Hey everyone. New to the Kel Tec clan and I must say I am quite impressed with my little P3AT. However, I do have one complaint/inquiry. I took my piece home to give it a thorough cleaning and after wards I have some finish wear. I used RedHead's solvent which has yet to damage any of my other firearms finish. Did I just get a bad slide or what? Is this something I should send to KelTec? Its cosmetic and I know I shouldn't care so much about a carry gun's finish, but I worry about long term issues such as rust and such if this problem persist....here are some pics:
Do you carry your P3-AT? Looks like surface rust, often caused by exposure to perspiration. You may want to consider having your slide coated or plated with a rust resistant finish.
My only problem with that is I have had this gun for 2 weeks, shot once, cleaned once. The slide did not look like that before the cleaning. So is this a warranty issue?
First things first... Welcome to KTOG! One of my P3ATs is blued and though nothing to brag about the finish, after years, does not look as bad as yours. My guess is if you contact Kel-Tec they'd probably ask you to send it in for inspection. They will most likely replace your slide - in my experience it is just how they do business (which in my opinion is a positive). I recently sent my whole upper into Kel-Tec to have them inspect the barrel on my HC P3AT. Turn around at Kel-Tec was 6 days. As a courtesy they replaced the entire upper. Matter of fact I checked UPS tracking this morning, the parts are out for delivery to my home as I type this. [Ref: Subject: Barrel Speed Bump on this forum] Take care...
Welcome. A buddy of mine used some hoppes #9 solvent on a blued revolver (heritage rough rider) and destroyed the finish ...looked just like that. However, the Heritage manual did warn of this...which he read thereafter. After reading my Keltec manual, I see no warnings regarding this. After my friends mistake, I am careful to never get solvent on any blued steel. The manual only recommends the use of solvent in the barrel and a "light coating of high quality gun oil to all external surfaces and wipe clean" If I were you and didn't want to have to worry about this anymore...I;d get the slide refinished... I love my cera-plate finish and they parkerize p3at keltec slides for $20 Small Handgun Slides------------------------------$19.98 (keltec p32.P3AT,LCP) http://www.ccrrefinishing.com/hg.htm mine:
KT will normally only warranty the finish for a very short time (days) from purchace. Best to call them ASAP if you want them to take care of this. Brad at CCR is good people ,been very pleased with his service. Might also consider a nickel plating by Jack; http://www.gunsmith.fuselier.com/slideoffer.html Or a custom color by Don at ; ,hold on , note on Don's site; http://www.goldenloki.com/
Ill just kick this in that I often carry mine and the finish does wear over time. I just clean it up and use some cold blue from Brownells. I have used both the 44/40 and Oxpho-blue, and both work fine. I kind of prefer a finish that I can just touch up myself vs a fancy finish that I have to worry about scratching.
Just an update...Kel Tec refinished the slide and it looks good as new! Mechanically it has been a fantastic firearm especially for the price. Thanks for the comments and suggestions everyone
I am having the same issue... I looked over posts before posting mine, but must of over looked this one... How long did it take them to turn it around for you 6 days as others said? I think I could go that long with out it...
Sorry for the delay (as I'm sure you already fixed your issue) but turn around was a little over 1 week. Couldn't say exactly because I wasn't overly concerned since I have a S&W 642 and Kahr PM-9 to fill the gaps until it got back. I have yet to shoot/clean again which i think will be the true test but I couldn't be happier with the service thus far. Hope you got yours fixed as well.
Say that looks nice. Would you say that it has a satin or brushed aluminum look to it, or how would you describe their cera-plate appearance? Is it a very durable quality like the hard chromed finish offered by Kel-Tec?
