I have a concern about the finish on the slide of my Browning 380. I don't know what it is but I do know it is very thin and very susceptible to being easily scratched or rubbed bare with minimal holster wear. It is nothing like Parkerizing or bluing for resistance to scratching or rubbing damage. Has anyone on this forum had experience with Browning 380 slide finish problems? I contacted Browning and the person I spoke to is going to try and find out what the finish is. He also said any attempt to touch up marks on the slide by the customer could void the warranty. Refinishing the slide would have to be done by Browning. That would seem to be a very short lived fix since it would still be a rather poor finish and most likely done at the customers expense. It appears to me that Browning took the easy way to apply a finish on the slide that matches the finish on the poly frame, without consideration that the finish could be easily marked or even rubbed off with minimal holster wear. I guess this is something I have to live with. Of all my pistols, this Browning is the only one that has a slide finish that is easily marked or rubbed bare. It will likely look well used with very little use, unlike my other pistols that have seen much use and still look like new.
I had my 1911-380 at Browning for a warranty repair job after I purchased it. When I received it back, the finish on the slide had been damaged by a vise. I sent the pistol back to Browning to have them refinish the slide and take care of their mistake. Four months later I received my pistol back. They had replaced it with a new pistol. In the end everything worked out ok, but is took an awful long time for all the warranty work to complete. I don't know what kind of finish is on the pistol, but Browning may opt to replace it rather than finish it. Hope this helps.
Just one of the many things to consider when buying a new firearm. For me...it's a must to handle it and check it for fit and finish before I plunk down my hard earned cash. In fact, just got off the phone with my favorite gun dealer...as I'm looking at the SIG P227 Carry Nitron. It will have to be ordered, so I'm plunking down $100 to make it happen. When he gets it in...I'll go back to his shop...I'll check it from top to bottom...and if I don't like it...for any reason...the $100 is refunded, and he puts it in the case to go back. My other SIG is a P226 made in 1988...And if I wanted to, I could send it back to SIG to have the Nitron coating refinished.
I put a large scratch on the top of the slide on my 1911-380 the first day I had it. Yikes. My wedding ring scratched it as I was racking it. I was very disappointed. The finish is soft and thin, unlike the black finish on my other black guns. The only solution Browning had was to send it in and they would look at it. They said it would take 8 weeks. I will live with the scratch. I enjoy the gun, but am not pleased with some of the cheap components. The plastic front sight fell out after 250 rounds.
I called Browning and was told the slide finish is some sort of plating. I was given the technical name for the plating but forget what it was. As those of us know, the slide finish is nothing like Parkerizing or bluing when it comes to durability. In fact the slide finish has a lot to be desired. The normal wear and handling a pistol gets, will cause the Browning Black Label 380 to look old or abused long before its time. Birchwood Casey has a product called Super Black (touch up pen, matt) that appears to be the best product to touch up marks on the Black Label 380 slide.
I just got my 1911-380 today , and was trying some of my holsters looking for a fit. Did not find any that was a snug fit but I did notice a few marks that I must have put into the slide of my nice new gun. That sucks they won't rub out , they aren't scratches in the metal just discolored marks.
They seemed to have fixed this problem. I've had mone for 6 months or so now and have had no.issues with the finish
Sorry. I should have replied to this thread sooner. I had sent my Browning 380 to Browning for their evaluation of the slide finish problem. They replaced the slide and sent it back to me. When I received the pistol, I tried to field strip it so I could be sure it was well lubed before firing. I had a terrible time getting it apart and an even more difficult time getting it back together. Something was terribly wrong with the slide to frame fit and there were marks on the dust cover portion of the frame from just a few times racking the slide. I stopped right there and called Browning describing the problems I was having, including my fear of even firing the gun with such terrible fitting problems. Browning sent a pre paid shipping label and back it went. I called as the status of the returned Browning 380 and was told the gun will be replaced. Now the good news. The replacement gun fit and finish is great. The finish on the slide appears to be different from the original. Not the looks, but it is definitely very resistant to scratching. After many firings and cleanings it still looks new. It hasn't had any issues firing and accuracy is as good or better than the shooter. I am happy to say I now have a great little Browning Black Label 380 the represents to quality we have all expected of Browning firearms.
