FREQUENTLY ASKED
QUESTIONS

Pick your platform and footprint on the services page, choose your finish, and check out. You will get a confirmation email with the ship-to address. Pull the barrel and recoil spring, print your order confirmation, pack the slide in a USPS flat rate box with bubble wrap, and send it in.

Remove the barrel and recoil spring. Internals like the firing pin and extractor can stay in the slide. If you want to fully strip it, that is fine, but it is not required. Do not send your barrel (unless porting), recoil spring, frame, or any ammunition.

Use a USPS flat rate box. Wrap the slide in bubble wrap so it cannot shift. Include a printed copy of your order confirmation. Add shipping insurance. Ship to the address in your confirmation email.

Cold blue is our most affordable finish, with a traditional blued look. Good for range guns and light use. Cerakote holds up to carry wear and corrosion and comes in color options. The right pick for hard-use guns. Nitride is the hardest, most durable option we offer. Factory-level corrosion protection. Takes 2-4 weeks because it runs through our partner facility.

Yes. Send your optic or sights in with the slide and we will install them before it ships back. Drop a note in the box or in your order. Suppressor-height sights are also available for purchase on our products page.

Yes, by appointment. We are in Crossville, Tennessee. Reach out ahead of time so we can make sure someone is in the shop when you get there.

We stand behind every cut. If our work has an issue, contact us and we will make it right. Machining is permanent, so refunds on completed work are not something we can offer. Quality problems, though, we will fix at no charge.

No. Leave it in. We pull it during machining and reinstall it before your slide ships back.

Possibly. We add platforms and footprints as we prove them out. Send us the details and we will tell you straight whether we can do it.

Cold blue gives you basic corrosion protection. It works for range guns and guns stored in controlled conditions. For a carry gun, or anything that sees sweat, moisture, or hard use, step up to cerakote or nitride. The protection is significantly better over the long haul.

No deep cleaning required, but wipe down any excessively dirty or oily slide before shipping. If you have grip tape or any adhesive on the slide, remove it and clean off all the residue first. Slides that show up caked in adhesive or grime may pick up an extra cleaning charge.

Yes. We remove your sights when the job calls for it and send them back with your slide. Because of loctite and other factors, we cannot guarantee sights come off without damage. If you plan to reuse them and do not want to risk it, remove them yourself before sending the slide.

No. We only cerakote the full slide. It gives a uniform finish and better protection than spot-coating the cut.

In most cases yes, but when we are not refinishing the whole slide we cannot be responsible for the existing coating. The slide sits in a machining center with chips and coolant moving around, so there is always a small chance of an unintended scratch. Keep that in mind when picking your finish.

Not right now. We run a set list of colors so we can keep lead times quick. Pick from the options shown at checkout.

No. Cerakote is a very tough paint, but it is still paint. It wears over time, and some holsters scratch it faster than others. Your slide stays protected until you wear through to bare metal, and it can be recoated down the road.

We cut to the industry-standard optics (Trijicon, Aimpoint, and the like). Many optics share a footprint, but off-brand tolerances vary more, so we cannot guarantee an obscure optic will drop in even if it claims the same footprint.

Most of our optic cuts use the industry-standard 6-32 thread. There are a few exceptions, and each product page lists the threads for that cut.

That is by design. We locate the optic off the recoil posts, which we cut to very tight tolerances, and leave about .005 to .010 inch of clearance around the optic body. The optic was made to sit on the posts, so it holds securely and stays interchangeable if you swap optics later. We check every slide for fitment before it ships.

Yes. Most of our optic cuts come with the screws required for the stated optic, with a few exceptions.

Use loctite on the mounting screws, 242 or 243 is standard. Clean the threaded holes and the screws with a solvent (ethanol, acetone, or lacquer thinner) so they are oil free, then let it cure at least 24 hours. The recommended torque for the 6-32 screws used on most of our cuts is 12 to 15 in/lbs.

We can usually extract a broken screw on cuts we performed. The charge is $60, unless the failure was on our end.

Yes. Once an order is placed, cancellations carry a 15% fee unless the cancellation is due to something on our end. If you cancel 30 days or more after ordering, the refund (minus the 15% fee) is issued as store credit.

Contact us before you ship anything. Wait for our confirmation before you put your slide in the mail. Our turnaround is quick, and once your slide is in transit to us we cannot guarantee a change will be made in time.

Yes. California orders follow AB1263. You will verify your license and sign a short acknowledgment once inside your account, and it carries over to future orders. See our California Compliance page for the steps.