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jimmyp Offline OP
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I read a lot about melonite bore treatment and people call it rust resistant. I am wondering is it as "rust resistant" as a good stainless steel barrel? I have 100% confidence with actual experience to back it up that a bare steel barrel and chamber if left uncleaned and not oiled in Georgia will indeed rust over time. The melonite finish is interesting as it is claimed not to interfere with barrel accuracy like hard chrome. Does anyone have an opinion or evidence that the Melonite finish is about equal to stainless steel in terms of rust resistance? Personally I think hard chrome is the proven rust prevention but times and opinions change. smile


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Ultra bore coat will do what you want.... IMHO. At least on a chrome moly you can fire a real black powder load and leave it uncleaned for over 2 years and not even worry here in TX and we have nothing thats called low humidity...


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The salt bath nitride treatments (Melonite is one name) on a chromemoly barrel will be significantly more resistant to corrosion than a stainless barrel.

If improperly done salt bath nitride will make some types of stainless less resistant to corrosion and S&W had a problem with the process on some early M&P pistol slides.

While I only have had 2 barrels that had the treatment I could not find a downside and it really did cut down on erosion. I sent a barrel (AR) in after it had 2000 rnds through it and that might have been a mistake but the jury is still out on that one.


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I don't believe Melonite is for bores, too rough of a surface. Ideal for internals, like on a 1911, 'cause it holds oil, not for rust resistance but for lubrication. I think you are thinking of nitriding.

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jimmyp Offline OP
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I thought they were the same?


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Melonite and black oxide coating over the Melonite are not the same.


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Melonite, nitride, etc provides better corrosion restitance than bare stainless steel or chrome plating on a chromemoly barrel.

I would call it closer to nearly rust proof. Like John said however, there is a slightly different process for nitrided stainless steel than for chromemoly. If improperly done, nitrided stainless steel can have poor corrosion resistance. When stainless steel barrels are nitrided properly, the finish provides greater corrosion resistance over bare stainless steel.

If you want a high quality nitrided stainless barrel for precision shooting, shop carefully as there are a few side effects to the nitriding process that can have a negative impact on precision if the barrel is not preped' properly prior to nitriding. If you are thinking of having a stainless barrel sent off for nitriding, shoot it only a couple of times at the most, no more, but do not send in a brand new unfired stainless barrel. Or, if you dare, use some lapping compund on the bore and chamber before sending it off. If you are buying an already nitrided match stainless barrel, make sure you ask if they do any special preperations to the barrel prior to sending it off to be nitrided. Most people doing nitriding on match barrels are not putting in the extra effort needed to gain that top performance.

Last edited by chicoredneck; 09/27/12.
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Originally Posted by Take_a_knee
I don't believe Melonite is for bores, too rough of a surface. Ideal for internals, like on a 1911, 'cause it holds oil, not for rust resistance but for lubrication. I think you are thinking of nitriding.


melonite is just a branded process of nitriding.

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jimmyp Offline OP
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I wonder if most melonite bores are rougher than bare steel bores?


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Originally Posted by jimmyp
I wonder if most melonite bores are rougher than bare steel bores?


No, I have 2 rifles that have treated barrels. One is a Melonited Smith&Wesoon AR15, and the other is a POF AR-10 type 308, which is nitrocarburized but they don't use the trademarked Melonite name. Both bores are glass smooth (other than the lands sticking out of course smile ).

You ever see the inside of a Glock barrel? Their barrels are Tennifer treated, another brand name for the same process. Take a look and you'll see how smooth it is.


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To answer the original question about corrosion resistance of Melonite, Tennifer, nitrocarburizing and any other names the process may go by, check the link below. It's a torture test someone decided to do with a Glock 21. There's some stuff not relating to the finish, but at one point the owner soaks the pistol in salt water. Reading the page should convince you. Continue past the initial salt water bucket test and check out the part with salt water soaked sock.

http://theprepared.com/content/view/90//administrator/


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Originally Posted by jimmyp
I wonder if most melonite bores are rougher than bare steel bores?


The process will not change your bore's finish (other than the chemical change). If you have a fine lapped bore, it will be so after nitriding. If your bore is rough and the chamber full of tooling marks, it will be after nitriding. Nitirding leaves an extremely hard surface layer. This increases the lubricity of the metal somewhat, regardless of the finish. The downside to this increase in RC is that it takes much longer to brake in a barrel (if it ever brakes in) and smooth out any reamer marks than it does with a non treated bore. That is why it is very important to make sure your barrel and chamber are exactly they way you want them before you nitrocarburize them. Your not going to get rid of any reamer marks or burrs after nitriding without some serious effort or very hard tooling.

Last edited by chicoredneck; 09/27/12.
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Halfway down the page there is a chart comparing chrome, nickel, and nitride finishe's corrosion resistance. The nitride is superior as a barrel finish.
http://www.verwoestpa.com/AR15_barrels_s/1827.htm

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I see smith and wesson is using it, also AAC for their 300 BO barrels and AR Performance.


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Jimmy, I've got a 5.45X39 AR-15 with a nitrided barrel. The rifle shoots corrosive primered ammo and so far the barrel is holding up just fine. I live in north Mississippi and the humidity levels are probably about the same as in Georgia. I've shot it several times and didn't get around to cleaning for a couple of day's afterward. I have yet to find any rust or corrosion in the barrel.



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that is good info, I am considering wasting more money on another gun... whistle



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