Something I just noticed...

[OldTengu]

I bought a police trade in sig p226 a few months back. Am just noticing that it is the stainless model, but was blued by its previous owner. Best ways to restore it to it's previous finish?
Pics coming soon.

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[Kruel J]

Are you sure it's not factory stainless steel coated in Nitron? Lots of slides are made from stainless but then coated or treated with various "black" finishes.....

P226 Nitron Full-Size

This proven pistol with a Nitron coated stainless steel slide is a force to be reckoned with.

www.sigsauer.com

 

[OldTengu]

Are you sure it's not factory stainless steel coated in Nitrolon?

P226 Nitron Full-Size

This proven pistol with a Nitron coated stainless steel slide is a force to be reckoned with.

www.sigsauer.com

No. But unlike the pic in the link, my slide says "stainless" in the roll mark, and there is some holster wear that does show what appears to be stainless steel below.

 

[Kruel J]

I edited my post, but I've seen lots of guns marked stainless that were factory coated.

 

[RainMan_PNW]

Would depend on the age of the P226. If I recall correctly, there was a period where they were still made in W. Germany using milled stainless steel and then finished in black (as opposed to the original "folded" carbon steel slides). Those slides were marked "stainless" but were not left "raw". Eventually, they moved ALL slides over to milled stainless and stopped rolling "stainless" on them.

 

[RainMan_PNW]

Now - that of course doesn't mean you can't take it down to a stainless finish. Fully strip the slide and media blast it. I've read elsewhere you can send it back to Sig and they'll do it (not sure the cost). Sounds like a quick blast with aluminum oxide to pull the finish, and then a bead blast after will give you a nice matte finish. If you wanted shiny...well - better get out the polishing compound.

 

[OldTengu]

Here are the pics. I could certainly be wrong, but I don't imagine (while admittedly being a bit less familiar with proprietary firearms finishes than I should be) that the nitron finish would wear as this has. The frame is what is convincing me, as I believe the factory frames come anodized if not stainless, but I absolutely could be mistaken.

 

[The Heretic]

Almost all of the later manufactured SIGs have stainless slides whether they have a black finish on them or not. Some say "stainless" on the slide, some do not.

 

[The Heretic]

View attachment 764398View attachment 764397
Here are the pics. I could certainly be wrong, but I don't imagine (while admittedly being a bit less familiar with proprietary firearms finishes than I should be) that the nitron finish would wear as this has. The frame is what is convincing me, as I believe the factory frames come anodized if not stainless, but I absolutely could be mistaken.

That looks like the original finish on the slide. I have seen earlier alloy frames with a finish somewhat like that - they do not wear as well. What I would do is have the frame refinished if I were to do any refinishing. You can check on SIGTalk.com to see what is up with the date of manufacture by serial number.

 

[Kruel J]

Yup. Looks 100% factory original to me.

 

[Kruel J]

@OldTengu Also if you bought it as a LEO trade in/turn in it shouldn't have had any other previous owners. At least not to qualify as being advertised that way. And no LE agency is going to do any mods like that to their guns.

 

[spookshack]

I thought that's why folks bought police trade in's, because all the external wear and tear has already been done?

 

[aksu747]

View attachment 764398View attachment 764397
Here are the pics. I could certainly be wrong, but I don't imagine (while admittedly being a bit less familiar with proprietary firearms finishes than I should be) that the nitron finish would wear as this has. The frame is what is convincing me, as I believe the factory frames come anodized if not stainless, but I absolutely could be mistaken.

Definitely looks like the factory finish.
Seen a lot of used Sigs like that, you could have it refinished if you don't like the holster wear, I'd probably leave it stock though unless it started developing rust.

 

[nammac]

View attachment 764398View attachment 764397
Here are the pics. I could certainly be wrong, but I don't imagine (while admittedly being a bit less familiar with proprietary firearms finishes than I should be) that the nitron finish would wear as this has. The frame is what is convincing me, as I believe the factory frames come anodized if not stainless, but I absolutely could be mistaken.

Frame is anodized aluminum/alloy, slide is nitrated stainless...

 

[OldTengu]

Definitely looks like the factory finish.
Seen a lot of used Sigs like that, you could have it refinished if you don't like the holster wear, I'd probably leave it stock though unless it started developing rust.

I don't care about the wear. More than anything, I noticed something about this firearm that I hadn't previously, and not being incredibly familiar with sig's product line, drew some conclusions that appear to have been incorrect.

 

[RainMan_PNW]

Interesting read here - not that it specifically answers your finish question (as others have said, that looks like the older anodized slides that just didn't wear very well).

Is my "Made in Germany" (or West Germany) SIG Really German? - Real Gun Reviews

Often, in firearms-related forums and social media groups like the SIG Sauer Legion Facebook group, I’ll see the terms “West German SIG” and “German SIG” used interchangeably. I’ll also see guns referred to as “German-made” when that might not actually be the case. Some owners mistakenly (but...

www.realgunreviews.com

Yours would be in that "hybrid" time-frame - Made in Germany frame (post 1995) but imported to Exeter, NH and topped off with a made-in-USA slide and barrel.

You could also weigh the empty frame (leave take the slide off). A stainless frame will be considerably heavier than an aluminum one. My P229 frame (with grips) is ~13 oz. The P226 would be a tad heavier maybe, but not much.

 

[OldTengu]

Interesting read here - not that it specifically answers your finish question (as others have said, that looks like the older anodized slides that just didn't wear very well).

Is my "Made in Germany" (or West Germany) SIG Really German? - Real Gun Reviews

Often, in firearms-related forums and social media groups like the SIG Sauer Legion Facebook group, I’ll see the terms “West German SIG” and “German SIG” used interchangeably. I’ll also see guns referred to as “German-made” when that might not actually be the case. Some owners mistakenly (but...

www.realgunreviews.com

Yours would be in that "hybrid" time-frame - Made in Germany frame (post 1995) but imported to Exeter, NH and topped off with a made-in-USA slide and barrel.

You could also weigh the empty frame (leave take the slide off). A stainless frame will be considerably heavier than an aluminum one. My P229 frame (with grips) is ~13 oz. The P226 would be a tad heavier maybe, but not much.

The frame is definitely aluminum. That's why I expected it to be anodized rather than finished the way it is.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I bought a police trade in sig p226 a few months back. Am just noticing that it is the stainless model, but was blued by its previous owner. Best ways to restore it to it's previous finish?
Pics coming soon.

What those guys said.
You can touch up that alloy frame with Alumablack from Brownells.

 

[OldTengu]

What those guys said.
You can touch up that alloy frame with Alumablack from Brownells.

If I was going to do anything at this point, it would be to cerakote it silver. I don't mind the wear, but do prefer the look of stainless.

 

[The Heretic]

I have a number of "two tone" SIGs where the slide is a matte stainless finish and the frame is black. They look ok, but I prefer all black. I kind of like the all black with "white" controls.



Most P22X SIGs in the wild are steel slide (most of those are stainless) and alloy frame. The "all steel" guns (mostly a 226 or 220) are less common as they are more costly to manufacture and SIG charges more for them. They are also in more demand. I have not shot or handled any of the all steel SIGs, but I imagine they are even better to shoot due to what I imagine is probably a better balance and more weight.