I don’t think it can be stripped and look stainless (silver) again. Best bet is chrome plating if you want that look. Otherwise it can be ceracoted in any color you want.

 

The duty treat is excellent and there are LOTS of products that don't bother it. FP10, Gunfighter oil, Wilson ultima , Slip 2000, Kroil Ballistol, etc.

 

I am really leaning towards a black finish-I just wanted to make sure after the frame is stripped & refinished that the frame & slide will match. I had heard that the frame would have an odd color because of the Duty Coat after being stripped & was concerned the slide & frame would be two different colors after the refinish

 

I had thought about just having the slide coated by Dan Wesson, but I was just concerned about how well it would hold up if I used something that messed with the finish.

 

Pretty sure you can't strip that dutywhateveritscalled finish off those guns.

 

There you go. It's melonite

 

My understanding is that the Duty treatment is not really a coating, but a chemical surface treatment. Its basically a Melonite/QPQ like treatment. You can't just sand blast it away.

 

I don't know what you should do.

I have a Valor I got earlier this year with the Duty finish. It's black. You can't beat the stuff off with a hammer. You have to work half an hour just to file through it. If you try to machine it, it ruins your cutting tools. It's hard as diamond and never rusts. It's pretty much like any of the other PVD coatings used on guns. I've cleaned it with all kinds of stuff.

But no solvents. Never solvents. Just oil-based products. You don't need solvents because stuff doesn't stick to it.

TBH, the horror stories about the finish seem overblown. I do not treat it as if it is some delicate, dainty coating. I shoot the crap out of the gun, carry it, holster it. It's got 5,000 rounds and probably that many holster draws. It looks fine. If I want a Valor that does not have the Duty finish I will sell this one and buy one that never had it. I have no idea how, or if, they can get this stuff off.

It's your gun and you should do what you want. This is just my opinion/experience.

 

View attachment 188815
Like @Joe C said.... Good luck getting it removed.


That being said, I’m going to ask a simple question.
Why not just use what Dan Wesson recommends?
Duty Treat is almost bulletproof when you use kroil to clean and FP10 to lube.
The idea of spending hundreds of dollars to remove a finish that cost an upgrade fee of $300-$400 to be able to use a $5.00 can of Gun Scrubber just seems backwards to me.
In fact I spent the extra to have my Silverback completely Duty Treated because it is such a tough Finish. FWIW, Of all my Dan Wesson’s, only two are not Duty treated.
One is Blue and one is SS.

 

This is a pretty good basic explanation of the various coating types, including the PVD coatings (DLC, Duty Treat, melonite, etc.)

 

Yeah, if its melonite it for sure isn't coming off the metal.

 

Melonite can be stripped, I've had it done

 

That Silverback looks awesome ….

 

I appreciate all of the input & I will look into sending it back to Dan Wesson. I have bought some of the products said to be used on this finish-I just know how my luck goes-if something can go wrong it will! Thanks again for all of the information. Great looking Silverback by the way!

 

Please post what you learn from DW. I suspect the Duty finish is a more-or-less irreversible process but I could be wrong. Seems to me if it was easily reversible the internet warriors who spray their guns with Gun Scrubber, or swab them down with Hoppe's Bore Solvent or whatever it is they do, would be able to just scrape/blast it off and fix it.

 

I'll echo DWE.
For a finish Duty is incredible. Stuff gets banged around. Hell,half the time my "cleaning" is just blasting dust(?) off with compressed air.
For a carry piece there is no equal.
Not a fan of any of the spray and pray gun scrubbers anyway.

 

I have a Duty Treat Specialist that has about 1200 rounds through it. That is not a lot but it is enough that many finishes would be acquiring some character but it still looks new. I have had some hard knocks to it that have left no marks. I use FP10 and Lucasoil with no problems. I have corresponded with DW about the Lucas oil and they raised no concerns. It is a great finish. I have a partial bottle of Breakfree CLP and when it is gone I won't replace it. The benefits of DT far outweigh its weaknesses.

 

Following. Just received my first DW with the duty finish.

 

I would sell it and buy something you can send to Business End Customs for Cerakote.

 

I will post what I find out from DW after the holiday's. Thanks again for all of your input!

 

Yes sir, I spoke with Bob at Nighthawk today & asked him if he could strip the Duty coat off a Dan Wesson & do the whole gun in DLC & he said yes that they do it all the time-450.00 to coat the gun complete. I am still waiting on an answer from Dan Wesson. I sent an e-mail as I can never catch them when I call in. I'll post their reply when I hear back from them

 

Early DW had duty coat which can be removed, later DW is a duty treat which will not. It is a QPQ salt bath nitride or something to that effect. It doesn't seem reasonable to pay money to remove a superior coating to apply a lesser one. It is your gun though, so theirs that.

 

That's the same as I've heard,Joe.
Pretty much,hope you like it cuz it's freaking staying!!

 

@NighthawkRep

Do you actually strip melonite or just apply over the top via whatever means?

 

While we don’t technically strip the finish completely as it does penetrate into the pores of the metal as Joe C mentioned above we are able to blast it enough to create a surface finish that a DLC or Cerakote finish will adhere to. The end result looks the same as if it were done to bare metal that had not been previously coated. We’ve done a lot of pistols that have been coated in nitride or DW duty coat with great results.

As I discussed with A45Gunner earlier today, Agency Arms uses a DLC finish on the majority of the Glock slides that they work on. Glock slides are finished in a nitride type finish (tenifer/melonite).

Hope this doesn’t confuse things further. Ha!

NHR


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Like my ECO,alloy frame so Duty Cote...and turned sorta plum.
Specialist is Duty Treat, beautiful licorice that just won't wear

 

Your frame is anodized

 

Understood
Thank you sir!

 

I have some of the cleaning agents suggested by DW-I just know if something can go wrong it WILL go wrong for me. I heard back from Endre & he said it would be 150.00 to Duty Treat the slide. If I do anything, this is what I will do. I love the look of an all black weapon, but if I keep the adjustable sight on there it will be primarily a range gun & not carried as much so I may just leave it as is-saying that, I love the look of DWE''s all black Silverback-decisions, decisions Thanks again for all the input

 

Just send your gun to me. I'll solve all of your problems