Sig P226 Question..

[davebee456]

Sig P226 Question why is my trigger marking and chipping off the black on the frame behind the trigger,

Sig said this is normal because there is no trigger stop.?.!.?
Weird has anyone seen this???

try to get pictures up soon.

[Hayuya]

Mine has that too. Finish of the frame is not that great. It has come off on several places with metal to metal contact such as trigger, mag well and rail. I don't treat my guns as beauty queens, but not as durable as the finish of my other weapons.

[ChicagoTex]

Normal, and while it looks crappy, it's not like the aluminum frame is gonna rust on you.

[gtmtnbiker98]

Totally normal, since the frame serves as the slide stop. Some will chip while others will only get a shine where the trigger impacts the frame. The hard coat anodizing is very easily chipped on Sig frames. Nothing to worry about.

[Entropy]

Normal.

[davebee456]

i hope the rails coating and anodizing is a little better,

[ChicagoTex]

i hope the rails coating and anodizing is a little better,

Anodization and color coating are two different things. It's the coloring that chips/wears, but the anodization remains.

ETA: this is very similar to Glocks, where you'll see the black finish wear off, but the hard and corrosion resistant tenifer process is still very much present.

[socalav]

Totally normal it sucks mine has the same problem.

[Skyyr]

Anodization and color coating are two different things. It's the coloring that chips/wears, but the anodization remains.

ETA: this is very similar to Glocks, where you'll see the black finish wear off, but the hard and corrosion resistant tenifer process is still very much present.

Completely incorrect.

Anodizing is not a chemical treatment like Glock's Tenifer finish (nitrocarburizing). Nitrocarburizing reacts chemically with the metal to permanently change its composition and is absorbed into the steel itself - it's not a surface treatment and cannot be "scratched off." Anodizing is a surface treatment which compounds and hardens the natural oxidation of a metal - it IS a surface treatment and can be scratched off.

The colored material on the aluminum IS the anodizing.

[ChicagoTex]

Anodizing is not a chemical treatment like Glock's Tenifer finish (nitrocarburizing). Nitrocarburizing reacts chemically with the metal to permanently change its composition and is absorbed into the steel itself - it's not a surface treatment and cannot be "scratched off." Anodizing is a surface treatment which compounds and hardens the natural oxidation of a metal - it IS a surface treatment and can be scratched off.

I was using the parallel only to highlight that just because the black finish came off, it doesn't mean that bare aluminum is exposed.


The colored material on the aluminum IS the anodizing.

More correctly, it's a part of it. The colored material coming off is the painted portion of the anodized surface, just because the black is gone doesn't mean all of the anodization is, it's thicker than that (now if you dremeled on it or something , you'd lose the anodization).

[tuck]

The chipping must be an issue on the newer Sig pistols.

My 226 of a 1994 vintage has only a tiny shined up spot behind the trigger.

[Skyyr]

I was using the parallel only to highlight that just because the black finish came off, it doesn't mean that bare aluminum is exposed.

More correctly, it's a part of it. The colored material coming off is the painted portion of the anodized surface, just because the black is gone doesn't mean all of the anodization is, it's thicker than that (now if you dremeled on it or something , you'd lose the anodization).

"Anodizing" is not painted, it's the color of the hardened patina that's formed after the aluminum has undergone the process, either through natural coloring or through dyeing (unless you think that ARs are black because the anodizing is painted black). The color permeates the anodizing and is a different color than the patina that normally forms on aluminum. If the color is gone, then the anodizing is gone. If you can see the aluminum after the anodizing chips, then the anodizing and the protection it offered is gone. There is no additional protection, no permanent coating, nothing whatsoever left behind except for the aluminum and any NATURAL patina it forms on it's own, which is not anodizing.

[ChicagoTex]

Anodization changes the microscopic texture of the surface and changes the crystal structure of the metal near the surface.

Call it what you want, the fact is a small portion of the underlying metal is changed by the anodization, so losing the finish isn't the end of the world, deliberately going it with an abrasive, however, is.

[Entropy]

The chipping must be an issue on the newer Sig pistols.

My 226 of a 1994 vintage has only a tiny shined up spot behind the trigger.

You are indeed correct. West German, or older Sigs made/imported under the "Sigarms" company used more robust materials. The old frames were made using a high grade German aircraft aluminum that was exceptionally hard and durable. So, the steel components of the gun would not wear down the aluminim frame as much.

However, Sig, under Cohen's cost cutting methods have softened their materials since 2005. Basically, Cohen intended to make the company money by moving almost all of the parts manufacturing out of Germany. The German gun was designed around the hammer forged barrel which was exceptionally hard and long lasting. So, any part that came into contact with the barrel such as the slide, and steel frame insert had to be of similar hardness to reduce wear. Then of course anything touching those parts also had to be of similar hardness too. Everything on the old guns, stamped slide and stainless Sigarms guns, was uniform allowing for reduced wear and the best possible durability.

However the new company "Sig Sauer" did away with the German hammer forged barrel in favor of a softer steel barrel. This allowed them to reduce the hardness of all their parts which allowed for longer tooling life, and overall ease of manufacturing. Unfortunately, this has led to a whole array of parts mating problems. On newer guns, you'll notice a lot more wear in certain areas than on older guns because of this lack of uniform parts hardness. Slides are dinging much more, frames are wearing down faster, and small parts are not as durable. The new frame alloy is a softer material which has been known to have much more wear problems around steel contact points than the older frames. Stripped out grip screw threads are much more common too.

I've worked on a lot of Sigs over the years and I much prefer the old ones. Sig is making improvements here and there, but they are still falling behind the curve nowdays.

[davebee456]

I just got a Used P220 Two Magazines, Box and Manual 1996 Vintage.

Rails look good, barrel looks a little worn in but I am sure I am being paranoid.

the rails on the frame are shiny black.

I never detailed stripped a P Series however I just ordered a spring kit from midway usa just in case.

anyway is there still new forged german replacement barrels out there?
if they say DE is that the one to look for?

[Entropy]

anyway is there still new forged german replacement barrels out there?
if they say DE is that the one to look for?

I'm not sure what the "DE" marking means, but it might be an indication of being made in Germany. In Germany, barrels are a serialized part and must be mated to at least a frame to be sold..........however, things may be different when they are imported onto US soil for factory assembly.

However, I have a P229R with a DE marked frame and barrel, and the frame has had the chipping issue behind the trigger(along with a stripped out grip screw), and the barrel has really taken a beating where the steel frame insert meets with it. So, even if these parts were made in Germany, Sig Sauer USA may contracted for softer alloys to reduce costs. Sig has changed parts specifications so many times in the last 5 years that I just can't keep up.

If your P226R is shooting reliably, and you have put at least 1000 trouble free rounds through it.......then don't worry about it. You've got a good gun, and it should serve you well. Especially if it is in 9mm which is easier on the gun than the other calibers. Finding a harder, German hammer forged barrel is not the answer, because the objective is to have mating/rubbing parts that have a similar hardness. If one part is much harder than the other, than you'll get excessive wear on the softer part. The newer slides are softer, and using the harder barrel will be a problem for the slide.

I believe that Sig Sauer is working out their problems with time. It's just a hard lesson to put on their customers. The amount of abuse I've seen from late 1990s Sigarms P229s in the DHS academy was incredible, and they just kept on running. These guns were beat to hell in training with very little finish left and around 100k rounds through them. That newer P229R I mentioned earlier has less than 20k rounds through it and it still has more internal wear than my late 1990s Sigarms P229 which has probably 3x as many rounds through it. I may have to take some pictures to show you the difference.