Hard chromed Bersa Thunder 380

[Cortland]

My duotone Bersa Thunder .380 has been my main "light" carry for the past year and a half or so. Imagine my shock and horror when I withdraw the Bersa from its Gary Brommeland IWB holster only to find rust on the slide. My Bersa spends a lot of time in the holster, and frankly I'm just not up to oiling it down every 24 hours. So I decided to have it hard chromed by Tripp Research. I stripped the pistol and sent everything (including the magazine) except the frame; the final cost was $140 (on a $200 gun ). The chroming turned out fantastic. They chromed everything I sent them, down to the grip screws, little tiny e-clip, and every single frame part.

Now for pictures:

Getting the barrel out of the frame, and then putting all the frame internals back together was quite an adventure.

 

[Gunsnrovers]

Very nice. That came back slick. It should serve you well for a while.

After much deliberation, I have discovered the joys of giving old dogs a new look.

About to send Mr. Tripp another small project in the next week or so.

 

[nvrquit]

Cortland,

How did you press the barrel out of the frame?

Additionally, was the frame on your Thunder380's frame nickeled as purchased?

Thanks for any feedback!

 

[Cortland]

nvrquit: Since I already have the camera out, I'll answer your first question with a photo.

The frame is aluminum.

 

[horge]

Very nice!

I don't understand though, coming from a foreign country, maybe smiths are different over there, or 'Tripp' isn't a smith per se...

You have to disassemble the gun yourself, BEFORE sending it in for hard-chroming?

 

[Cortland]

Due to the shipping policies of Fedex, UPS, etc. if I sent in the GCA-recognized part of the gun (the frame), I would have had to pay for over night shipping both ways. Since I didn't need the frame chromed (its aluminum), I stripped the frame myself and just sent the parts; this meant I only had to pay for regular ground shipping both ways (probable savings of $40 or more).

You can send the entire gun to Tripp and they'll strip it and put it back together for you as part of the chroming service. I just sent the parts to save shipping.

 

[nvrquit]

The Frame is Aluminum...

Cortland,

Thanks for the reply to my inquiry.

Yes, the frame is an aluminum alloy. The root of my question was to inquire as to whether the frame was nickel plated(whatever process) as purchased originally or did you send it out to be plated or hard anodized to the current type of finish/appearance. In any case, the posted photo looks very nice. While the frame and HC'ed parts are of adiffering color/hue, they are nicely complimentery.

Bronze hammer as the barrel removal tool. No doubt you took some care in the removal and re-insatllation of the barrel. Nicely done.


Open Forum Question:

I wonder if a barrel press for a Mak would work on the Bersa?