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Mannox Coating
Wehrmacht_45
Member Posts: 3,377
Apparently this is the new coating Steyr will be using on their pistols in place of Tennifer, as well as on their non stainless guns.
What can you tell me about it?
What can you tell me about it?
Comments
It's been around since sometime in 2005. This is an excerpt from another author's description:
"The barrel and action are finished in a glare-free matte-gray Steyr calls Mannox, giving the metal a finish virtually impervious to rust, very scuff resistant and, more importantly, the finish protects both the inside and outside of the barrel, unlike most other finishes. A Steyr trademark, it is an exceptional finish for a firearm destined for hard use. The barrel itself is cold hammer forged and displays the handsome pattern the forging process creates. The barrel, made from chrome moly, is threaded into the receiver."
There is a description available through a patent search but like most things written by lawyers, is not understandable to us lay folks. The gist of it is that it's based on ceramic-metallic nanotechnology which is anti-glare and protects the surfaces from rust.
Hopefully there is a more in depth explanation somewhere...
Best.
"Do you think it will be a better pistol finish than Tennifer?"
I can't answer that question because I don't have any long term experience with the Mannox coating that Steyr is using. Generally, it takes several years to get the proper feedback from the large data base of the general public. Until then, I think that Steyr is a responsible manufacturer that has done its homework before committing to this finish.
As an aside, here is some information regarding Tennifer and Melonite by S&W:
Historically, firearm parts were black oxided, which is an oxidation process that is only a few millionths of an inch thick. It does not offer corrosion resistance and doesn't alter the underlying steel. Salt bath nitriding is a case hardening process that leaves a fairly thick, corrosion resistant, hard surface.
Tennifer, used by Glock and the European automotive industry and Melonite, used by S&W, are very nearly the same process using salt bath nitriding. The only difference in the Tennifer process and Melonite is the brand name and a slight change in chemistry. The original German formulation for the Tennifer carbon-nitriding salt bath used 60% sodium cyanide, cyanate and 40% potassium cyanide and cyanate. The EPA doesn't allow anyone to do it here. The process has to be cyanide free here as far as I know.
S&W does state that the Melonite process is superbly protective for 'chrome moly' type steels but alters the metal structure of stainless steels. This is the answer I got:
"S & W chose Melonite for several reasons, one being durability and the other that it could be used on both 4140 and 416 stainless. However, we don't recommend it for the latter (416) because it actually removes some of the properties of the material, which ultimately could allow for rust/corrosion."
I'm waiting for a response from Steyr but they are usually slow in coming across with technical information.
Best.