Help me understand what firearm finishes are best for engraving.

Theres all kinds of firearms finishes available, (admittedly, im more familiar with firearms than engraving). Im just trying to figure out what finishes are easier to cut on than others or if they're all the same. Also what does "coin finished" mean? http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=423650720.

Thanks,
Brennon

In my experience I always remove the finish, then of course I'm doing about 75% coverage of the firearm or close to it, give or take. You should also be worried about the hardness of the metal, Gerry has a site where he has started to keep a list that engravers contribute to, I cannot remember the name but I'm sure he will chime in.
There are of course more variables to this I'm sure others will add their input.

Saludos,

Carlos

Finishes...

There are many finishes and many names for some of them.

Blued finishes are easy to remove and don't affect the hardness.

Case coloring as seen on guns like Ubertis is just a color and is easy to remove for engraving.

Color Case Hardening is eat to remove the color but the metal has been hardened. This can make the engraving harder, very difficult or even impossible depending in the amount of hardening. You can anneal the metal, but care must be taken not to warp the frame.

Plating, whether nickel, gold, silver or chrome. Should be removed prior to engraving. It doesn't affect the hardness of the steel.

Stainless steel is not a finish. It is a type of metal that does not require a finish.

Cerakote, duracoat or any of the othe painted and baked finishes. These finishes need to be removed. They will also require significant polishing due to bead blasting as part of the finishing process.

Parkerizing is easy to remove but will require polishing due to bead blasting prior to finishing.

Anodized aluminum. Can cut through it, but it will be ugly. There is aluminum black to cover the gray color, but it won't look right.

French Grey is easy. Just cut it.

Tennifer, Melonite or Nitron stay away. These are new finishes that make it almost impossible to engrave the firearm. These are on the new black guns that many engravers are complaining about.

For what guns are engravable, check the engravability index in my signature.