Posted: 4/3/2015 8:20:36 PM EDT
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Has anyone hear sent a gun to Robar to be coated in NP3? How do you like it? I want to get a Ruger MKIII refinished. Are there any cheaper alternatives that still coat both the externals and internals?
pics are welcome |
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I had an unsatisfactory experience with Robar when having a barrel coated in matte Roguard.
I had to send the barrel back because the first job was poorly done, with a number of blemishes. They insisted that these blemishes were not present when the barrel left their premises, but it's difficult to see how that would be true. It took several emails for them to respond to this initial issue, and there was no apology of any kind, just a brusque "Send it back and we'll refinish it." I wasn't expecting anything profuse, but a "Sorry about that." would have been nice. When I got the barrel back after a second refinish, the barrel was semi-gloss (when I had requested matte) and the thread protector was matte (which served to illustrate that matte was possible, and what it looked like). But at least both were even, smooth coatings that time. Several emails to Robar went unreplied to. It took me threatening to initiate a credit card dispute for them to respond to my emails at all after the second job. They insisted that they couldn't see any problems with the second job. They did end up refunding *some* of my money, so I ended up out of pocket for about $35 in shipping charges (me to them, them to me) for a barrel that wasn't ever completed satisfactorily. Both jobs took 30-ish days, door to door. They didn't expedite the second job, despite the blemished initial work that was their fault. Again, didnt' ask for that, and didn't expect that, but it ended up speaking to their overall attention to customer satisfaction. All that to say, QA/QC seems to be hit or miss, and customer service was wholly indifferent. I learned, after the fact, that this is apparently fairly common with Robar. Frankly, I'd think very carefully before I'd send anything else to Robar, and doubt I'd send them an entire gun. There's no doubt that NP3 is a great coating/treatment, but it's too bad that Robar's the company that applies it. |
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I'd be very careful in criticizing any manufacturer that now (or in the past) has donated a dollar to this website.
It won't end well for you; no matter how much you are in the right and they (the manufacturer) are in the wrong. Nothing good can/will come from it. Keep your opinions and your stories to yourself, bro. Unfortunately, they don't much appreciate cautionary tales such as yours. 
Stick to emailing the company and such. Don't turn around and post it here. |
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Quoted:
I'd be very careful in criticizing any manufacturer that now (or in the past) has donated a dollar to this website. It won't end well for you; no matter how much you are in the right and they (the manufacturer) are in the wrong. Nothing good can/will come from it. Keep your opinions and your stories to yourself, bro. Unfortunately, they don't much appreciate cautionary tales such as yours.
Stick to emailing the company and such. Don't turn around and post it here. Based on how often PSA is criticized here, I would guess that first part is not true. |
), anyone else had an experience with NP3?
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I wasn't even referring to your post, which is why I quoted the other guy. 
Thanks Quoted:
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*shrug* Every word is true, and I can back it all up. If the truth is a problem, then so be it. I wasn't even referring to your post, which is why I quoted the other guy.
Thanks I was responding to the other guy too, not to you, but I should have quoted him to make that more clear. |
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I was responding to the other guy too, not to you, but I should have quoted him to make that more clear. Quoted:
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*shrug* Every word is true, and I can back it all up. If the truth is a problem, then so be it. I wasn't even referring to your post, which is why I quoted the other guy.
Thanks I was responding to the other guy too, not to you, but I should have quoted him to make that more clear. My bad. Thanks for your post. 
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Another member here had a G17 that would always rust through the Tenifer on the back of the slide. After having it go back to Glock at least once for refinishing, and it rusted again, he sent it to Robar (and if I remember correctly, Glock paid for the coating) for NP3 on the slide.
He couldn't bring himself to trust it and thought it would eventually rust through the NP3, so he sold it to me. I've had it now for over 4 years and no issues. It's a great finish, but does make the gun feel "slick". I don't know how popular hardchrome and metaloy are anymore, as it seems everyone has switched to Cerakote and other spray on finishes. But those are options available as well. |
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Another member here had a G17 that would always rust through the Tenifer on the back of the slide. After having it go back to Glock at least once for refinishing, and it rusted again, he sent it to Robar (and if I remember correctly, Glock paid for the coating) for NP3 on the slide. He couldn't bring himself to trust it and thought it would eventually rust through the NP3, so he sold it to me. I've had it now for over 4 years and no issues. It's a great finish, but does make the gun feel "slick". I don't know how popular hardchrome and metaloy are anymore, as it seems everyone has switched to Cerakote and other spray on finishes. But those are options available as well. One of the main reasons I like the NP3 is because they coat the internals also. The bolt on my pistol is very rust prone. I have also heard that it makes the trigger much smoother. |
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I've had Robar do NP3, NP3+, Roguard and their Poly T2. All of the finishes were aesthetically pleasing and have held up well. One of the pistols with Roguard/NP3 has over 30k rounds on it and has been my daily carry for 13 years now. The two major concerns I've had:
1) Roguard electropencils the last 3 digits of your serial number on every part, which looks pretty cheap IMO. 2) I had the internal parts NP3'ed. A number of those parts have since broke - although it was between 7k-23k rounds later when they broke. It could be just normal wear and tear; but part of me suspects some type of hydrogen embrittlement. The other problem is if you do need to replace parts NP3 doesn't really match any other finish, so you have to send them to Robar to be coated which adds time and cash for a part you could just normally get from Brownells. All in all though, I'm pleased with the work. And NP3 definitely adds some slickness to parts. |
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I had my 300 win mag the "elkinator" done in NP3+ no issues after nearly 4 years use... <a href="http://s3.photobucket.com/user/heron163/media/Guns/L1020207.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y75/heron163/Guns/L1020207.jpg</a> Looks great...like the stock also |
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I have two rifle that I sent to Robar for coating, both rifle have NP3 on the internals and satin Rogard on the exterior. One of the guns is my go-to coyote rifle that I use all winter here in MN, it goes from room temp to well below zero routinely, no condensation problems and the action is slick no matter what the temp is. The other gun is a favorite deer rifle that sits with me in the stand, it gets its share of wet snow and late fall drizzle, no problems.
I have never had a problem with Robar customer service or their products, I plan on using the again in the future. 
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I had them NP3 an aluminum framed 1911, and touch up the controls with roguard. The NP3 was slick and easy to clean, and one of the only refinish options available for aluminum frames at the time. The Roguard seemed very similar to what I now know as Cerakote. No issues with it either way. For electro less nickel plate, I highly recommend it. For Roguard? Cerakote can probably be had for cheaper. |
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I have had NP3 applied to a bunch of 1911's and Roguard on a couple of pistol's exteriors. Robar did do a crummy job on one pistol, but they made it right (including paying for shipping both ways). I would not recommend either finishes on a pistol. They are extremely slick (which sounds great) and you will have problems working the slide (etc) in sweaty/high humidity/bloody hands. I like Cerakote now or Gunkote (sp).
I lieu of all these wonder finishes (I still prefer parkerizing) buy yourself a can of Boeshield... Stuff works great and lasts a long time. I use it on metal guns and mags, knives, boats shit, etc. |
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You can apply Cerakote or Roguard to internal parts; however friction and wear will rub it off in pretty short order. The NP3 isn't impervious to that either but holds up better and is less obvious since it is kind of a dull, bare metal color anyway.
Comparing my Cerakoted AR to my pistols, it looks as though both Roguard and Poly T2 hold up better than Cerakote. The Cerakote was cheaper though and would probably do fine for most recreational shooters. |
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I'd be very careful in criticizing any manufacturer that now (or in the past) has donated a dollar to this website. It won't end well for you; no matter how much you are in the right and they (the manufacturer) are in the wrong. Nothing good can/will come from it. Keep your opinions and your stories to yourself, bro. Unfortunately, they don't much appreciate cautionary tales such as yours.
Stick to emailing the company and such. Don't turn around and post it here. I'm figuring you've been censured before for this? |
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Looks great...like the stock also Quoted:
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I had my 300 win mag the "elkinator" done in NP3+ no issues after nearly 4 years use... <a href="http://s3.photobucket.com/user/heron163/media/Guns/L1020207.jpg.html" target="_blank">http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y75/heron163/Guns/L1020207.jpg</a> Looks great...like the stock also thanks - I lucked out on that - McM had a stock for the mauser action and that particular barrel taper in their closeout section |
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Is there any other finish that can be applied to both the externals and internals of the gun? After shipping it would cost almost $400 to get the MKIII refinished in NP3. Seem a little high? Metalife used to apply their finish to the entire gun... I had a 1911 done in it - very nice work. I am not sure they are still around though. |
I had them do NP3+ on my P7M13 that was showing a lot of holster & sweat wear. It looks really nice. But as others have said the finish is VERY slick - I could surmise that, in a suboptimal environment with wet hands or compromised grip, manipulating the slide could be more difficult than with other finishes. On the other hand, they did the internals as well, which seems to have taken a lot of grit out of the trigger.
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I had an A2 rifle buffer tube done in NP3 to match the external/internal finish on a pof P308 rifle.
Finish looked good. Problem I had with the job: robar electro pencilled a job number to the inside of the buffer tube. The inside of the buffer tube. The reason given: it wouldn't be visible when the rifle is assembled... An A2 buffer tube isn't visible with the stock installed. In use the buffer and spring whipped the NP3 finish off the inside of the buffer tube were the electro stencil was done. |