Any Theories on Barrel Flaking

[xzhync]

All - With the PM9 barrel flaking issue that has been discussed on this forum, does anyone have any theories on what is causing/aggravating the flaking? Obviously, poor plating is the underlying cause, but what is causing the flaking to start? In my case, I have had two barrels (initial and replacement) where I am finding flaking on the inside of the chamber. Oddly, the flaking is happening in the same area (top or roof of the barrel chamber). I haven't had any flaking in the bottom or floor of the chamber nor have I experienced flaking on the feedramp. Maybe it is coincidence, but it is odd. Could it be the gun powder? Could it be the abrasion of the round as it chambers (or is extracted). Could any certain solvent be to blame (at least partly). I am just looking for thoughts and theories.

[deadhead1971]

I shot 200 more rounds yesterday.

I have 985 rounds through the PM9's slide and polymer frame. I replaced all springs and flange at 785 rounds due to the old one coming apart and being replaced under warranty.

I have 560 rounds through the "new" barrel that was replaced for flaking. There is no flaking as of 560 rounds. I cleaned and inspected it yesterday. There is some carbon discoloration in the chamber but no flaking. I am using 2 bore cleaners and both remove copper metal fouling.

I noticed flaking on the old barrel at around 400 rounds. It could have been there sooner. The flaking was on the very bottom of the chamber--center--photos posted at the other thread.

If solvents were the problem, you would see problems in other models too, not just the PM9. Only the PM9 has had this problem so far. I have heard nothing on the other models (PM 40 PM 45).

[ripley16]

Any Theories on Barrel Flaking

I would guess that a corruption occured in the plating process, a pretty well known and relatively simple chemical process. A bad or dirty batch of cleaning bath, times not followed, a process skipped... who knows, but I'm confident it probably occured to one batch of barrels, otherwise we would see this problem all over the internet, instead of a fairly small number of failures.

[jfrey]

The barrel on my CW9 is flaking too, in the upper part of the chamber and at the muzzle. Ian at Kahr told me that the plating was basically cosmetic and it wouldn't hurt the shooting or function of the gun. For the time being, I'm going to go ahead and shoot it like it is. The gun shoots very well so far with 270 rounds through it. I noticed the flaking before I ever fired it the first time. Ian told me that if at any time I wanted to replace the barrel, just let him know. Until the flaking starts on the feed ramp I don't think it will be a problem.