Melonite (or other trade name) over a jeweled surface?

[AbitNutz]

Anyone here have or seen a jeweled surface, hammer, trigger, bolt, etc that has been finished in Melonite (or other trade name for ferritic nitrocarburizing) afterward? I have a gun that has a jeweled hammer and trigger that I'd like to have refinished using this method but I'm not sure how it would turn out.

It would be easy if I didn't particularly care for the jeweled look but I kinda do but I also want the benefit of these parts being treated/finished...I'm concerned that running it through the (insert trade name here) finish would:

a) Hide/blackout the jeweling
b) Make it look goofy

Since the qpq process is a finish/treatment and not a coating, there's no buildup. I would think something should print through, unless it makes it so dark it can't be seen.

[Walter Laich]

If you have a company in mind to do the work ask them. They would have a good idea as to limitations of their product/service

[Blackwater]

Good response above. The purpose of jeweling a bolt or hammer or whatever, is to create tiny "scratches" in the surface to hold oil or grease. It's that holding ability that makes is functional in resisting rust. Having reduced surface area also makes it tend to produce less friction. Not a whole lot, but enough to notice, usually. it also makes it less reflective, though not quite as much as a bead or sand blasted finish.

Mostly though, it's "looks" kind'a thing, and I like it. Any opaque finish is likely to cover up the beauty in it, though, I'm pretty sure. Those scratches that make up the patterns are very shallow, and mostly reflect light differently than a polished or matte finish, so pretty much any spray on type finish (whether baked on or not to cure it) would hide its beauty, I'd think.

[AbitNutz]

I agree with what you say but Melonite or the like, is not a spray on finish. It's salt bath ferritic nitrocarburizing treatment does not change the dimensions of the metal. Whenever I have had this done on a firearm before, all the markings on the gun appear unchanged. All the serial numbers, address markings, etc. However, jeweling is no where near as aggressive as that. I was hoping that someone had a gun that had a jeweled bolt, trigger or hammer then had the gun finished...the odds aren't good.

I'm thinking that the surface would end up just look smudged with no definition to the jeweling. I'm afraid the polish part of the Quench, Polish, Quench process (QPQ) would end up looking like an irregular matte.

[Blackwater]

Oops! Another memory lapse. I'd call and ask the folks who do it. Surely they'd have the answer, I'd think?

[AbitNutz]

It sounds like the thing to do but not so much...I'll try to call but these folks do mostly huge OEM orders for the likes of S&W and just about everybody else that needs industrial application of this cool process. I think they do my guns because of my winning personality...or more likely, they pity me for being willing to drive a couple of hundred miles and hand them a box of parts.