CZ75. Has anyone ever...

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Pond James Pond

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... removed the factory duracoat and then blued the gun?

If yes, I'd love to see the results. I was musing today and though such a gun would be a very handsome piece indeed!
 
The CZ finish is called POLYCOAT and is, I'd argue, a much more durable finish than Duracoat. That Polycoat finish is very difficult to remove, and refinishers charge an extra $30-$50 to do it. (If its scratched or chipped, matte black auto body touch-up paint -- at least the stuff available here in the US -- is an almost perfect match. Dura-Coat brand is a perfect match.)

The basic metal under the polycoat is PARKERIZED (manganese phosphate) before it is Polycoated, and I'm told that they don't really do the same level of surface prep for polycoated guns as they do with the high-gloss models.

And if you want it to look good, a very polished metal finish is important. The extra time and care in polishing the finish is what gives you the beautiful deep blued finish on some of the older guns. Be prepared to pay a bit extra.

CZ will (or would, at one time) sell you some models with a high gloss finish for about $100 more...
 
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I was going to put up some photos, but wasn't able to as they are too large.
I have several pre-Bs and an Interim pre-B that I am in the process of getting refinished.
As said above, it is very difficult to get the polycoat off. Basically you have to use a solvent from the aircraft industry. The interim' and pre-Bs also have a safety mechanism that is different than the 75Bs, and if you lose the small detent or spring you are in trouble!
My interim I had matte blued, and put on wooden grips. It looks clean and classical. My first pre-B I sent to Cajun Gun Works as the front sight was loose (another adventure with these) and was silver braized in place, and then cerakoted. Cajun did some smoothing and replaced some springs. Wonderful!
For the next I'm going to color case harden the receiver and master blue the slide... That's the hope.
 
That would cost way too much... But I guess if you really want to put the money into it, the. It's possible, but a difficult and time consuming process.

Best to find a factory blued option if possible.


They did offer a blued model a while back, I have seen a couple, and there is a used blued 75 at a local shop last I was there. Very deep/dark blueing, smooth and polished.

My 75 in 40sw has their matte blued finish on the slide. It's a satin deep blue/black color. The frame is nickel.
 
I think a member named Dakota.Potts did a blued CZ a while back. It might have been case hardened and blued. Can't remember now
 
They used to offer them in blue and polycoated. Maybe not anymore, but I'd just buy the blue one if that is the finish you want. If it is no longer available new there are used ones out there.
 
40th Anniversary

Hello Mr Pond, the folks here are telling you true. I believe one reason CZ uses the black polycoat ( put on fairly thick too) is to save time with metal prep. There are some pix floating on the interwebs about this. They look ill when naked!

And to answer your question, yes indeed. Some folks have gone thru the trouble to blue them. One member here did a beautiful write up about it.


At any rate, if you look at the 40th anniversary 75b, it was blued. There is one that languishes unsold at my LGS for near 1600 dollars. It is nice indeed, but the buying public has spoke. Not worth the extra money.
Where I live, any CZ metal pistol ( except omega) sells very fast indeed. To have this beauty just sit, tells me that people are not willing to pay extra for the extra prep work.
 
Fords in FL has done a few in their master blue. There is nothing magical about CZs polycoat. It is a good factory finish but any competent refinisher should be able to strip it and refinish the gun in whatever finish you choose.

20247887_463902237317225_3796963503407143694_o.jpg
 
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Pond, Yes I have. I used hardware store paint stripper and took the finish off my Pre-B CZ75. I expected the metal surface beneath to be pretty ugly. WRONG! The factory surface finish was very nice, requiring no surface prep. by the professional bluer. Came out very nice indeed. Unfortunately, no pictures as this was before I had a digital camera, or computer.
 
Mr. Pond, I think, is talking about a B-series (i.e., newer) gun, and things have changed. The finish on the pre-Bs, at least the early ones, was an enamel, and it chipped easily. I used automotive paint remover on my first pre-B, and like rock185's pre-B, above, it was pretty nicely smoothed/polished under the paint. (That paint/enamel, unlike Polycoat, was not very thick, and it didn't really hide any surface blemishes.). That may NOT be the case with the newer B series guns, but since I've not stripped one of those, so I'm not sure.

As the CZ models progressed to the late pre-B, CZ shifted to versions of CZ's polycoat, which is also electrostatically applied. That became a stronger and stronger finish over the years. (Early versions of Polycoat could be damaged by some gun solvents, like GunScrubber, and when I was active on the CZ Forum, as a moderator back then, we'd tell members to test the finish under the grips before using something new; that seems unnecessary, now.)
 
Walt Sherrill said:
Mr. Pond, I think, is talking about a B-series (i.e., newer) gun, and things have changed. The finish on the pre-Bs, at least the early ones, was an enamel, and it chipped easily. I used automotive paint remover on my first pre-B, and like rock185's pre-B, above, it was pretty nicely smoothed/polished under the paint. (That paint/enamel, unlike Polycoat, was not very thick, and it didn't really hide any surface blemishes.). That may NOT be the case with the newer B series guns, but since I've not stripped one of those, so I'm not sure.

As the CZ models progressed to the late pre-B, CZ shifted to versions of CZ's polycoat, which is also electrostatically applied. That became a stronger and stronger finish over the years. (Early versions of Polycoat could be damaged by some gun solvents, like GunScrubber, and when I was active on the CZ Forum, as a moderator back then, we'd tell members to test the finish under the grips before using something new; that seems unnecessary, now.)
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Walt, when was the shift from enamel to polycoat? I've got 2 pre-B's, a 92 and an 88. The 92 has a worn/chipped area in the back strap (I say worn, because it's not really palpable to the touch), and the 88 looks to have a few scratches here and there (and overall looks just a tad rougher). Both are matte black in appearance.
 
scoobysnacker said:
Walt, when was the shift from enamel to polycoat? I've got 2 pre-B's, a 92 and an 88. The 92 has a worn/chipped area in the back strap (I say worn, because it's not really palpable to the touch), and the 88 looks to have a few scratches here and there (and overall looks just a tad rougher). Both are matte black in appearance.
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I don't know dates. My first pre-B was coated enamel, and it looked like it had chicken pox. (I suspect it was early 80's -- but I didn't keep records.)

Polycoat came later and the formula of the polycoat has changed over the years. In the late 90's the polycoat was still moderately fragile, as stuff like carb or brake cleaner would damage it. By the early 2000's it had become more robust, and now it's very damage resistant. (Thick, too.)

If you're thinking about stripping the finish, pick a spot under the grips and try whatever remover/solvent you propose using.
 
I like the finish on my SP-01, but it isn't the toughest one out there. There are a few small chips when I had the spur hammer installed.

My final product will be sending the gun and the Kadet kit to CCR for CPII. Have the barrel and guide rod done, but really want to have the entire gun finished. Should look good when done.
 
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