Different Finishes/coatings on Glocks

[ChemDave]

I tried to see if this was asked before but could not find a thread. Why do Glocks have different finishes? Some have the "shiny" and what seems to be harder coating and some have a "dull", easy to scratch coating. As far as I can tell all are Gen 3. What is the difference? Glock only talks about the tenefer (sp?) treatment/coating. Has the finish changed over time? Are some done in Austria and sone in the US. I am thoroughly confused.

[mrnyman]

All of my Glocks are Gen 3's and i have never seen an easily scrartched one, i know the finishes were changed between gen 1 and gen 3.

[Emptymag]

I'm no expert, but I've never noticed a difference in finishes.

Could it be that some had a coat of oil on them?

[M&P Chris]

Some glocks have the nickel-boron finish. NIB-x. This should be the shiny one.

[Asmodeus6]

The Gen 4 I just picked up is a hair lighter in shade than the Gen 3 I bought 3 years ago. Not much. But it seems slightly more silvery black than the Gen 3.

Both guns are Austrian / assembled in Georgia.

[FLICK]

Some glocks have the nickel-boron finish. NIB-x. This should be the shiny one.

Yep.......



Some subtle changes in mixtures as well as what goes over the tenifer (ferritic nitrocarburizing) process has changed over the years. Some have a shiny black, dull black, and grayish black finish. Search the interwebs and you'll have a few days of reading.....

[mrdragon4]

The finish itself is no different. Gen 3 slides had the Tenifer process done before the finish was applied. Gen 4 slides are now processed in gas nitride and then have the same finish applied, this can has the appearance of a slicker look.

The reason Glock is giving to it's Armorers (of which am am one) is that they are now finishing the slides in the US and the Tenifer process produced byproducts illegal in the US, so they developed a new process that was just as good without the byproducts.

By the way it is my understanding that Tenifer and Melonite are the same process.

[M&P Chris]

Nice 19. My gen 4 19 has a somewhat dull finish, but I think it looks great. Maybe a NIB-X finish will be on the next one.

[bripro]

Here are a few pics of my 17 next to my 19. Both are Gen 3s. The 17 has a much more dull finish but I don't find it any more susceptible to scratches. Both slides are wiped of any oil. The 19 looks wet next to the 17 but it is not.

[ChemDave]

Thanks to all for the info. Mine definitely have different finishes but after reading lots on the Internet I am still confused but have seen lots of pics showing the difference so I know it is there. I still don't understand exactly why.

Is there a way to research the Glocks I own to determine when they were made and where?