[rogdigity]

i have a pistol i plan on giving to someone. i want it to be nice and flashy and decided to get some good grips for it. the pistol is blue/parkerized (cz-52) and i have two choises for grips;

WOOD, will look nice but if its a light color wood it may look like crap on such a dark pistol

PLASTIC, no matter if its called plastic, polymer, or synthetic, its still plastic to me

i was thinking, wouldnt it be cool to get the pistol chrome plated for him and add some bitchin wood grips? if i chrome it i imagine they will have to plate the entire slide (including the underside, firing pin hole, and the grooves which hold it to the frame).

my question is: will chroming the slide and the frame cause the action to stiffin up? i dont know how much material will actually build up in the grooves and inside the firing pin hole. will it reduce the diameter of the hole enough that the firing pin wont slide freely anymore? same with the grooves and the hole the barrel slides through in the front. will it cause those to change anouge that it will cause the action to be terrible? or even worse, ruin the slide?

i had my wifes PA-63 anodized purple and i notice that where the slide meets the frame it is starting to wear through. the anodizing didnt actually harm the pistol at all, and infact probably helped the pistol since it had to be buffed and polished twice before they could anodize it. that got of the decades of crap on the frame that my rags wouldnt get off.

[rogdigity]

would nickle plating be a little bit better for a pistol?

[rcmodel]

A knowledgeable firearms re-finisher would allow for plating build-up and would either not allow it to happen, or take care of it after the plating was completed.

Your average Auto bumper / Harley pipe plater wouldn't have a clue.


And beauty is in the eye of the beholder as they say.

Many gun people think flashy chrome is for pimps & cheap guns.

Electroless nickel is a nice matte silver finish and is highly regarded by many.

Whatever you decide, have a firearms re-finisher do it and you should have no problems when you get done.

rc

[Ron James]

And not hurt your felings but you can't make a silk purce out of a pigs ear.:)

[rogdigity]

it was just supposed to be something to look nice for someone. i guess im getting the plastic grips

[Confederate]

First, hard chroming is much more durable than nickel or shiny chroming. The buildup is so minute you shouldn't even have to worry about it.

Check out Mahovsky's Metalife (http://www.mahovskysmetalife.com/index.htm). He hard chromed my Beretta 70S and it's just incredible. For $155 (current price), it's a great deal. Ask for a little polishing afterwards. They did this for me gratis.

The hard chroming not only goes on thin, it virtually stops wearing in critical parts, puts an immediate stop to holster wear and provides excellent rust- and corrosion-resistant properties.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh198/jriler/Beretta70S.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh198/jriler/Beretta70S_Metalife_1.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh198/jriler/Beretta70S_Metalife_2.jpg

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh198/jriler/Beretta70S_Metalife_3.jpg

From the website:

The Metalife finish, otherwise known as SS Chromium M, is our most durable finish. Metalife looks like stainless steel, but has a hardness of about 71 on the Rockwell "C" Scale, which is even harder than stainless steel. It is guaranteed not to chip, crack or peel when applied to metal in good condition, and it is highly rust resistant and holster-wear resistant. It requires reasonable care and is guaranteed for the life of your piece.

Also, the Metalife has a maximum build up of only .0002. This means it will not affect the tolerances of even the finest fitted parts. Unlike some platings which coat the metal, the Metalife plating process fills the pores of the base material to form a molecular bond.

Metalife works best on guns that are in excellent condition and free from pits. Pitted pieces can only be polished to a certain degree without changing the contour. Also, pits have a way of cratering metal, making it nearly impossible to process down deep inside of them.

Despite pitting, the process can still be applied to guns with cosmetic blemishes. Just be aware that they won't eliminate those blemishes. If you just want to carry and use a gun and don't care that it's pitted, the hard chroming can still be the way to go.

[The Lone Haranguer]

It might make a difference if you plated the internal action parts, but most such finishing is usually only done to the gun's exterior surfaces.

[jimmyraythomason]

"Your average Auto bumper / Harley pipe plater wouldn't have a clue." AMEN!! Been There Done That. Still cryin'. I personally have no use for plating on a firearm. It's either blued ,parkerized or ss for me.

[Jim K]

When I worked in a gun shop, my boss sent several guns out to be plated, by people who specialized in guns. None would function when we got them back and I had to do a lot of work to get them working. The factories adjust their tolerances very carefully on guns that are to be plated, one reason it is expensive.

I advise against having that plating done.

Jim

[rogdigity]

thanks jim. most helpful answer yet

[Magnum_Maniac]

I shot a .32 Astra pistol that had been chromed and it worked fine. There's a company called Armoloy that specializes in chrome finishes and I imagine their prices have gone up since I last looked at them.

Confederate, does your Beretta function OK? Also what about others here? I had a friend who had a stainless gun Armoloyed. Still looks stainless but it hasnt picked up all those scratches and dents that other stainless guns have when they've been shot a lot.

I wonder why no one has come out with a chrome plating thats blued or black? If a guns been chromed and doesn't work, it might be a good idea to take it apart and put it back together and see where the problem is.

[rogdigity]

i also figured that i should talk to a chromer and see if it is possible to not chrome certain areas (like the firing pin hole). when i had my wifes pistol anodized they were able to put wax over a couple spots to keep them from changing colors. maybe if that doesnt work i can go back over those areas with a grinder or something?

[Sport45]

One of our members here can make your gun any color you want.

Mac's Shootin Iron (http://www.shootiniron.com/)

Send a PM to Mac's and I'll bet he can fix you up.