649 Internals came back today!

[SquarePizza]

I finally got the internals back today from APW after having them hard chromed (5 weeks and $68). I am super happy with them, and hopefully I will no longer see a rust flower growing in the recess at the back of the MIM trigger.

Original Internals, dark and little rust spots here and there (hard to see in the photos)

Internals as they came back, I had APW chrome everything that moved. I would have liked to do the hand, ratchet, and ejector rod, but they did not think that was a good idea.

Gun after putting back all those little springs. The pull is smoother now too, but somehow I grabbed a stock green rebound spring and that is awful, I don't know why I didn't have a wilson rebound spring on hand, I have a half dozen sets...

After the wedding and getting my finances back together, I would really like to swap out the cylinder for a titanium one, but right now this gun shoots POA/POI beautifully with 125gr ball, so I am worried that with different cylinder diameter sizes that it might change what the gun likes.

 

[HamHands]

Fantastic! Smooth as butter and no more rust, ever! The Wilson return spring will further things even better.

 

[SquarePizza]

I have a wilson mainspring, but I assembled the gun away from my bench, and in my haste I grabbed a stock rebound spring. I will fix that soon =)

 

[zombie66]

Looks awesome, now I wanna do that to mine.

 

[Zipdog]

Very nice indeed. Giving me ideas. Thanks for posting.

 

[SquarePizza]

Honestly for the corrosion resistance alone I want to start main-lining small parts to APW. They were easy to deal with and I really like the results.

 

[steelslaver]

Interesting modification. I have always heard that hard chrome has a lower coefficient of friction and is extremely durable. Always figured it would be a great way to have a work horse gun refinished. Never thought of just doing the wear parts on a stainless gun.

Would you be willing to give a cost for what you had done?

 

[Tom S.]

Hard chroming is sometimes used in dies (automotive and probably elsewhere) to prolong service life. Some of the dies are used for millions of cycles, for example the GM "B" car floor pan dies made over 25 panels the last time I knew. So yes, it's a viable solution for not only rust but extended service. Another coating process that is allegedly superior to hard chrome is ion nitride, but it leaves yellow-gold appearance that most would find unacceptable.

 

[S&WsRsweet]

APW does great work or at least all I have seen from their shop looks great. Hard chroming those parts that wear for longevity and friction reduction was a good idea glad you shared it.

 

[HamHands]

Hard chroming is sometimes used in dies (automotive and probably elsewhere) to prolong service life. Some of the dies are used for millions of cycles, for example the GM "B" car floor pan dies made over 25 panels the last time I knew. So yes, it's a viable solution for not only rust but extended service. Another coating process that is allegedly superior to hard chrome is ion nitride, but it leaves yellow-gold appearance that most would find unacceptable.

Nickel Boron coating is a another great, slick as snot, coating but my favorite is Titanium Nitride. I have multiple examples of these coatings on my AR-15's bolts and bolt carriers. 500 rounds in an outing and only a shop towel to wipe them down to make them pristine again, no cleaning oil needed... I use Nickel Boron trigger/hammers as well from Geissele that are butter smooth as well.

 

[Eagle1*]

That looks great man...

 

[SquarePizza]

For those that asked, the cost of chroming those parts and the return shipping was $68

Well worth it.