Refinish steel commander

[jerrard]

I have a Colt Combat Commander, satin nickel finish I bought in 1970. This gun has been USED!! Can satin nickel finish be striped and gun refinished? What are some finish options. Don't hear much about hard chrome any more?
Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[9mmepiphany]

contact a refinisher who is familar with handguns to see what they can do for you. the issue with nickel is that stripping it has an effect on dimensions.

hardchrome is a good finish, but has less applications with the introduction of guns with aluminum alloy and polymer frames

 

[Oro]

Satin Nickel can actually be refinished by simple bead blasting with the right media and compressed air. Unless it is worn to bare metal in large spots, you might investigate this. I have not done it myself but have seen some before/after photos that were really impressive. Search the forum for "satin nickel" and "bead" and you should find several threads on it. It would be substantially less expensive than any other type of actual refinish.

I believe a 1970 Combat Commander would in fact be a "first year" gun. If it's not modified, to some folks that would also make it worth trying to revive the existing finish instead of changing it to something non-traditional.

 

[Jim K]

That depends on what the definition of is is (oops, wrong question). Actually, it depends on what the definition of "refinish" is. If the nickel is gone, bead blasting can make the exposed steel look a bit like satin nickel, but it won't BE satin nickel.

I have not seen any satin nickel guns with the nickel worn off, but a lot of them are really grubby looking; that finish seems to attract and hold grease and dirt.

My Commander started to look that way, so I stripped everything and did a professional cleaning and refinish job - in the dishwasher. Worked like a charm.

Jim

 

[rmfnla]

I had one that the nickle was worn on many of the edges. I was running a shop that did electroless nickle work so I bead blasted (good call, Oro) and "double-dipped" it; came out great.

BTW, if you do get it refinished this is a good time to bevel the mag well, relieve the port or any other metal mods you might want.

 

[dfariswheel]

The satin nickel finish used on the older Colt's tended to get ratty and often its actually damage to the coating which can't be "fixed".

The old finish can be stripped off by any good gun re-finishing service and whatever type of finish you want can be put on.

I don't know why you don't hear much about hard chrome, its still probably the best all around gun finish.

If you'd like to get your gun stripped and refinished, you have an excellent service there in California that offers it all:

http://www.techplate.com/firearms_pl.htm

 

[AZ_Rebel]

I don't know why you don't hear much about hard chrome, its still probably the best all around gun finish.

I thought about this thread this week when a pair of 1911s came into the shop for refinish. They were Pachmayr customized a number of years ago with Hard Chromed frames. As you can see in the picture, corrosion has set in deeply despite the Hard Chrome. This is one of the major flaws of Hard Chrome and the reason it is not as popular as it used to be.

Hard Chrome, while hard, is far from the "ideal" gun finish because of several issues.

Hard Chrome just does not have the rust protection - often rust will form right under Hard Chrome. Salt Spray tests confirm that.

Hard Chrome has the danger of hydrogen embrittlement.

The process of plating Hard Chrome cannot ensure even plating of all surfaces - it can build up in corners and concave surfaces.

But this photo shows the major complaint that comes up with Hard Chrome.

 

[Jim Watson]

What shop is that and what finishes do you do and recommend?

 

[BBBBill]

... a pair of 1911s came into the shop for refinish. They were Pachmayr customized a number of years ago with Hard Chromed frames... Hard Chrome just does not have the rust protection - often rust will form right under Hard Chrome. Salt Spray tests confirm that...
The process of plating Hard Chrome cannot ensure even plating of all surfaces - it can build up in corners and concave surfaces...

AZ, please post more before/after pics of the Pachmayrs when finished. Good photo documentation of them is getting hard to find.
I've experienced exactly that with HC. Sent off an IPSC gun I built in the early 80's for HC. It rusted within days! I suspect in that particular case, that it was poor prep work. I've usually had pretty good service out of HC. Still, it's not perfect.

 

[Alpacca 45]

Nickel platers can strip nickel without affecting the steel (ammonium persulphate and ammonia).

The guys are right about the chrome building up on corners, and not wanting to go into crevices. The beauty of electroless nickel is it coats everywhere evenly.

 

[Mac's]

Nickel plating can be removed pretty easily but it can be tricky to get it all off. Brownell's sells Nickel plate remover that you mix up and soak the degreased parts in. It works pretty well but like I said: Plating can be tricky. After the stripper soaking, the parts need to be abrasive blasted and should then be Parkerized if you plan on applying a spray on finish. That's where you'll see the tricks that plating can play. The parts that are totally de-plated will take the Parkerizing nicely but the parts that still have plating on them, will not Parkerize at all. Also, it can be very difficult to tell the difference between abrasive blasted metal and abrasive blasted Nickel plating. The electro un-plating system will do an excellent job of removing the plating but will also remove metal. If you plan on re-plating it after it's all clean, it's very important that it be ALL clean. Keep yer powder dry, Mac.
Tuff-Gun Finishes. The Name Says It All.
Mac's Shootin' Irons
http://www.shootiniron.com

 

[AZ_Rebel]

Some of you have asked for before/after pictures of the rescue of these Pachmayr 1911's.
Here is the first look at one just back from plating after removal of most of the pitting and rust. Customer requested NP3 on the frame and internals and a black phenolic finish on the slides. Slides are out having Tritium Tubes replaced in the front sights.
I will post pictures of the completed guns in a few weeks.
Before

After