Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Nitride finishing, is it safe?

I'm interested in nitriding a couple of actions. Not concerned so much about the barrels.

Seems like there's a lot of conflicting information floating around the web on Nitride finishing and I'm not sure what to make of it. All things considered, it looks like it has the best qualities of any metal finish for a gun but I see a lot of folks questioning the integrity of the steel, for firearms use, once the procedure is done given the extreme heats involved. I've also read that it can throw specs off.

I have no idea but certainly don't want to compromise my equipment.

Any opinions or experiences with nitriding?

I've got a couple of actions that have been nitrided, but before they got to me during the manufacturing process. I haven't had them done afterwards. From what I've read it's "mostly" safe, 99% of the time you're going to be OK but there is the 1%. The go to company seems to be H&M metal processing which is the company that did both of mine, a Kelbly and a Bighorn.

I've heard that Howa actions don't do well.

RAN

I've had several barrels, bolts and a couple receivers done with Melonite QPQ. It is salt bath nitride. You need the right company and to be able to tell them the exact metal that you are giving them.

I have had a half dozen actions done and a few barrels. I think the barrels are hit or miss depending on what shape they are in when you send them. The actions are nice. There are other options too- DLC, TiN and a few others that involve making the surface harder.

DLC looks interesting, talk to me more.

So DLC would be a coating where nitride a treatment, is that right?

From what I've read so far, it looks like it comes our grey and darkens up when lubricated but leaves a bit of a shine. Is flat black out of the question? Does it provide any real corrosion resistance value over say... parkerizing (and I understand parkerizing just holds lubricant)? Any controversy or debate on DLC like nitriding?

I've had several guns done by H&M, all came out very nice, it works better on cromoly but barrels need to be broken in before you send them. It also takes a good hour to clean all the gunk out of the barrel after you get it back, some really nasty stuff.

It makes the bolt glide like its on rails and is very corrosion resistant after treatment

I don't have and experience with the DLC myself. I have seen several examples of it. I really like the Nitriding myself. I have used Glocks for 30 years and this is the finish they have. Never seen one rust.

I heard the Earth is flat. I heard it is bad luck to walk under a ladder. I heard that a lone gunman named Lee Harvey Oswald killed a sitting President with an Italin Carcano rifle with a scope not properly fitted to the rifle.


When it comes to the Howa I hear all kinds of ignorant things online from people the most frequent is "The Howa 1500 is not strong enough it has a cast receiver.". For the record that is not true it has a forged receiver.That makes it vastly stronger and more expensive to make than 99% of the actions made in America.

If anything would react badly it would be the bottom metal which is aluminium but no one with 2 or more brain cells would put them in the salt bath at the place doing the process.

It is possible that something in the steel is reacting but not likely since a steel mill is providing Howa with their steel so it will be very pure and a common steel allow.

I would ask all these people parroting that they do not do well to put forth some evidence of this and a scientific reason for this. I would also contact the place you want to do the work and ask them directly instead of hoping to get an intelligent and well informed response off the internet.

Even when talking about strong ammonia to clean bores it is normally impurities in the steel that react Hatcher had no way of knowing this though and that is why they thought it was random. I would also remind you that there are many types of surface hardening that do not use the heat that salt baths do and that are not as potentially corrosive.

There are still relics living that think the Japanese make junk and have junk steel and think European cars are the mark of quality which is actually backwards and reversed.

I am thinking about making a trip to Ohio in the next 6 months to drop off some parts since I am only one state away. If they let me I will take some photo's. Take care!

I am sure you know this already but a nitrided surface is hard on tooling so any machine work that you want to do do it before the parts are treated. Also the biggest issue is the solution not being completely rinsed out of spaces where threads and gaps can retain it. So it is best to have the rifle broken down as completely as you can if you want to eliminate this as a possibility.The down side is trying to put the barrel back on for example with out marring the new finish.

No this is not a process that builds significantly on the surface like chrome does or electroless nickle and the like.