shadetree Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 I have a couple of guns that I am considering having hard chromed. I like the look of a 2 tone gun better but If i knew for sure that my gun would last longer if the whole thing was hced I would probablely have the whole thing done. Has anyone done an actual side by side comparison say of a blued gun and a chromed gun side by side to see if there is any real difference in durability. I don't mean the finish I talking about part ware and tolerences stay in the same. Any info would be apriciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 (edited) Shade I had my former Limited Gun Hard Chromed for two reason, ok three reasons. 1) Living in Florida, the humidity is SO high that a gun is gonna rust in the worn areas 2) We often end up shooting in some rain in the summer, not good to Bluing 3) It just looks SEXY!!!! YOMV Edited March 24, 2007 by zhunter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianH Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 If you only chrome the frame you have hard material running against soft material, so you're doing nothing for durability. The beauty with chrome is all you're bearing surfaces are now 70 Rockwell (as opposed to 35) and hard chrome does not gall against itself. It wears much longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BSeevers Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 Short answer is "Yes" Long answer is "Yes it does" Don't really need a side by side. Just ask a engineer why they hard chrome stuff. Or just look at our guns. I try not to spend 200+ on anything unless it is an advantage or necessary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revchuck Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 I had my Colt Gubmint Model hard chromed when I couldn't keep the slide from rusting. It worked so well I had the Commander done too. As my guns get to the point they need to be refinished, they'll be hard chromed. My S&W M13 is next. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlamoShooter Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 Yes & yes = I have one over 15 years old to prove it. I friend has it now = its and old comped used to be iron sights 1911 The one I have now is five years old and it acts & looks new Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadetree Posted March 25, 2007 Author Share Posted March 25, 2007 Thanks for all your in put. The next question is aside from the slide and frame what other parts should be hard chromed? Are there parts that won't bennefit from chrome? Are there parts that absoulutely should not be hard chromed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuck Merriam Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 All the regularly replaced parts wont be, as well as, the obvious stuff like sights! Any good pistol Chromer will do it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlin Orr Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 Thanks for all your in put. The next question is aside from the slide and frame what other parts should be hard chromed? Are there parts that won't bennefit from chrome?Are there parts that absoulutely should not be hard chromed? Just wrap you gun up and ship the whole thing to Virgil Tripp and tell him to do his stuff. He will do what is needed and reassemble the gun and have it back to you ready to rock. No muss...No fuss.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Keen Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 I just got an open gun back from Tripp, and what Merlin said is true. Virgil wants the gun ASSEMBLED when it gets to him. That way he can account for every part. There are lots of pistol chromers out there who know how to do it right, so 'don't sweat the small stuff'. Just ship it off, and when it comes back, you'll be in chrome heaven. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhunter Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 Virgil is THE MAN for Hard Chroming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 Are there parts that absoulutely should not be hard chromed? There are. The sights, obviously. None of the springs - the heat involved in hard chroming will affect their temper. Most people don't want the hammer and sear hard chromed since it's a fairly rough finish and can affect the trigger pulls. But, as others have said, a good refinisher already knows all this and will chrome only the parts that are appropriate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cuz Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 Would you chrome a stainless steel gun? I apologize in advance if this is a stupid question. -Cuz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianH Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 Yeah, cuz stainless ain't much harder than carbon steel, and it's wear resistance is lousy. Chrome will help there too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadetree Posted March 25, 2007 Author Share Posted March 25, 2007 Last quetion is Do I need to do all my custom mods before hard chrome? ie sights, trigger work have repacement saftied or slide stops fitted before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgary Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 Yes. hard chrome is "hard". Once it has been done, it is much more difficult (not impossible, but more difficult) to drill holes, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Cheely Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 Yes. hard chrome is "hard". Once it has been done, it is much more difficult (not impossible, but more difficult) to drill holes, etc. I have not found this to be the case. Hardchrome is only a few microns thick. Very hard, yes, but it dosen't phase a mill. You need to have "most" of your custom work done because as soon as you cut through the chrome you've lost it's ability to resist rust, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexmoney Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 I've always liked the advice that says to get the gun, shoot it for a year, making whatever changes you find that you like. After you know you are done changing things, then send it off for chrome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadetree Posted March 26, 2007 Author Share Posted March 26, 2007 I've always liked the advice that says to get the gun, shoot it for a year, making whatever changes you find that you like. After you know you are done changing things, then send it off for chrome. That was the direction I was heading in. I just bought the gun in February. I've been shooting it and dry firing. I've decided to chang the sights. The front sight is too wide and the rear too narrow. I really like the trigger. Other than that I'm not sure yet. I want to do my reasearch so I have the knowlege and the funds available when I decide how to finish this gun. A separate questions. What are the pros and cons of hard chroming your magazine tubes? Is that worth the cash? Are there any potential problems? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HI5-O Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 This topic answered my question I just got an older AMT Hardballer (for free) so the answers give me hope that I could get this thing running. Also I have a Detonics Scoremaster with the same issues (galling). Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duane Thomas Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 Actually, as I understand matters, hard chrome is not the ultimate in rust resistance that a lot of people think. The chrome plating has micro-cracks in it, so it is possible for corrosion causing moisture to reach the underlying steel. When that happens, it's not that the chrome rusts but that you get this brown crud bubbling up through the chrome. Looks like hell when that happens, BTW. You still need to maintain a hard chromed gun though it is better in this regard than blued carbon steel. Yes, I'd consider hard chroming a stainless steel gun. High carbon (i.e. blued) steel is considerably harder than stainless steel. Staineless is considerably more corrosion resistant. Apply hard chrome over stainless, you get the surface wear characteristics of hard chrome, but underneath you have corrosion resistant stainless steel. Kind of the best of both worlds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Service Desk Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 This topic answered my question I just got an older AMT Hardballer (for free) so the answers give me hope that I could get this thing running. Also I have a Detonics Scoremaster with the same issues (galling). Barry To stop the galling dead in its tracks, try some RIG +P gun grease. My Scoremaster was doin' the same thing, even BreakFree seemed not to help. Got some RIG from Security Equipment Corp in Honolulu and it all stopped ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rishii Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 This topic answered my question I just got an older AMT Hardballer (for free) so the answers give me hope that I could get this thing running. Also I have a Detonics Scoremaster with the same issues (galling). Barry To stop the galling dead in its tracks, try some RIG +P gun grease. My Scoremaster was doin' the same thing, even BreakFree seemed not to help. Got some RIG from Security Equipment Corp in Honolulu and it all stopped ! Barry I got a tub of RIG if you want to try it. but wait you got a a a a a a a AMT wish I had my old Llama, then we could hold a POJ match Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mistral404 Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 I have two that are hard chromed, one by Tripp. Both are great. I would do it again except ION BOND. You might want to look into this stuff. I have seen a couple of guns. They are superior. If in doubt call Taran Butler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadetree Posted March 27, 2007 Author Share Posted March 27, 2007 I have two that are hard chromed, one by Tripp. Both are great. I would do it again except ION BOND. You might want to look into this stuff. I have seen a couple of guns. They are superior.If in doubt call Taran Butler. What is Ion Bond? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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