Defiance action corrosion protection

[The Godfather]

I’m in the process of collecting parts for a rifle build. I’d like to use the defiance tenacity action and leave it in stainless for both looks and cost. Is corrosion a problem for the bolt? Does it run smoother / more reliable with a dlc coating? Is there a reasonable place to send just the bolt to have it coated?

Thanks for the help.

 

[wade2big]

Corrosion isn’t a problem. Many a blued rifle out there used in wet conditions with no problems. Spray a little remlube on the rifle after getting wet and you will be fine. I have bare stainless barrels and actions that I don’t wipe down but every now and again unless it gets rained on. No problems. To date.

Stainless can rust but You almost have to try. My old man has a stainless .17hmr that lives in the Kawasaki mule. Never gets wiped down. Ever. It is a rusted mess.

 

[The Godfather]

That was my thought as well. However, with the bolt not being stainless I was wondering how many shooters leave it “in the white”.

 

[Terry Cross]

That was my thought as well. However, with the bolt not being stainless I was wondering how many shooters leave it “in the white”.

The Defiance bolts are totally in the white and are not stainless. They are fairly easy to pick up rust/corrosion/discoloration is left naked. I know you can keep it douched and dripping with oil but that may not be preferable in the long run.


./

 

[MK20]

Don’t do a dlc on it. Look into having it nitrided. If it rusts after that it is because of extreme neglect.
If your gun will be a working gun and not just a range gun nitride is the way to go.
Nitriding is not a coating. It is a metal treatment that affects the first few thousandths of the surface metal. It WILL NOT change the dimensions of your action.

 

[Jowens]

The Defiance bolts are totally in the white and are not stainless. They are fairly easy to pick up rust/corrosion/discoloration is left naked. I know you can keep it douched and dripping with oil but that may not be preferable in the long run.


./

Terry, what's your preferred protection on the bolt?

 

[DOA]

Had a bare Defiant rust, well surface rust anyway from the oils of my skin. I do live near the beach so I'm sure that had something to do with it as well. Just left it coated in oil when not in use.

 

[Terry Cross]

Terry, what's your preferred protection on the bolt?

I use a variant of the Deviant in all of the SENTINEL and LongSword rifles. When I receive the actions, they are measured (headspace and all other pertinent info needed to do the breech work on barrels) then stripped. All components get the last 4 digits of the SN engraved. The bolt body, extractor, firing pin and cocking piece then goes to IonBond in North Carolina.

This is a few getting put in plastic sleeves for the trip to NC.

The bolt bodies get aluminum oxide blast for a matte finish and everything else keeps a polished surface.
Experience with wear on these parts has been extremely positive.

IonBond does give a corrosion resistance that far exceeds bare steel but is not on par with CeraKote, hard chrome, NP3 or melonite in preventing rust. IonBond does outperform all of them as far as showing wear in my experience. Bolts on duty guns coming in for rebarrel hardly show any wear.

I used melonite services for about a year. The people were great to work with and the finish was consistent but I would not send small/low mass parts or parts with thin peripheries due to concerns with brittleness. Melonited parts would show wear pretty quick although there was likely still a residual protective quality to the surface.

For me, the wear properties and consistent black visual signature of the IonBond make it my personal choice. Others may have different needs or priorities that make other treatments preferable.

 

[Jowens]

I use a variant of the Deviant in all of the SENTINEL and LongSword rifles. When I receive the actions, they are measured (headspace and all other pertinent info needed to do the breech work on barrels) then stripped. All components get the last 4 digits of the SN engraved. The bolt body, extractor, firing pin and cocking piece then goes to IonBond in North Carolina.

This is a few getting put in plastic sleeves for the trip to NC.

View attachment 6993910

The bolt bodies get aluminum oxide blast for a matte finish and everything else keeps a polished surface.
Experience with wear on these parts has been extremely positive.

IonBond does give a corrosion resistance that far exceeds bare steel but is not on par with CeraKote, hard chrome, NP3 or melonite in preventing rust. IonBond does outperform all of them as far as showing wear in my experience. Bolts on duty guns coming in for rebarrel hardly show any wear.

I used melonite services for about a year. The people were great to work with and the finish was consistent but I would not send small/low mass parts or parts with thin peripheries due to concerns with brittleness. Melonited parts would show wear pretty quick although there was likely still a residual protective quality to the surface.

For me, the wear properties and consistent black visual signature of the IonBond make it my personal choice. Others may have different needs or priorities that make other treatments preferable.

Thanks, Terry. Good information.

 

[linebaugh500]

Hi Terry,

My girlfriend and I both have Defiance Deviants, and we have a third action on the way (for a .223 training version of our rifles). The two we have are driving me CRAZY with corrosion on their cocking pieces and extractors (their bolt bodies have a Melonite finish and it's worked great so far). I spent my morning polishing those parts (once again) with my Dremel tool and Flitz. It's very time consuming work, and it's also an absolute pain in the butt (and a waste of a perfectly good Sunday morning).

Is there any way I can send you three sets of extractors/cocking pieces/firing pins and have you incorporate them into one of your batches for IonBond? I'd be careful to keep the three sets of parts separate from each other, and include a serial number with each set. If you're willing to do it, you'd be saving me a tremendous (and ongoing) headache. I'd absolutely be willing to pay whatever you need to charge (it would be well worth it to me whatever the cost).

If not, I'll have to engrave the parts myself, and they'll come out looking like a 3-year-old did them (seriously). If you just can't help me, I suppose I'll have to give it my best shot, and any tips on doing that engraving would be very appreciated.

Thanks very much for your time.

 

[Terry Cross]

Send them to the shop address. Put each set of small parts in its own plastic bag with the serial number of the action they came out of. I hand engrave the last 4 of the SN in every part I send out in batches. I got you beat.....when I engrave them, it looks like a 2 year old did it, however you wont be able to see the engraving when assembled.


I can run yours with the next ones I send. Usually have them back within 2 or 3 weeks.

./

 

[linebaugh500]

Thank you Terry, I really appreciate it. I'm still waiting on the third action. When I get it, I'll package the small parts from all 3 actions as you described and ship them off to you. Thank you again!