Hard Chrome Durability

T

Tankist

New member
A lot of you guys have quite a bit of experince with this topic. I figure this would be the best place to seek answers.
What kind of durability can one expect from a hard chrome finish. Especially on the areas that are constantly subjected to friction. I just got my P7 back from Tripp, he did a beautiful job. The pistol looks great. I took it out to the range today to try it out. Worked perfectly, no problems at all. When I striped it down for cleaning I did notice some damage to the finish on the barrel. It seems that the finish has began to discolor and wear along the barrel due to contact with the recoil spring. And this is only after 100 rounds!!

Now, I just wanted to check if this is considered normal or excessive. Should I just polish off the barrel back to it's original condition and be done with it?

Has anyone here seen this on your P7's?
 
Last edited:
What you're seeing is just polishing of the chrome. This happens when chrome rubs against chrome. That stuff is HARD, and isn't going to wear off any time soon.
I used to have all my guns plated before stainless was available. After many years of HEAVY use, all I find is the polishing marks, and a few scratches that don't penetrate the coating.

I also have a .45 ACP gang mold for casting 230 grain lead bullets. It was plated by Armoloy in the late 70's, and is discolored and scratched, but the finish is still intact, and won't rust.

Unless you got a bad job, don't worry, it will outlast you.
 
Thank's for the quick reply. I checked it closer and it doesn't look like it's chiping. There are several areas some around the contact points where barrel touches the slide as well as others that seem to be related to spings position. They look a little discolored and rubbed off. No flaking, just the patches of discoloration and rubbing damage. I guess you could call it polished.
 
One of the advantages of hard chrome, is that it can't crack, chip, or peel. Standard decretive chrome, (like on car parts) isn't very durable since the base metal is first plated with copper, or iron, then the chrome is deposited over that. This allows the layers to seperate from the base metal. Hard chrome is applied directly to the base metal, and actually "sinks" into the pores of the metal. Sort of like paint vs stain, paint will flake off, stain can't since it's IN the surface.

Hard chrome is actually harder than a good Swiss file. My Colt Combat Commander was plated by Armoloy in the mid 70's, and although the barrel hood and bushing area are marked up like yours, the chrome is still intact. I just applied a coat of cold blue, to check the integrety of the plating, and it just beaded up.

The only problem I've ever seen was on guns done by Armoloy of Texas. Some of their work would develope VERY dark gray spots. Armoloy said this was "acid leaching" and didn't affect the chrome protection.

I repeat, this stuff is hellishly tough.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top