[Kevin Ferrell]

I recently bought a Kimber Custom with the plain matte oxide finish and the same day bought a kydex holster, figuring that what worked well on my Glock for 2 years would be a good choice for my first 1911. Was I wrong!
The kydex has begun to mar the finish on the left hand side of the slide, in some spots even to the steel underneath. I have a new custom leather holster on order, to keep this from happening more, but the small scratches remain.
Does anyone have any experience with Kimber warranty on finish repair, if it is covered or what they may charge? Any tales worth telling about the repair department on this issue?
I would love to get this blemish fixed and was wondering if the factory was the best bet, or if aftermarket was the way to go.

 

[Inspector Harry Callahan]

You may be out of luck for two reasons. One, finishes are not under warranty. Two, your holster was the cause of the wear.

That's probably the response you'll get from Kimber, but try contacting them anyway (You never know). Don't look down on them too hard if they don't accomodate a refinishing job. It's not really their responsibility after all. Besides, finish wear on a daily carry piece isn't much of an issue. My carry guns see hard use and nightly rubdowns with BreakFree. They DO NOT rust, even the real victims of holster wear.

Strange but true....

 

[JM]

The oxide finish will wear away very quickly through regular handling. The front of the slide, thumb safety, grip safety, and the grip will lose the finish first. My finsih was mismatched. The slide is a black-purple and the slide is a lighter grey-black. The slide also has a smoother texture.

Hard chrome is the only finish that doesn't show wear.

_________________
"Good results often reinforce bad techniques." - John Farnam

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: JM on 2001-08-25 00:33 ]</font>