New owner with nickel boron coating M&P9

[striknine]

Purchased the M&P 9 about 2 months ago and have about 300 rounds through it. I got the nickel boron coating model and when I purchased it the store owner told me it doesn't need to be cleaned like you would normally clean but just wipe it down.
Is this the case? After firing it I clean it like I would any another gun and can't see why it better to have a nickel coating.
If I don't spray it with solvent it's a job to clean.
After 300 rounds I havent had 1 failure and really enjoy shooting this firearm. Out of all the guns I test fired the M&P9 was the best and with the interchangeable grips my wife also fell in love with it.

 

[MichiganScott]

The government told early M16 users in Viet Nam that their rifles didn't need to be cleaned either and it cost a lot of lives.

Clean as usual and figure the local store owner is either ignorant or misinformed.

 

[Tommato]

I believe the store owner is correct - for the NiB coated parts. The catch is that the key internals are not all NiB coated - usually the slide and/or barrel. The parts that are not NiB coated, such as the slide rails in the frame are probably not coated and must be cleaned/lubed as anything else.

I have a NiB coated bolt carrier group for my AR-15, and he is right - just needs to be wiped down to function well. NiB is a self-lubricating surface. However, the many non-NiB parts - barrel, chamber, gas tube, etc must be cleaned and lubed conventionally.

So in summary, take it apart and carefully determine which specific parts are NiB coated. Wipe those down and clean/lube the rest as you would in any firearm.

Tommato

 

[jaykellogg]

Some solvents like Hoppe's can potentially damage nickel because they are designed to remuve cupro-nickel fouling from the barrel.

 

[striknine]

Thanks for the replies. I will only wipe down the nickel coated parts (slide & barrel) and clean the rest with the solvent.
Question, is the inside of the barrel nickel coated too?
Thanks

 

[bobnieder]

Your nickel boron coating would cost you a good bit to get after purchase. I was quoted $ 200 for doing the slide and the outside of the barrel with the EXO coating. Since they need to remove and reinstall the sights, they will include installing new sights, if you pack them with the slide and barrel. This was a company in Florida -- I don't know if S&W does this type of finishing.

The way I look at it, that $ 200 is half of a Shield! You got a bargain!