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Thread: Robar and Kydex

  1. #1
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    Robar and Kydex

    Purchased a new Springfield 9mm compact as a training gun for my Colt Gunsite CCO's.
    50 rounds on the CCOs a month for 10+ years but they DO pound my hands.
    The new pistol runs nicely but is UGLY. I always admired a Robar finish but am wondering how it will hold up to all Kydex practice.
    Any thoughts or personal experience?
    TIA jon

  2. #2
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    Personal experience is; Hardchrome holds up considerably better than NP3 in the “abrasion department”.

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by gaijin View Post
    Personal experience is; Hardchrome holds up considerably better than NP3 in the “abrasion department”.
    Kydex/grit seems to eventually defeat all the finishes, but that has been my experience as well.

    While NP3 is a great finish (and I have another project ready to be coated with it), it does not take a great deal of effort to "mark" NP3. I made that discovery after I had some magazines for a polymer-framed pistol refinished and then wiped them down after their shakedown cruise. OTOH, after more use, the same mags still look reasonably good... FWIW, they also happen to remain the most reliable, easiest-to-care-for magazines I own. I subsequently stopped expecting miracles from firearms finishes be they trad or the latest/greatest.

    toc
    Last edited by theorangecat; 05-01-19 at 06:36.

  4. #4
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    The "mark" that you see is not wear but the NP3 being polished by the holster. NP3 is a hard durable finish. Robar has a new finish called Armorlube. It has many of the same properties of NP3 but it's black. I have seen the testing that was done on several Glocks doing thousands of presentations from a Kydex holster. The Glock with the Armorlube showed no wear on the finish.

    I hope someone from Robar will come along and explain it and share the test results. It's like the greatest story never told.

    M/

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  6. #6
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    I have NP3+ on a Beretta 92A1, its held up quite nicely since 2015, albeit in a leather holster, I don't use a single Kydex holster simply because its so damaging to finish, including stainless steel... Get rid of the Kydex and go with a high end leather rig, leather is the way to go. As to NP3 vs Hard Chrome, its not even close, Hard Chrome is far more durable and abrasion resistant, and when you Hard Chrome stainless steel the two together are literally about as corrosion resistant as you will ever need, while not even close to the corrosion resistance of NP3, its still so resistant to corrosion its just very unlikely you'll realize any improvement opting for the far costlier Robar NP3 or NP3+, which underscores my last point, Hard Chrome from a competent vendor, such as APW/Cogan is about $150.00 less per full pistol/revolver application!
    Last edited by DeathNinja; 06-13-19 at 18:01.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by mikeyd501 View Post
    Thanks for the link. The new Armorlube looks promising. Looks as good as the old Glock frying pan finish.

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by j102 View Post
    Thanks for the link. The new Armorlube looks promising. Looks as good as the old Glock frying pan finish.
    and you don't have to get rid of your Kydex!

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