Given the vintage of the pistol, I am pretty sure the plating is nickel, not chrome. That is good news, as nickel is much easier to remove.
Several years ago, I bought two S&W breaktop revolvers (.38 S&W) that were originally nickeled. As with most nickeled guns of that era, the nickel plating had peeled off and the uncovered areas were rusty. Just for the heck of it (I paid $25 each) I had the nickel removed, then polished the guns carefully and had them reblued. They don't look like the original factory finish but they do look like the current S&W blue finish.
I then put on wood grips made for the Model 36 (the only difference is length) and they look great. You noted, of course, that I polished the guns myself. No way do I trust the average gunsmith to do it right, especially when simulating something like the Luger rust blue using tank blue.
Jim
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