[ARglock]

I was curious what everyone thought about the parkerized finish on the P11. If you were buying a new P11 to pocket carry would you prefer the parkerized version? I checked with my local dealer and they only have the standard black finish in stock. Any opinions???

By the way I'm new to the forum!!! It looks like a great site and I'm glad to be associating with you P11 folk. I hope to soon be a P11 owner. I definately need something smaller than my G22 for summer carry.

Happy Shooting,
Clay

 

[Midiman]

I prefer parked to blued any day.

 

[WIL in Ok.]

Parkerized

YES !If you are going to concealed carry your P-11, I believe you would be better off with the Parkerized finish. That finish is more -durable- than blueing,and also less reflective hence less noticable. I didn't know it was available when I bought my P-11 or mine would be . When I send mine back to K-T for factory smoothing and tuning, I will pay to have then refinish it in Parkerized ! Welcome to the Range, and Kel-Tec firearms in general. Have you looked at the P3at for concealed carry? It is even smaller and lighter than the P-11,in.380 cal ? 8) -- Wil --

 

[KeysBear]

I could have bought a parkerized P-11 when I got mine, but I went for the blued version instead. Maybe it was the light in the gun shop, but I didn't care for the color of the parked one at all. After about six months of use I got my P-11 slide nickel plated by Jack Fuselier. I believe you can send your slide to Kel-Tec for a parkerized exchange, but I prefer their hard chrome.

Regards, Keys 8)

 

[mrapathy2000]

would do fluff n buff and send the slide in to get professional finish ie macs shooting irons or something else.

if you go parkerized finish consider getting a overcoat finish like http://www.kgcoatings.com/
or brownells spray n bake finish.

bought a parkerizing kit from www.shootersolutions.com forget what it cost. overall i wish I sent my slide in for pro job but was fun experiment except for a when I worked on something else and didnt get all the oil out of a part and degrease it and it pitted. slide came out ok didnt get the brownells telfon/moly spray n bake on thin enough so its worn off in high wear areas but the park is still in those areas. parkerizing makes nice primer. the moly coat finishes are pretty rust resistent the military uses it on firearms that go near salt water. doesnt scratch easily or chip if done right. should last long time with ccw more than park or blue alone. might be worth it to just go hardchrome or nickel. if kel-tec offered black hardchrome slide exchange I would be all over that. bad thing about chrome is pitting. nothing is perfect. wish the anodizing on the frame was bit stronger it wore in no time on my p11.

I am no finishing expert, I have just dabbled in it and looked around and toyed with some things. if you decide to DIY take all necesary precautions.

 

[Ronbo]

I to considered both

I just got my P-11 about 2 weeks ago. At first was wanting the Parkerized, but could not find one. So, I bought the blued. I talked to Kel Tec Company. They said I could send in the slide section to them and they will Parkerize for $15. However right now their Parkerized tank is down for about 2weeks for repairs.

Main advantage is the blued one would tend to rust more, but if you keep it clean and maybe do not carry right next to your skin I think the blued one will do fine.

Not sure yet if I will send mine in to be Parkerized. I want to see you first to see how it looks. Someone stated in another response here they did not like the look of the Parkerized finish.

Hope this helps you out.

 

[mrapathy2000]

parkerizing is a chemical process that reacts to the hardness of the steel. harder the steel the darker the parkerized finish can be. you can add another chemical either to metal or parkerizing fluid to get a green finish. two types of parkerizing both turn out differently. zinc and maganese. maganese will come out grey to black depends on the metal. zinc comes out grey to charcoal grey.

while it will last longer than blueing its good idea to get a overcoat on it. number of firearm finishing outfits do this.

if you stick with bare parkerizing finish make sure you oil it as the finish will absorb the oil. wipe excess with dry clothe. depending on weather and temperature watch it cause the oil could bleed out if that happens just wipe with dry cloth.

alot of info on the net bout parkerizing if you want to learn. mac's shooting irons will probably do a slide for less than $50 parkerize and overcoat.

when I parkerized my p11 slide it came out black I used maganese solution was pretty rough and strong perfect material for primer I used brownells teflon/moly spray on bake on and its pretty bullet proof/rust resistant finish. doesnt scratch as easily as park along takes alot for it to wear and is pretty resistant to salt water.