Chrome:(

ocean464 · 08-11-2009, 10:06 AM

I am new here, and will probably beat a dead horse with this question,but...

I just acquired a byf 42 luger, it has been rebarreled with a 6in bohler stahl barrel, and the sideplate does not match, nor does the magazine. Everything else does match. It has been chromed, so my big question is it worth getting the chrome removed and reblueing it, so it would at least be a decent looking shooter? Has checkered wood grips that seem original to the gun. I tried to post a few pics with it as well.. TIA!

alanint · 08-11-2009, 10:33 AM

Considering it is a mismatched, rebarreled shooter, the cost of de chroming and rebluing is not really worth it.
Also, when a gun has been this heavily buffed, they actually tend to look better chromed than blued!

John Sabato · 08-11-2009, 11:02 AM

I concur with alanint's assessment. Don't spend the money to dechrome. This gun has been heavily buffed before chroming... Enjoy it as a shooter. I bet it will be a dandy on the range.

ocean464 · 08-11-2009, 02:00 PM

Thanks for the feedback! I think I will leave it as is then. I thought I'd take a chance on it, at $300 I figured it'd be worth it.

PhilOhio · 08-11-2009, 02:08 PM

If you got it for $300, and if it functions well, you did O.K.

Ice · 08-11-2009, 06:06 PM

You can count on it being an eyecatcher at the range. Enjoy shooting it and have fun.

Charlie

John Sabato · 08-12-2009, 11:16 AM

You only paid $300 for your chromed Luger? You did WAY better than just Okay...

Went Blakely · 08-14-2009, 01:18 AM

Agreed, looks pretty sweet to me, especially for that price!

unspellable · 08-16-2009, 10:42 AM

Is this really chrome as opposed to nickel?

ocean464 · 08-17-2009, 03:50 PM

Well, I guess it may be nickel. I'm not sure. I would rather it be blued, but the idea of keeping it like this to show what the vets did to them after the war is catching on. If nothing else, it's quite the dramatic effect to have a blued one next to it. Any way to tell chrome vs nickled?

Edward Tinker · 08-17-2009, 04:27 PM

Usually chrome is brighter and nickle is more faded, but sometimes its very hard to tell the difference for me

lugerholsterrepair · 08-17-2009, 04:43 PM

FN was using chrome right after WW2 and found that chrome was much thicker than Nickle. To approximate the look of nickle they used a satin chrome. Nickle is much less durable than chrome perhaps partly because it is thinner.It is certainly made up of softer metals. Chrome is VERY hard and will be found in the bore of SKS rifles and many rifles now employ it for durability.
A nickle coating on guns is copper, nickel and zinc. As it ages it achieves a yellowish patina and a nickle magazine left in a holster will eventually turn green with verdegris.

I once found a 1908 Luger and had it stripped of the chrome that was on it. I think it would only be worth it if the pistol was rare & worthy of extensive restoration and not heavily buffed as John says.

Jerry Burney

unspellable · 08-17-2009, 06:47 PM

I have a plated Luger. Now you have me wondering if it's nickle or chrome. Up to this point I'd assumed almost all plated guns, Lugers or not, were nickle plated and chrome was relatively rare.

If you see a Colt Python in nickle plate or stainless you will have a very difficult time telling them apart. They put a polish on the stainless that makes it look very like plating.

lugerholsterrepair · 08-17-2009, 06:58 PM

Now you have me wondering if it's nickle or chrome. Up to this point I'd assumed almost all plated guns, Lugers or not, were nickle plated and chrome was relatively rare.

I believe the opposite is true. These Wartime prizes arrived in the USA after WW2 just at the height of automobile chrome. Chrome shops could be found accross America in most towns of any size. It was easy to find people to do this. Nowdays it might be very difficult to find someone to do this work as it is prohibited or tightly regulated.

Jerry Burney

Went Blakely · 08-24-2009, 12:18 PM

It's definately harder to find people to do decent chroming imho, around my neck anyways. The fact that these pieces can be done over 60+years ago and still have relatively decent finishes, is an achievement and testament to the operator in it's own right

How to tell chrome from nickle, as Ed said, chrome usually has a very dark, deep, shiny bright lustre, where as nickle, is notably much more subtle and faded out in comparison.
Not forgetting also, triple plated chrome is a mixture of nickle, copper, and chromium together, but i doubt that's used on firearms period because of tolerance/thickness issues.

Vlim · 08-24-2009, 01:16 PM

Went, correct.

In the 70s, Mauser actually prepped the parts for their matte chrome finish separately from those which were blued because of the altered tolerances. They had a good chrome shop next door, their Mauser Messwerkzeug GmbH sister company.

08-11-2009, 10:06 AM	#1
ocean464 New User Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Chrome:( I am new here, and will probably beat a dead horse with this question,but... I just acquired a byf 42 luger, it has been rebarreled with a 6in bohler stahl barrel, and the sideplate does not match, nor does the magazine. Everything else does match. It has been chromed, so my big question is it worth getting the chrome removed and reblueing it, so it would at least be a decent looking shooter? Has checkered wood grips that seem original to the gun. I tried to post a few pics with it as well.. TIA! Attached Thumbnails

08-11-2009, 11:02 AM	#3
John Sabato Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: The Capital of the Free World Posts: 10,150 Thanks: 3,003 Thanked 2,304 Times in 1,096 Posts	I concur with alanint's assessment. Don't spend the money to dechrome. This gun has been heavily buffed before chroming... Enjoy it as a shooter. I bet it will be a dandy on the range. __________________ regards, -John S "...We hold these truths to be self-evident that ALL men are created EQUAL *and are endowed by their Creator* with certain UNALIENABLE* rights, and among these are life, LIBERTY, and the pursuit of happiness..."*

08-12-2009, 11:16 AM	#7
John Sabato Lifer Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: The Capital of the Free World Posts: 10,150 Thanks: 3,003 Thanked 2,304 Times in 1,096 Posts	$300 ! You only paid $300 for your chromed Luger? You did WAY better than just Okay... __________________ regards, -John S "...We hold these truths to be self-evident that ALL men are created EQUAL *and are endowed by their Creator* with certain UNALIENABLE* rights, and among these are life, LIBERTY, and the pursuit of happiness..."*

08-14-2009, 01:18 AM	#8
Went Blakely User Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 231 Thanks: 4 Thanked 8 Times in 6 Posts	Agreed, looks pretty sweet to me, especially for that price! __________________ Went Blakely

08-17-2009, 04:43 PM	#12
lugerholsterrepair Moderator Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Arizona/Colorado Posts: 7,763 Thanks: 4,865 Thanked 3,105 Times in 1,429 Posts	FN was using chrome right after WW2 and found that chrome was much thicker than Nickle. To approximate the look of nickle they used a satin chrome. Nickle is much less durable than chrome perhaps partly because it is thinner.It is certainly made up of softer metals. Chrome is VERY hard and will be found in the bore of SKS rifles and many rifles now employ it for durability. A nickle coating on guns is copper, nickel and zinc. As it ages it achieves a yellowish patina and a nickle magazine left in a holster will eventually turn green with verdegris. I once found a 1908 Luger and had it stripped of the chrome that was on it. I think it would only be worth it if the pistol was rare & worthy of extensive restoration and not heavily buffed as John says. Jerry Burney __________________ Jerry Burney 11491 S. Guadalupe Drive Yuma AZ 85367-6182 lugerholsterrepair@earthlink.net 928 342-7583 (CO & AZ) Year Round 719 207-3331 (cell) "For those who Fight For It, Life has a flavor the protected will never know."

08-11-2009, 10:33 AM	#2
alanint User Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Marco Island, Florida Posts: 4,867 Thanks: 1,685 Thanked 1,916 Times in 1,192 Posts	Considering it is a mismatched, rebarreled shooter, the cost of de chroming and rebluing is not really worth it. Also, when a gun has been this heavily buffed, they actually tend to look better chromed than blued!

08-11-2009, 02:00 PM	#4
ocean464 New User Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Thanks for the feedback! I think I will leave it as is then. I thought I'd take a chance on it, at $300 I figured it'd be worth it.

08-11-2009, 02:08 PM	#5
PhilOhio User Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Ohio Posts: 145 Thanks: 5 Thanked 17 Times in 14 Posts	If you got it for $300, and if it functions well, you did O.K.

08-11-2009, 06:06 PM	#6
Ice User Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Texas Posts: 552 Thanks: 13 Thanked 69 Times in 57 Posts	You can count on it being an eyecatcher at the range. Enjoy shooting it and have fun. Charlie

08-16-2009, 10:42 AM	#9
unspellable User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Iowa Posts: 768 Thanks: 0 Thanked 19 Times in 11 Posts	Is this really chrome as opposed to nickel?

08-17-2009, 03:50 PM	#10
ocean464 New User Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Well, I guess it may be nickel. I'm not sure. I would rather it be blued, but the idea of keeping it like this to show what the vets did to them after the war is catching on. If nothing else, it's quite the dramatic effect to have a blued one next to it. Any way to tell chrome vs nickled?

08-17-2009, 04:27 PM	#11
Edward Tinker Super Moderator Eternal Lifer LugerForum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: North of Spokane, WA Posts: 15,915 Thanks: 1,989 Thanked 4,506 Times in 2,080 Posts	Usually chrome is brighter and nickle is more faded, but sometimes its very hard to tell the difference for me

08-17-2009, 06:47 PM	#13
unspellable User Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Iowa Posts: 768 Thanks: 0 Thanked 19 Times in 11 Posts	I have a plated Luger. Now you have me wondering if it's nickle or chrome. Up to this point I'd assumed almost all plated guns, Lugers or not, were nickle plated and chrome was relatively rare. If you see a Colt Python in nickle plate or stainless you will have a very difficult time telling them apart. They put a polish on the stainless that makes it look very like plating.

08-17-2009, 06:58 PM	#14
lugerholsterrepair Moderator Lifetime Forum Patron Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Arizona/Colorado Posts: 7,763 Thanks: 4,865 Thanked 3,105 Times in 1,429 Posts	Now you have me wondering if it's nickle or chrome. Up to this point I'd assumed almost all plated guns, Lugers or not, were nickle plated and chrome was relatively rare. I believe the opposite is true. These Wartime prizes arrived in the USA after WW2 just at the height of automobile chrome. Chrome shops could be found accross America in most towns of any size. It was easy to find people to do this. Nowdays it might be very difficult to find someone to do this work as it is prohibited or tightly regulated. Jerry Burney __________________ Jerry Burney 11491 S. Guadalupe Drive Yuma AZ 85367-6182 lugerholsterrepair@earthlink.net 928 342-7583 (CO & AZ) Year Round 719 207-3331 (cell) "For those who Fight For It, Life has a flavor the protected will never know."

08-24-2009, 12:18 PM	#15
Went Blakely User Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Australia Posts: 231 Thanks: 4 Thanked 8 Times in 6 Posts	It's definately harder to find people to do decent chroming imho, around my neck anyways. The fact that these pieces can be done over 60+years ago and still have relatively decent finishes, is an achievement and testament to the operator in it's own right How to tell chrome from nickle, as Ed said, chrome usually has a very dark, deep, shiny bright lustre, where as nickle, is notably much more subtle and faded out in comparison. Not forgetting also, triple plated chrome is a mixture of nickle, copper, and chromium together, but i doubt that's used on firearms period because of tolerance/thickness issues. __________________ Went Blakely

08-24-2009, 01:16 PM	#16
Vlim Moderator Lifetime LugerForum Patron Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Europe Posts: 5,046 Thanks: 1,034 Thanked 3,946 Times in 1,197 Posts	Went, correct. In the 70s, Mauser actually prepped the parts for their matte chrome finish separately from those which were blued because of the altered tolerances. They had a good chrome shop next door, their Mauser Messwerkzeug GmbH sister company.