Scadium finish durability?

[Josh M.]

Considering a scadium revolver as a carry piece.

How does the finish wear on these? It certainly must be tuffer than the clearcoat the put on the aluminum guns, right?

So who's got one?

 

[Old cop]

I owned an M&P 360 - no finish problems. It got sold b/c of the lock, although it never gave me a problem. Last month I picked up the no-lock M&P 340 and have carried it daily, and run over 200 rounds through it. So far no problem w/the finish and I'm not too kind to my carry guns.

 

[Pitdog02]

Ive owned 3 and the muzzle and high points on the top of the frame lose the black finish almost immediately.Ive been carrying this one daily for about a year and this is how the muzzle looks. Pocket carry in a Mika.

 

[TSQUARED]

Invariably you will see finish wear at the corners and high spots as one would with an older blued gun. I believe you can touch up the aluminum alloy finish with Birchwood Casey aluminum black.

 

[MTKTM]

I've tried the Birchwood Casey stuff and have found that it doesn't stay on the metal very long, wears off in pretty short order.

 

[Robert B]

Honest holster wear

I think Pitbull2's muzzle wear looks good. I seriously would not touch that up. Adds character. The clearcoat that peels is another story. I think that just plain looks ugly. That's not scandium though.

 

[Austerity]

My M&P 360 shows little to no wear, I have only had it a month but it IS two years old. Lock is disabled.....

 

[Snyderman]

I have a 386 night guard, and I use it for carry, even while jogging. It gets sweaty all the time, cleans off perfectly.

 

[Josh M.]

Thanks for the responces guys - that's just what I'd hoped. I'm fine with finish wear, but the peeling clearcoat sucks.

Looks like I'm on the hunt for a m315, or a M&P360 when I strike out.

 

[Alk8944]

Josh M,

Just for the record, as many others do not seem to understand either, the "Scandium" revolvers are Aluminum. It is an alloy which contains a very small percentage of Scandium, a "rare earth element", less than 1 percent. This imparts strength characteristics to the Aluminum which allow it to be used as a frame material where more conventional Aluminum alloys would not be suitable.

 

[DonDee]

Josh M,

Just for the record, as many others do not seem to understand either, the "Scandium" revolvers are Aluminum. It is an alloy which contains a very small percentage of Scandium, a "rare earth element", less than 1 percent. This imparts strength characteristics to the Aluminum which allow it to be used as a frame material where more conventional Aluminum alloys would not be suitable.

Does this then mean that the newer 642/442 aluminum frames are unsuitable since they evidently don't contain scandium? Or are they something other than aluminum?

I thought the scandium content was there to allow the frames to be lighter?

 

[murphydog]

Does this then mean that the newer 642/442 aluminum frames are unsuitable since they evidently don't contain scandium? Or are they something other than aluminum?

I thought the scandium content was there to allow the frames to be lighter?

"Aluminum" frames are aluminum alloy, meaning they have other components in the metal. Scandium can be one such component. It is reported (advertised?) as making for a lighter gun, but as those who have fired a Sc alloy .357 with full loads there can be too much of a good thing.