Machining a G17 slide...

parallax222 · Apr 16, 2020

Hey all,

I bought one of these:

Rockey Precision Glock 17 Essentials Slide

Rockey Precision Glock 17 Essentials Slide Our slides are machined from 416R stainless steel billet stock and come ready to accept Glock OEM internals, barrels, and guide rods right out of the box. Rockey Precision slides offer increased accuracy and reliability over OEM slides by providing...

www.rockeybrass.com

If I were to machine serrations on the front of the slide, or a cut for an RMR, what needs to be done to protect the bare metal i've just exposed? or is it fine how it is? The site says it has an aluminum oxide coating.

sidenote: I'm a CNC machinist by trade with access to proper machine tools.

ReluctantDecoy · Apr 16, 2020

ccioff said:
Hey all,

I bought one of these:

Rockey Precision Glock 17 Essentials Slide

Rockey Precision Glock 17 Essentials Slide Our slides are machined from 416R stainless steel billet stock and come ready to accept Glock OEM internals, barrels, and guide rods right out of the box. Rockey Precision slides offer increased accuracy and reliability over OEM slides by providing...

www.rockeybrass.com

If I were to machine serrations on the front of the slide, or a cut for an RMR, what needs to be done to protect the bare metal i've just exposed? or is it fine how it is? The site says it has an aluminum oxide coating.

sidenote: I'm a CNC machinist by trade with access to proper machine tools.

I don't think you'd have to worry too much for an RMR cut. Maybe bluing at the cheapest level of protection, but a tight fitting RMR shouldn't require it from what I've read. Slide serrations though--wouldn't that require complete refinishing the entire slide? I mean, you could keep the raw cut look I suppose, but that would be exposed. Whatever the case, just don't break $60. for your efforts, as then you could have just purchased one pre-cut for RMR and front serrations.

appraiser · Apr 16, 2020

mask it off and paint it with model paint in the color of your choice

PappyM3 · Apr 17, 2020

ccioff said:
Hey all,

I bought one of these:

Rockey Precision Glock 17 Essentials Slide

Rockey Precision Glock 17 Essentials Slide Our slides are machined from 416R stainless steel billet stock and come ready to accept Glock OEM internals, barrels, and guide rods right out of the box. Rockey Precision slides offer increased accuracy and reliability over OEM slides by providing...

www.rockeybrass.com

If I were to machine serrations on the front of the slide, or a cut for an RMR, what needs to be done to protect the bare metal i've just exposed? or is it fine how it is? The site says it has an aluminum oxide coating.

sidenote: I'm a CNC machinist by trade with access to proper machine tools.

Absolutely refinish with something. The slide is steel and will rust without protection. At a minimum, so some bluing of the exposed parts. Or you could use paint if you don’t mind it looking odd. If it were a Glock slide, I’d refinish it with a Glock finish, but for that, cerakoting it would be good.

pastera · Apr 17, 2020

just cerakote - the aluminum oxide they mention is a fancy way of saying they sand blast it

moojpg2 · Apr 17, 2020

PappyM3 said:
Absolutely refinish with something. The slide is steel and will rust without protection. At a minimum, so some bluing of the exposed parts. Or you could use paint if you don’t mind it looking odd. If it were a Glock slide, I’d refinish it with a Glock finish, but for that, cerakoting it would be good.

dude they are 416 stainless steel.

You don't have to finish the cuts, just keep it wiped down with some rem oil or something. 416 stainless will get rust spots from the oils from our hands but it will just wipe off with an oiled rag. It will not severely corrode unless u used the gun for carry on a boat and it saw a lot of salt spray or something weird like that. You don't have to finish it if you like the two tone look. I have a raw 416 stainless slide on a tiffany blue frame for a gun I built with my gf's name engraved in the slide. I engraved it on the mill at work and I left it the raw media blasted finish so the engraving would contrast well and it has held up fine.

ReluctantDecoy · Apr 17, 2020

pastera said:
just cerakote - the aluminum oxide they mention is a fancy way of saying they sand blast it

Problem is, even if you buy cerakote paint for a DIY approach, you're shelling out like $70. for a pint, not to mention any application materials/tools required (hopefully already on hand). If he paid $139 for the slide, that's then over the $195. that Rockey Precision sells a pre-cut RMR/front serrations slide that is already factory painted.

PappyM3 · Apr 17, 2020

moojpg2 said:
dude they are 416 stainless steel.

You don't have to finish the cuts, just keep it wiped down with some rem oil or something. 416 stainless will get rust spots from the oils from our hands but it will just wipe off with an oiled rag. It will not severely corrode unless u used the gun for carry on a boat and it saw a lot of salt spray or something weird like that. You don't have to finish it if you like the two tone look. I have a raw 416 stainless slide on a tiffany blue frame for a gun I built with my gf's name engraved in the slide. I engraved it on the mill at work and I left it the raw media blasted finish so the engraving would contrast well and it has held up fine.

416 SS can rust, fact. And in fact, it’s less rust resistant than other stainless steels. If you want a raw 416 slide, enjoy. But maybe the OP doesn’t want to wipe off rust spots, and the bare metal under an RMR could get rusty without being noticed for a long time.

jayhitek · Apr 17, 2020

I've had great luck with the Brownells Aluma-hyde 2. It's pretty inexpensive.

Brownells - Serious about firearms

Developed by Brownells, Aluma-Hyde II is a unique finish offering increased resistance to cleaners, solvents, and other chemicals. Aluma-Hyde is the perfect choice for gun enthusiasts who want to protect and keep their firearms looking great for years to come.

www.brownells.com

I've sprayed it into a cup and painted it on for some hard to reach areas..
And you can let it cure by itself for like a week. Or bake it in the oven for a couple of hours.

PappyM3 · Apr 17, 2020

ReluctantDecoy said:
Problem is, that's then over the $195. that Rockey Precision sells a pre-cut RMR/front serrations slide that is already factory painted.

Which is why someone should just get one of those if they want RMR and serration cuts.

50wt · Apr 17, 2020

The site says it's been cerakoted after it's been sand blasted. Machine it , hit it with a rattle can, abuse the crap out of it, then sell it as battle worn.

Nick Leduc · Apr 17, 2020

ccioff said:
sidenote: I'm a CNC machinist by trade with access to proper machine tools.

Do you have tread milling capabilities? If you do, go that route for the RMR threaded holes. The slide you bought will be harder than stock glock slides (if you've ever milled one them they are fairly soft). But tapping stainless can suck with those small taps. Especially using a bottoming tap, because you will soon find out, there isn't much room there as far as depth goes.

ReluctantDecoy · Apr 17, 2020

PappyM3 said:
Which is why someone should just get one of those if they want RMR and serration cuts.

Yeah, that's why I was suggesting bluing. Seems like the most cost effective option for someone wanting to save some bucks on home milling these things.

PappyM3 · Apr 17, 2020

ReluctantDecoy said:
Yeah, that's why I was suggesting bluing. Seems like the most cost effective option for someone wanting to save some bucks on home milling these things.

Yup, agreed. A small container of bluing and call it a day. Wouldn’t look as good as cerakote, but better than paint and still affordable.

jayhitek · Apr 17, 2020

kope said:
The site says it's been cerakoted after it's been sand blasted. Machine it , hit it with a rattle can, abuse the crap out of it, then sell it as battle worn.

hahaha LNIB only 50 rounds down the pipe. I think it was a safe queen too.

moojpg2 · Apr 18, 2020

PappyM3 said:
416 SS can rust, fact. And in fact, it’s less rust resistant than other stainless steels. If you want a raw 416 slide, enjoy. But maybe the OP doesn’t want to wipe off rust spots, and the bare metal under an RMR could get rusty without being noticed for a long time.

You're barking up the wrong tree. I work with stainless and different alloys for a living. I have tons of unfinished 416 stainless slides, they don't rust unless you are careless. The op asked if he could leave it unfinished and the simple answer is yes he can, especially if it's a budget build or a range toy.

mac1911 · Apr 19, 2020

ReluctantDecoy said:
Problem is, even if you buy cerakote paint for a DIY approach, you're shelling out like $70. for a pint, not to mention any application materials/tools required (hopefully already on hand). If he paid $139 for the slide, that's then over the $195. that Rockey Precision sells a pre-cut RMR/front serrations slide that is already factory painted.

but just think of how many guns you can cera-ruin once you have all that stuff.

mac1911 · Apr 19, 2020

PappyM3 said:
416 SS can rust, fact. And in fact, it’s less rust resistant than other stainless steels. If you want a raw 416 slide, enjoy. But maybe the OP doesn’t want to wipe off rust spots, and the bare metal under an RMR could get rusty without being noticed for a long time.

Rust is a funny thing and its crazy how different alloys or even the same alloys rust or dont rust.
If your worried about rust spray some of this on the exposed metal. OP i think the exposed metal might look good on the slide serations. My gut tells me to apply something to the mount surface. How many different alloys will be involved with that mount/base/screws and what not.

i have a 2" chunk of barrel that I cut off my AR it sits on my box at work. Im still shocked how little it has rusted. On the cut end.

parallax222 · Apr 19, 2020

NickLeduc said:
Do you have tread milling capabilities? If you do, go that route for the RMR threaded holes. The slide you bought will be harder than stock glock slides (if you've ever milled one them they are fairly soft). But tapping stainless can suck with those small taps. Especially using a bottoming tap, because you will soon find out, there isn't much room there as far as depth goes.

Good point. yea, I use mostly thread mills now cause i dont wanna bother with the headache of broken taps.

parallax222 · Apr 19, 2020

Thanks for the replies everyone. Already made the purchase, so I'll probably just go the bluing route after I make whatever cuts im gonna make. Will report back with results

Nick Leduc · Apr 19, 2020

ccioff said:
Thanks for the replies everyone. Already made the purchase, so I'll probably just go the bluing route after I make whatever cuts im gonna make. Will report back with results

I have always used cold blue on all the slides I have milled for RMRs just to give them some protection, and just throw some oil on afterwards.
Cold blue may not take to the stainless. If memory serves me correct, I had one slide that wouldn't blue and I believe it was a M&P which is also a stainless.

50wt · Apr 19, 2020

Post pics when your done.

mac1911 · Apr 19, 2020

insta black works well on Stainless.

Machining a G17 slide...

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