You remove the finish and it will rust unless it is recoated with a different finish

 

Maybe......



I had a SIG P-229 and I remember the slide was stamped "stainless", even though it had that nonreflective finish on it.
Beadblasting would probably be the best way, although I've removed finishes with sandpaper and gotten really good results. Trick is starting with a medium grit, going slow and easy and finishing with 1500 or 2000 grit.

 

One other question: Is there any way to match the controls to the slide (with natural finish)? Ive seen it on other sigs but I dont think that they had a natural finish on the slide (nickel maybe?)

 

I did a 229 and a 220 just as you want to with 1500 grit sandpaper, it took forever but turned out nice. If you can find someone with a buffing wheel it helps a lot after all the finish is off. That said, bead blasting would be even better.

 

I found out that Sig does it for a pretty reasonable price. I may just go through them.

 

Look up CCR; they have an excellent finish called Cera-Plate that is a lot like Robar NP-3, but cheaper and, from what I have read, better. Ah, here's the link:

* CCR-REFINISHING

Customized Creationz also does nice finishing work on SIGs. If you are just having the slide finished (and you probably don't want to blast an aluminum frame anyway because it can affect the anodizing), you can mail it without FFL involvement, so it should be a pretty easy transaction.

 

Cera-Plate is available for Carbon steel only....

 

Then perhaps I was thinking of the other coating they offer, called Cera-Hide, I think.