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Glock Gen 3 vs Gen 4 Slide Finish (Yes, I have searched!)
- Thread starter Jin
- Start date
In the past i was told by one of the Glock armorers that the finish could not be applied in the US due to environmental concerns.Maybe they found a less hazardous finish? That would be a good thing.
The earlier gen's were less susceptible to chemicals with the older finish, but the would scratch easier with leather holsters normally on the front slide area, the Gen 4's have a finish that's supposed to be harder to scratch. Only time will tell and the EPD wont let Glock use that older finish in the USA because of the chemical that's applied to the slide while they were built in Austria. The newer finish is more grayish looking. You can find some early Gen 4's that have a slightly darker finish.......this was discussed in a recent Glock Armorers class at Glock. The finish on some early gen 2.5 had a ruff finish some may remember.
Not a Glock guy so I have very little to add yo this thread except, don't worry so much about searching. We won't give you a hard time like other sites.
Yea even some of the gen 3s have different finishes.
There is an article about this on Glock Talk Forum. Can't remember what was said just remember reading it. My Gen3 17 has shiny finish, but both of my 19's have dull finish. Who knows they both seems just as durable as the other, one is just prettier.
Hello All!
I apologize for the late reply. From experience, I daily carried a few Glocks and found out that the slick, shiny finish is more resistant to light abrasions and indirect scratches. The more flat blackish, matte grayish finish scratches very easily! Now when it comes to durability, both seems to hold up against rust very well. To ME, it also seems like the flat, matte finish holds lubrication alot better within the slide rails. While the rails on the slicker finish tends to run a little more. To point out the topic of Gen 3 finish vs Gen 4 slide finish, I believe, the finishes do not depend on generation. For example, I have a Gen3 G26 with the flat blackish, matte grayish finish. While my Gen3 G21SF, G20C and G30SF has the slick, shiny finish. And my Gen4 G17 has the same finish as my Gen3 G26. Seems oddly enough, many people may suggest that the finish differs in the bigger slides of the larger calibers(45acp and 10mm). Well I also have a Gen3 G23 that has the slick, shiny finish. All Glocks have the Tenifer treatment. It is NOT a finish. The Tenifer process goes deeper than the surface that we see. From what I was told from Glock in Smyrna, All Glocks are made in Austria, but assembled in the U.S., for the Tenifer treatment posed hazardous and is banned from our country. So why Glock has different finishes on different samples? I still do not know for sure. But I would prefer the slick and shiny finish myself.
-Joe
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As it's been stated, Glock stopped using the tenifer finish for U.S. models because that finish (applied before the slide is parkerized) is illegal in the United States for manufacturers to use. They are now using melonite, which is an equivalent to tenifer, but not as environmentally unsafe.
Thanks for clearing that up!
