I'm giving my m&p22 to my girl and she wants something pink. So I'm going to have the slide powder coated. My question is; I have to take the sights off correct? When it's done and I put the sights back on, I have to have them zeroed in correct?

I'd recommend you look at cerakote instead of powder coating. Personally I wouldn't powdercoat a handgun slide

I would think that powder coat would be too thick -- Slide wouldn't fit frame, sights won't fit grooves...

 

An actual gun finish would be better -- lots of options to do it right

Why if I may ask? Is it more durable?

It's more durable and it's much thinner than powder coating.

 

If you're going to powder coat a slide then you have to ensure that no powder gets on any surface that mates with another part. So the slide dovetail, internal rails, barrel/guide rod opening, ejection port opening, etc. etc. That's going to be a lot of detailed prep work for a small part for powder coating and not every powder coater (especially those who are used to doing car wheels, bike frames, etc.) are going to have the patience or experience to correctly mask off all those tiny areas for a reasonable price.

 

Powder coating, while very durable, is also not the best choice for surfaces that have a lot of sharp angle transitions from surface to surface - those points of sharp bends are going to be more prone to chipping, and once chipping starts on something that is powder coated there is no "touching up" - you either live with the chipping or strip all of the powder away and re-do it.

Thank you for the info. I will look into the cerakote. Is it something I could spray myself? And the original question, the sights are going to need to be re-zeroed correct?

Most shops that Cerakote with remove and reinstall the sights for you.....

Can anyone recommend a good shop?

There's a cerakote shop mentioned in this thread - perhaps 67gtonut will share his experience with them:

 

http://njgunforums.com/forum/index.php?/topic/17539-cerakote/

I never used them, although I would NOT hesitate to do so.... They have a great rep in the industry.

 

I ended up doing Robar Np3 to the M&P...

 

I know Nick @ Mastadon does Durakote, which is available in more colors....

Lol Joe our girls think alike.

Lol Joe our girls think alike.

Kev, I think every girl wants a pink gun haha. But hey, it's an intro gun. Whatever gets them there! Besides, if someone broke in I wouldn't hesitate to shoot them with a pink gun.