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Hard coatings for magnesium

January 27, 2010

I am an engineer with a company developing a new kind of firearm - an automatic pistol with unique capabilities. We are looking into the use of magnesium for the slide. It meets our needs fairly well, but it requires a coating to reduce surface scratches, etc. The need is more for cosmetic than wear protection, as there are coatings which will protect the sliding surfaces, but they are unsightly to non-engineers. These surfaces are normally hidden from view, so this is not a problem.

An ability to display different colors and "glosses" is highly desirable, though it is not necessary that a single coating system do them all. Our main market is a large group of people for whom the usual "deadly serious" look of a pistol is undesirable.

Cost is not a serious concern, as these are "high value" products and the area to be covered on each one is only about 30 sq. in. (exterior only).

Paul Greenhut
Design Engineer - Hartford, CT USA

Ed. note: Sorry, this RFQ is old & outdated, so contact info is no longer available. However, if you feel that something technical should be said in reply, please post it; no public commercial suggestions please ( huh? why?)

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First of two simultaneous responses --

Magoxid-Coat(R)is a hard anodic coating for magnesium. It is both wear and corrosion resistant. It can be topcoated with almost any color of a glossy resin-bonded PTFE. This topcoat will add additional corrosion resistance and lubricity.

Chris Jurey, Past-President IHAA
Luke Engineering & Mfg. Co. Inc.

Wadsworth, Ohio

January 28, 2010

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Second of two simultaneous responses --

While I know nothing more about them than what I've read in their advertising literature, it sounds like the folks at Tagnite dot com might offer what you seek. They do some variant of anodizing on magnesium that they claim offers abrasion resistance, a smooth coating, and a good paint base. Again, I've not dealt with them, but they could be worth a look.

Lee Gearhart
metallurgist - E. Aurora, New York
January 28, 2010