I am considering a Hard Chrome finish for my Highway Patrolman

[Bloodhound]

I have a 4 inch Model 28 S serial number that makes it about 1968. It was a carry gun for sure with holster wear to the blue, but not shot much, still a very tight gun. It is a fine shooter and doesn't need to be refinished or hard chromed. But when I started as a Sheriff's Deputy I was mentored by a retired Sheriff's Deputy and his duty gun was a Model 28. Due to an incident while arresting a guy, he ended up tossing his gun off the dock into the ocean, where they were to avoid the bad guy getting it. The dive team recovered the gun and a company in the area cleaned it and hard chromed it for him.

I shot that gun several times and it is the reason I wanted a 28 in my collection. His gun went down the road to an unknown buyer after he passed away.

So I am swaying back and forth on getting my 28 hard chromed and if so who to do the work.

Here are a few pics of my gun.

 

[TJm15.38]

A chromed finish will not prevent corrosion. It may be more durable in some instances than a blued finish, but it is not as corrosion-resistant as stainless steel. I think you destroy the gun's value by putting a chrome finish on it, especially since the original finish was blue. I would leave it as is, shoot it and take care of it.

 

[AudieMurphy]

Get it nicle plated...then chromed....I dont know who does firearms but get a pro to do it...check around....dont take it to a shop that does motorcycle stuff/car handles....Someone who specializes in firearms

 

[Yendor357]

I don’t know to whom you’d send your big six shooter……..

But, I vote Yes to Hard Chrome. There a million M28s. So what if one of them is different. If it’s done correctly, hard chrome looks nice. Your gun could use a make over anyway.

I want to see pics when you get it done.

 

[Erocksmash]

I vote yes, I'm considering having 2 of my 6 guns HC, I recently as in 2 weeks ago sent my G23c slide to APW in Georgia and they did a stellar job!

 

[mikerjf]

I understand your desire to make your 28 look like your mentor’s. But yours is yours, just as you and he were similar but unique people.

You say it is an excellent shooter. I hesitate to modify anything that is working that well… parts can get lost, clearances can change with plating, it looks new and somehow just ain’t the same gun. I modify things I have no history with, and if it doesn’t work out no big deal.

Just finished a rather philosophical book, so that’s the mood I’m in. It’s your choice, but to me an important tool is mine because of its long association with me, and I like them to show the passage of time just like I myself do.

 

[CH4]

Another great option is a black nitride finish. Very durable and looks similar to the 28’s original finish.

We Are Different | H&M Blacknitride+™

FYI: BN is not a paint or plating, it actually penetrates, I believe, 5 mils into the metal. Tough stuff

Familiar with the company and the product but not affiliated.

 

[.38SuperMan]

Hard chrome and electroless nickel are extremely durable. I had a custom built 1911 for IPSC over thirty years ago and the gun had been drawn and reholstered thousands of times over that period. It has been in the rain, dirt and used hard and shows no wear. It a brushed hard chrome and still looks outstanding, as good as new.

I also bought a model 15 that was in rough shape but mechanically excellent. I had it bead blasted and electroless nickeled. It too had been in and out of a leather holster thousands of times and is thirty years old too. It too looks as nice as the day it was done.

Between nickel and chrome, nickel is warmer in color than chrome. I’ve read nickel is a bit more for idiom resistant too. It’s probably a little softer but over 30 years of use neither show any west so I’d say they’re pretty even.

Don’t confuse electroless nickel with electro plated nickel. Electroless is in many ways a better finish in that it is much more even and uniform and plates in areas that are a problem for electroplating. My electroless nickel revolver has a beautiful slightly warm satin finish, not bright shiny plating.

If your gun is worn badly and not collectible there’s no reason not to have it refinished. 28’s, especially well worn ones, aren’t collectible so why not turn it into something that looks great and will wear well for decades. I just don’t buy into this idea of not refinishing guns.

I have a 34-1 2” that’s mechanically excellent but is really rough. It has pitting from rust and someone put cold blue over worn areas to try and make it look better. It didn’t work and looks terrible. I’m giving serious thought to having it bead blasted and electroless nickel plated as well. Doing this I can take an ugly but great shooter and turn it into something that shoots and looks great.

The idea of not refinishing a gun is like saying I have a rusted 1955 Chevy. Should I restore it or drive it to shows all rusted out. Do you see car collectors displaying their classics all rusted out or oxidized paint. No you don’t so what’s the harm. How many 28’s were made, 100,000 or more.


Excuse the bad photos.

Pictured is my 28 I bought new in 1978 and is near new in the box also my electroless nickel model 15 and my brushed chrome 1911. The color in the last two is a touch warm due to the light source.

 

[Capt. F.]

I dunno, but looks pretty good to me with its honest wear.
It’s yours to do what you want but I’d leave it as is and shoot the heck out of it.
MTCW

 

[Sixgun100]

I’m with the getter done crowd. I like my guns to look good. Get refinished anyway you like. Post pics when finished!

 

[sw702]

great work

Mahovsky's Metalife.........the best IMO........

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Whatever turns ya propeller...........Should come back purty.

 

[colt_saa]

Industrial hard chrome is an exceptionally durable finish and has been used in firearms for many decades now. It does provide more corrosion resistance than the stainless steels used in firearms construction

Hard chrome was probably at its peak in the firearms industry back in the 70s or early 80s. One of the companies that provided this product was Accurate Plating and Weaponry.

Bob Cogan and APW originally were near Clearwater along Florida's Gulf coast 12 or so years ago they relocated to southeastern Alabama

I still own several of the firearms that Bob plated for me back in the day.

The Colt Gold Cup that I used to shoot in Ipsec has had many tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition down the tube but you would not know it to look at the firearm

The P220 in the lower right corner of this family photo was plated by APW back in 1977.

While I no longer carry/shoot this specific P220 today, it was my primary personal carry weapon for a couple of decades.

If you decide to go down the road for Hard Chrome, Accurate Plating and Weaponry will take good care of you

 

[RetCapt]

When the S&W L frames came out I wanted a 686 6" bbl with the high Patridge front sight to allow a neck hold in PPC leg matches. I wanted stainless because my regular PPC revolvrs were stainless. I was/am very aware of how much handling a revolver gets in match use. Also many of our matches were in very hot areas of CA, so sweat was an issue.

A revolver of that spec was impossible to find. Finrally Cheshire & Perez in SoCal found a revolver of that spec, except it was a 586 rather than a 686. I decided to grab it. Shortly thereafter I sent it off to be electroless nickel plated. I specified a matte finish. It came back perfect. I have done some other customizing to that 586. It looks pristine.

I am a fanatic about taking care of my gear. This is not limited to just firearms. It is anything I own.

So I would say git 'er done. Your choice of chrome or nickel. When you get it back you will have a 28 as perfect on the outside as on the inside. None of the other kids in the neighborhood will have that.

Bragging rights are nice to have, even if we are too modest to flaunt them
(or at least to overly flaunt them).

 

[StrawHat]

Armoloy is still in business and still the best.

Anyone who says chrome is not as durable as whatever is thinking of bumper chrome and needs to get into the 20th century. Armoloy and other electroless plating bond at a molecular level and it is nearly impossible to remove mechanically. They also add a level of lubricity, not needed on revolvers but desirable on self loaders.

Your revolver, your choice, but I recommend Armoloy.

Kevin

 

[ladder13]

Mahovsky's Metalife.........the best IMO........

Is he still in business? He’s been around a long time.

 

[413Maxwedge]

I vote yes, I'm considering having 2 of my 6 guns HC, I recently as in 2 weeks ago sent my G23c slide to APW in Georgia and they did a stellar job!

I vote yes, and I also recommend APW. I had a shotgun engraved and hard chromed by them in 2018 and it looks and functions great. I get many compliments on it. I dealt with Romae when I used them:

Romae Zamsky
Sales & Marketing Manager
Accurate Plating & Weaponry Inc.
Cogan Custom
334-585-9488
[email protected]

I had the trigger assembly done in bright hard chrome, the receiver in brushed HC, and the barrel and rib in satin HC.

They had me ship the complete shotgun, then performed all the dissassembly, engraving, chroming and fitting/reassemble to ensure everything fit and functioned properly.

 

[alwslate]

Looks fine the way it is. Hard chroming would destroy originality.

 

[smoothshooter]

Hard chrome makes shooting in bright lite difficult because of glare.

 

[CALREB]

Had many gun hard chromed at a place in Anaheim back in the day. Was a great deal. They charged so much by the frame or part. Super durable, looks awesome, only had a few PPC guns done most were autos. Just pull the sights off so they remain black. Here is a Tanaka PPC revolver and a Springfield 6" that I had hard chromed 20 years ago and thousands of rounds later. They still look pretty good.