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Hard chrome gun refinish and Mahovsky's Metalife


kwelhand

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I need to send my CZ and Tanfo for hard chrome refinish.

I called and emailed Ron @ Mahovsky's Metalife, but no email reply and no one called me back.

Anyone sent their CZ or Tanfo to Ron recently?

Also, what carrier should I use to send handguns these days?

I know FedEx & USPS are out of question and UPS has new policy regarding handgun, etc.... any thoughts?

Any other decently priced handgun hard chrome plating shop to share?

 

 

Edited by kwelhand
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APW is a great company! I’ve had several jobs done by APW. Every one came out great. The owner of the company called me personally to discuss the options and was just a genuinely good person. He was also a competitor so he understood what I wanted.

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Another vote for APW.  I sent them a stripped slide to a Glock 17 Gen 4 MOS that I run in USPSA CO matches and had them do a hard chrome finish.  The original Glock nitride finish was pretty beat up after many years of holster draws from dry fire practice, and live fire practice/training/matches.  Since I got it back, that slide now has many more holster draws and over 1,600 rounds fired and the HC finish still looks pristine.  I'm pretty picky when I have somebody else do work for me, especially on my guns.  They really knocked it out of the park!  The fit, finish, and overall appearance of their work was top notch.  Their HC finish is easy to clean and the slide now runs like its on ball bearings.  Plus, I feel what they charge is really a bargain for the quality they deliver.

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+1 For APW. I have had 3 STI's hard chromed at APW and no issues with any of them. Bob and his crew are great to deal with and their turn-around time is really acceptable. Bob can be a little tricky to talk to and a bit longwinded but with all that knowledge trapped in his head it's understandable.  

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  • 1 month later...

I have two Rock River Arms Limited Match 1911's that were hard chromed by APW.  After over 12,000 rounds through one of them, the slide to frame rail fit is still tight as a drum and looks almost like new.  APW does a great job and their HC is quite durable. 

 

Michael

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FYI- Ron Mahovsky is 80-odd, and has said he's been looking for someone to step into the business.  He still does the most of the work himself.  I've had work by APW, and it is excellent, with quick turn around. 

 

But, Ron is old school.  I sent my dad's (inherited) JC Penny Marlin 336 that had taken many white tail, and seen a ton of miles.  Well cared for, but it had some surface issues.  Ron did the grinding & polishing and re-finish himself, and it came back looking factory-new.  Probably not your choice for production work (8 month TAT), but I'm glad I had an heirloom piece done by him.

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  • 3 months later...

I have been a fan of APW Cogan, but just had a bad experience.  They were to refinish a set of shotgun barrels for me.  When it came time to send them back, they called for my credit card number which was fine.  It was shipped the next day and should have arrived at the destination in 3 days or less (USPS Priority).  The package was last scanned 4 days later, and has not been seen since.  This was 5 weeks ago.  There have been efforts by the local postmaster to find the package with no luck to date.  The problem is, that they did not insure the barrels for any more than the cost of the refinishing.  They said that that is their normal process.  They did not ask me if I wanted them insured for more when they called.  I am out a set of barrels because of poor policies in their company.  I guess I will go with Ford for the new barrels that I bought that will need a finish put on them.

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13 minutes ago, Danner1946 said:

I have been a fan of APW Cogan, but just had a bad experience.  They were to refinish a set of shotgun barrels for me.  When it came time to send them back, they called for my credit card number which was fine.  It was shipped the next day and should have arrived at the destination in 3 days or less (USPS Priority).  The package was last scanned 4 days later, and has not been seen since.  This was 5 weeks ago.  There have been efforts by the local postmaster to find the package with no luck to date.  The problem is, that they did not insure the barrels for any more than the cost of the refinishing.  They said that that is their normal process.  They did not ask me if I wanted them insured for more when they called.  I am out a set of barrels because of poor policies in their company.  I guess I will go with Ford for the new barrels that I bought that will need a finish put on them.


Wow… that sucks. 
Sorry to hear that… I personally hate USPS. 
Their insurance is pretty much scam, and their tracking system is just worthless. 

 

Edited by kwelhand
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Would not recommend APW.  Had them do a full DLC refinish an SV that I put a new top end on and: 1) finishing work was subpar, with horizontal brush marks visible in the receiver when should have been polished or blasted, 2) price was outrageous to start, and then they billed me for more than I was quoted, even though I specifically requested that the contact me prior to finishing if there was going to be any additional costs (their excuse was that the vendor raised their prices), 3) they lost some of my small parts and then tried to say I never sent them, although they eventually found them and sent them to me, and 4) they took about 3x longer than originally quoted (which they also blamed on their vendor).  So, overall, not a good experience.

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6 minutes ago, ltdmstr said:

Would not recommend APW.  Had them do a full DLC refinish an SV that I put a new top end on and: 1) finishing work was subpar, with horizontal brush marks visible in the receiver when should have been polished or blasted, 2) price was outrageous to start, and then they billed me for more than I was quoted, even though I specifically requested that the contact me prior to finishing if there was going to be any additional costs (their excuse was that the vendor raised their prices), 3) they lost some of my small parts and then tried to say I never sent them, although they eventually found them and sent them to me, and 4) they took about 3x longer than originally quoted (which they also blamed on their vendor).  So, overall, not a good experience.

 

Thanks for sharing… very helpful. 

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I just had three done by Mark Zamsky.  One was a complete gun (CZ82) and two were 1911/2011 frame/slide combos.

 

I sent them out on 20 March.  He got them on 23 March.  He called me yesterday ready to ship them back.  So... a week-and-a-half turnaround time?  Not bad, IMHO.

 

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I used Ron's shop to coat 2 CZ's and Tanfo a few years ago.  One frame was not done properly and he promptly responded and refinished.  All else the quality was excellent.  Found communications were difficult though back then so unsure of what is transpiring now.

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