[chuck17]

Is that a 1916? It looks pretty rough around the edges. How is the bore? I have seen some real rust-buckets with nice bores. Is that a bare metal finish, or was it chromed or nickeled?

There are a lot of options out there for refinishing that Luger. Is this something that is a family heirloom or just something that you want to be a shooter? If you want to preserve it for future generations, you might want to consider a professional restoration. If a shooter, I say try doing it yourself!

Since it is not a collectible, I don't see any reason to not refinish it. I have used the Brownells zinc phosphate and it works perfectly to Parkerize it, but it will be a soft gray in color. The look of the pitting will be softened by the Parkerized finish, but it will have a rough surface.

The zinc phosphate is also the perfect base for Gunkote, which would smooth the finish and protect it to an even greater extent. If you choose to spray on a finish over it, Gunkote has many colors to choose from. I have only used the flat black and it looks good to me, and it is very durable.

Alternatively, you might also try your hand at rust bluing, with some Pilkingtons rust blue formula available from Brownells. It is much more labor intensive, but will provide a very durable and rich blue-black finish. It will not hide the pitting as well as Parkerizing, though.

Good luck at whatever you decide!