357454 Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 I installed a 6 1/2" model 25 barrel on my 625 a few years ago and have decided to have either the barrel or complete gun hard chromed. Looking for suggestions, should I just do the barrel, or the whole gun? Is there a downside to hard chroming? Who should I send it to? Thanks in advance for your suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rolex Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Have the gun hard chromed at APW- brushed finish- Look at their web, for photos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 No downside to hard-chroming a revolver, and several upsides. Definitely do the complete gun. Two of my personal revolvers are hard-chromed with a "brushed" finish and they look sweet. Make sure the action is done, and everything is the way you want it before sending it out for hard-chroming. I've been very pleased with hard chrome work from Ron Mahovsky's Metalife--his pricing is excellent (even better if you have an FFL or know somebody who does), and I believe it includes disassembly and reassembly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Have the gun hard chromed at APW-brushed finish- Look at their web, for photos. Yes, I like APW also. I picked up a certificate they donated for a free chrome job off the table at the USPSA Nationals one year. They did a nice job hard-chroming an alloy-framed 1911 (something many platers will not touch), and I have always appreciated the fact they helped sponsor a USPSA event. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boats Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 (edited) Several friends have used Mahovsky's Metalife with good results. Thinking about sending a well worn BHPower to him now. ron@mahovskysmetalife.com Metallfe is not exactly hard chrome though. It's much harder or so I am told. Mahovsky has a real following among Black Powder Cartridge rifle shooters. Tough strands up to corrosion but looks like aged Nickle plate if he blast the action. Finish depends on the metal prep high or low shine. Carmoney, should I trust his disassembly/reassembly ? Everybody I know sends a stripped action. Boats Edited February 14, 2009 by Boats Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSMITH Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Good hard chrome is good hard chrome, I don't believe there is enough difference in hardness to choose one over another. Much more important is the quality of the prep and plating, it is THE reason to select a plater. I use AP&W, their prep, plating consistency and consistency of color is unmatched as well as offering more end chrome finishes than anyone else in the business. I have used a bunch of the others but AP&W has consistently been better over the last 15 years, plus they have a REAL gunsmith in Bob Cogan and that is very important to me. I don't want a plating guy doing my guns when I can have a real gunsmith do the plating as well or better than someone that only does plating. That extra knowledge goes a long way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted February 14, 2009 Share Posted February 14, 2009 Carmoney, should I trust his disassembly/reassembly ? Everybody I know sends a stripped action. Sure, unless it's something really exotic, it should be no problem. Mahovsky's been around for a long time. The last time I checked around, his prices were impossible to beat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colbyjack Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 any pics? -chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
357454 Posted February 15, 2009 Author Share Posted February 15, 2009 (edited) No downside to hard-chroming a revolver, and several upsides. Definitely do the complete gun. Two of my personal revolvers are hard-chromed with a "brushed" finish and they look sweet. Make sure the action is done, and everything is the way you want it before sending it out for hard-chroming. I've been very pleased with hard chrome work from Ron Mahovsky's Metalife--his pricing is excellent (even better if you have an FFL or know somebody who does), and I believe it includes disassembly and reassembly. Mike: Thanks for the info on Metalife, I will be in western PA next week on business, if time permits I will stop by and check them out. What's the best way to ship a pistol these days? I have had too may lost bags when flying into Pittsburgh to bring my gun with me. Edited February 16, 2009 by 357454 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 I check guns in my luggage fairly frequently traveling to matches. I did lose a bag once, fortunately it did not contain any firearms (although it had ski boots, goggles, gloves, etc. that I hated to lose). If you have FFLs on both ends, you can ship via USPS Priority Mail. There's no package tracking, but it's so much cheaper than the common carriers it's worth it, in my view. With no FFL on your end, you'll need to use Fedex or UPS. Both will nail you for overnight express service, and both will be fairly expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carmoney Posted February 15, 2009 Share Posted February 15, 2009 any pics? -chris My Nowlin gun is hard-chromed (I have no idea who did the chrome job, probably Metalloy). It's the gun pictured in the first post of this old thread: http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?...mp;#entry438242 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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