, 07:49 PM
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Removing blackening material down to steel color a common thing for Bubba to do to "Blocks" too. I have one he did. Wished he had not but makes no difference in the performance.

My suggestion is just shoot it and go on.
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Old 11-11-2021, 07:55 PM
oldiegoldie oldiegoldie is offline
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here's an idea...send the barrel to Ron Mahovsky and have him refinish. the appearance will be nearly exactly like NP3 and it will have a very hard coat. i've had work done by Robar [NP3+] and Mahovsky. both are excellent [Robar no longer in business]. Mahovsky's work was about half of cost of NP3+. i see nothing unsightly with your barrel the way it is.
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Old 11-11-2021, 10:27 PM
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I appreciate the comments you guys have given me. You definitely have a different view of this gun then the guys at the shop had.
My biggest concern was if the barrel would be more likely to show corrosion or rust. I know my local shop isn't going to be able to match up S&W's original coating. The shiny finish is starting to grow on me. The caliber stamping on top is still blued and it makes the "9mm" stamp really stand out.
I have another Compact and really like it. This one has the frame safety. S&W puts a very easy to use safety on these. I can flip it on or flip it off with my thumb. I'm liking that feature.
I'll keep some oil on it and keep it clean. Hopefully there will be no problems.
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Old 11-12-2021, 03:01 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by panther View Post
My biggest concern was if the barrel would be more likely to show corrosion or rust.
No, it won't if you don't let the handgun sit in you garage for months.
Leave it like it is, do regular maintenance (CLP or lube on the barrel) and you will never see any sign of rust.
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Old 11-12-2021, 04:19 AM
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don't see the appeal of shininess on guns. it doesn't look good to me. i like matte fde
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Old 11-12-2021, 04:30 AM
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That's not at all unusual, and not a complete Bubba move either.

In fact at one time, it was standard practice for manufacturers to take the time to polish the barrel hood on a blued barrel, but today as a labor/cost cutting measure, they do not.

There are people that like the "old school" look of a contrasting barrel in a black slide... makes it look less utilitarian.

A polishing paste like Flitz, Semichrome or Mother's would easily do the trick to remove the finish like that with out any signs of an abrasive.
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Old 11-27-2021, 02:10 PM
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I finally got this pistol out to the range today. As expected, it performed like a champ. I only had WWB ammo with me, but I figured it would be a good ammo to test the pistol out. It ate and spit out everything with a hitch.
I think this compact is my favorite size in the M&P line.
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Old 11-27-2021, 05:35 PM
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I have several "newer" model semis that have blued barrels. The part that is exposed in every one of them is starting to show ugly wear. In contrast, I have just as many older models with barrels in the white that look pristine. My S&W 39-2 is a good example.

My take is that for once Bubba did a job for you ahead of time that you don't have to do now. Even better that the dealer thought it was a problem.
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Old 11-27-2021, 10:26 PM
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I got a full sized M&P 9MM with a similar polish job, back in 2010ish at a gunshop outside of FT Campbell. It shot fine, I just made sure to oil the polished part. I have no idea why they polished it. I later got an S&W replacement barrel, it was easier and cheaper then refinishing it (at the time).
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Old 11-28-2021, 09:07 AM
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The biggest question I would have when thinking about buying a gun that's been cobbled on like that would be: What else did they "polish"? Other than that, as long as it locks up, it's just cosmetic.
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Old 11-28-2021, 12:10 PM
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Sorry, rant follows: without a doubt, S&W uses the cheapest / Krylon-looking finish on their M&P barrels that they can find. You can’t blame Bubba! I picked up and MP EZ .380 a few months back and it is perfect, except for the ****** finish on the barrel. S&W knows it looks like doo-doo, and thus the gold/TIN finish on the Performance Center model barrels. Kudos to SIG and to Glock (pre-GEN 5) for spending a dollar or so on a tough and even finish for their barrels.

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Old 11-28-2021, 12:46 PM
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I've bought a couple used guns over the years like that, it's probably not that uncommon.
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Old 11-28-2021, 01:25 PM
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Would not the finish on the M&P barrels be the same Melonite as that on the slides?

Cheers!
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Old 11-28-2021, 01:40 PM
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i believe it's the same nitriting. black is going to show wear unless you lube it up real nice with something that has viscosity and will stay put.
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Old 11-28-2021, 04:14 PM
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I guess M&P barrel finish is the luck of the draw. Here is the .40 cal. barrel from my M&P 40c with 13,000 rounds through it. I think it's held up just fine.

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Old 11-28-2021, 07:50 PM
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One thing to remember with Nitride finishes is that they bond to the metal. When you see the black is gone, the Nitride is still there. The black color is added to the Nitride as Nitride is not black. What you see that appears as wear is only the coloring. The only way to remove Nitride is to remove metal. When you polish a Nitride surface, if the polish goes deep enough, the Nitride is removed and the surface hardness and corrosion resistance changes. That's something to keep in mind when grinding on a barrel hood to get rid of the wear marks.
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Old 11-28-2021, 10:08 PM
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Some firearms actually come from the factory this way and it's considered a premium feature too.

Case in point, here's my H&K USP45 Elite...
My H&K USP45 Elite has arrived!-h-k_usp45_elite_top-jpg
My H&K USP45 Elite has arrived!-h-k_usp45_elite_right-jpg

As you can see, the barrel hood has been polished so that the H&K's Hostile Environment Finish is no longer visible. The rest of the barrel still has the finish intact, this is actually one of the "features" of this pistol. I have no idea what it does or why they do it, but that's how they are fresh out of the box.

Don't worry about corrosion on the M&P since it's upper assembly all Stainless Steel to begin with, and the FNC case-hardening treatment to the metal is what actually adds durability/corrosion resistance, the black finishe is just something they apply over the steel.
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Old 12-03-2021, 10:27 PM
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" it makes the "9mm" stamp really stand out. "
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