Eager Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 My blued 1911 is starting to show some ugly rust. I've been carrying it during walks up a local mountain, where I sweat in the summer heat. The walks have been very good for my fitness. The salty sweat has not been good for the frame, and some parts, and can't seem to keep up on oiling it tio stop this. I'd like to get it chrome plated. It has a trigger job, something like a 4lb "carry" job. I don't want my trigger job altered, nor do I want to pay for another trigger job, so my current thought is to not ship the hammer and sear to the plater. Coating the hammer would be nice, but the hammer is not a point of significant rust, so I'm sure I could live without a coating on it. I called the plater and the technical guy wasn't very helpful (this is a plater arguably most receommended on this site). He seemed to think that plating would not impact the trigger job at all. I asked if they would mask the hammer hooks, he laughed and said no, they would not do that, they would plate the whole hammer. I asked if they would "sandblast" the hammer, he said no, they would used aluminum oxide, which i think means that they WILL blast it. He did cover himself to say that if the trigger job wasn't what I wanted after, they could do a new trigger job on it. For the normal cost, of course. Based on all this, I'm thinking that I won't send the hammer. Opinions, and experiences please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pbosik Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I understand that you should not plate any of those components.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Fresh Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 They usually only plate the places that are really exposed to the elements so not the fire control group, firing pin, springs, etc. They remove the internals and chrome the gun then put them back in at most shops. I had a glock 19 chromed by virgil tripp many years ago when the finish had worn off pretty good from all the love and attention it had received, they pulled all the components off, chromed the slide, then put it back together. The only "small" part off the slide that got chromed was the extractor. I believe there are finishes that are often used to cover all parts but doubt chrome would be one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul-the new guy Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Chrome will still rust. They probably will Chrome the hammer. APW chromed my hammer and sear but not the disconnector they ruined my trigger job and when I got it back the gun had hammer follow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH45 Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 When something is chromed, you are building up material on the surface. You do not want fire control parts chromed, especially if they are fit to your liking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
isleman75 Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Send only main external parts. Frame, slide, safeties, mag catch, etc.. Do not send fire control group parts-- sear, disconnect, springs, hammer. These parts should have plenty of oil on them anyway. Send pins if you want them chrome on the ends to match. Metaloy is the place our shop has used for years...Impeccable everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Not sure where all this other info is coming from, but generally when you send a pistol off to be hard-chromed, they plate everything but the actual bore. I have always viewed this as a benefit. I don't think the original poster needs to worry about the plater messing up his 4-lb "carry" trigger job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I agree about not plating any of the fire control parts, especially the hammer and sear, as it will probably alter the relationship and not improve the trigger pull any. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suicycle Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I would listen to the guy that represents Mr. Walsh. I don't think your fine tune action is going to be horribly butchered. It should be an even plating on everything so everything should fit well. Disco should be fine, hammer/sear surface it is not like you are rounding over the stoned surfaces. Ship it all and don't look back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eager Posted August 1, 2012 Author Share Posted August 1, 2012 Good info either way. Yes it is just a 4lb "carry" job on this. So maybe the chrome on the hammer hooks won't matter for this use, i.e. significantly impact the trigger pull. I think the plater guy said they don't do the sear. I might just go ahead and send the hammer and not fret the potential loss of a fraction of a pound pull. It would look nice chromed, and although I haven't seen any rust on this hammer yet, I have another 1911 that shows some slight surface rust on the hammer. Another thing I don't understand is their fee for gun "dissasembly", or maybe it's "assembly", or both, which I think is $40. I was thinking of just sending the dissasembled parts to avoid this, but I'm not sure if there's a downside, like if they have to reassemble to check fit, or for high spots. I think I'll call 'em again to settle this. Thanks for all the inputs. Good info here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eager Posted August 6, 2012 Author Share Posted August 6, 2012 OK I talked to the plater again, and I think I've got it all figured out. I COULD save around $35 by completely stripping it and shipping the parts, with a complete list of the parts. But, I'd have to remove the sights, and I'm not sure about the grip bushings. Anyway, I don't really want to do all that, so $35 sounds good to avoid having to do all that. I'll just be sending the whole "werks", and not looking back. I tested it today to make sure it runs perfectly. It does. Although it was another sweaty day (103ºF) so it'll be good to get the chrome . Now to find the best deal on shipping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suicycle Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 waiting on the report when it returns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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