P1 finish protection
 

Hi Folks, I have an unissued, hex bolt, Walther P1. Having owned several of these over the years I am aware of the lack of durability of the frame soft anodizing. Since this one is 100%, what can I do to protect the frame finish? All input is appreciated.

I have owned them too... great "carry" guns since they are so light weight, especially if modified and hammer bobbed to be a "shorty" like the attached photo..., but the original frame finish lasts about as long as a chocolate candy bar in my hands...Without sarcasm, These guns will likely not become very rare during this generation, so--

1. keep it in the box if you want it to remain original, ---unless it is a shooter, then it doesn't matter cause it is going to wear...

2. Keep the frame treated with Renaissance Wax as an additional protection. Reapply when you have handled the gun.

3. Have it "hard" anodized the same color to make it more wear resistant.

4. Have the gun plated with armaloy or some similar finish.

Nice shorty John, would love to have a P5.

This image is actually photoshopped to look like a gun I made for myself back in the 1970's from a mismatched P.38 I built from parts.

In addition to bobbing the hammer and shortening the barrel, I also flattened the contour of the safety and checkered the remaining lever. It was a great carry gun, and reliable as heck.

With a P1 aluminum frame it would be even easier to carry...

I think I would find the P5 to be slightly bulkier than my "shorty."

I always wanted an H&K P7, but could never find one I could afford :crying:

Eugene offers a sectioned & shortened P38 -

http://www.lugerman.com/Pages/SamplePages/Work_25.html

It's not to my taste but is somewhat interesting. :)

The shortened design really requires a bobbed hammer for both looks and practicality as a concealed/carry pistol.

If you mean like the pic John posted, that would relegate it to double-action only [first shot]... :(

Not really Rich, I had the top of the hammer grooved and the back slightly rounded so my gun was capable of being manually shot as a single action auto. A slight take-up of the trigger made this function even easier, but in reality, for a short carry gun like this, Double-action only is perfectly fine, since most encounters would likely be at distances similar to being inside a room. Iron sights are not an issue at those distances.

Exactly! It is possible to bob the hammer for better concealment and less garment damage and still be able to hand **** the pistol for single action work.

I've got a Walther P38K which is the factory shortened P38. A friend of mine in the Grenzschutzgruppe 9 der Bundespolizei (GSG 9) gave it to me when I was finishing up my first tour in Germany. I've carried it for the past ten years as my carry piece and the finish has held up well on the aluminum frame. The only slight wear has been on the edges of the steel slide. I carry it in a suede lined holster so I think that has helped.

BACK to the subject - unless handling it or dropping it, then I would think most any oil, Rem oil, Hoppes, etc will keep it just fine.

I have some Renaissance Wax that I have not used yet. Although I have not heard that it comes off by handling. I was under the impression it was fairly resistant, compared to normal gun oils...