Taking nickel plating off a Luger??

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MauserMatt
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Taking nickel plating off a Luger??

Post by MauserMatt »

My brother just bid on a 1939 dated, non-import marked, matching numbers Luger.. The problem with it is some idiot nickel plated the thing.. :roll:

My question is, is there any way to take this nickel off without hurting the markings? They all look pretty crisp so I wouldn't want to hurt them.. He wants to eventually rebarrel it (for some reason it's in 30 cal Luger) and have it re-blued..

Any thoughts?? Thanks!
~Matt
Bil
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Re: Taking nickel plating off a Luger??

Post by Bil »

Check with a good chrome shop-I had them take off some nickel plating on some auto parts,it came out nice. ---bil
"I dream of a world where I can buy alcohol,tobacco and firearms from the same drive-up window,and use them all on the way home from work!" Dogbert
PvtJoker

Re: Taking nickel plating off a Luger??

Post by PvtJoker »

Here's a post from the Caswell's plating site about taking off Nickel plating from engraved clock parts. I thought it might be relevant to trying to deplate without losing the waffenamps.
Are you planning on removing the nickel first? Metalx makes a great product for this. DON'T try reverse plating or acids for this step! You can contact Gayle Coffey at Metalx at 828-758-4997. I buy the B-9 which is very gentle on copper or brass base metal. I bought a small box of it (which will last me years) for about $60.

Afterwards, you'll need to buff up the base metal (likely brass) carefully. This needs to be done carefully and slowly to avoid losing the engraving.
You can read the rest of the post here: http://forum.caswellplating.com/showthr ... ing+nickel
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Reichpapers
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Re: Taking nickel plating off a Luger??

Post by Reichpapers »

The only thing I would worry about is whether they buffed the pistol down beforeplating. If they did, you'll have crap. :)
It's better to be silent and considered a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt.
PvtJoker

Re: Taking nickel plating off a Luger??

Post by PvtJoker »

Well, as far as that goes, either way, you'll still have a "refinsihed" gun, and there will be a certain percentage of collectors who will turn their noses up at it. Plus, if you rebarrel it and (I assume) try to change it over to a 9mm instead of the original 30 Luger caliber, then it isn't going to be a collector's piece anyway. So the waffenamps underneath the nickel, while nice to have, may not be as critical from a value standpoint in the collector market, in this particular case. Of course, if you are wanting to refinish/restore it for your own enjoyment rather than profit, then that becomes an entirely different situation. In THAT case, then by all means, do what you can to get it as near to what you want it to be.
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MauserMatt
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Re: Taking nickel plating off a Luger??

Post by MauserMatt »

Wait... So the Germans made 7.63 Military Lugers in 1939???? I thought since it was 7.63 then it had been rebarreled anyway...

Seeing that the collectivity of it is already lost with the nickel plating, I don't think having it reblued will ruin that any more.

BUT if it's the original barrel..... Hmmm.. i don't know.. If that's the case I'm going to have to find some reloading dies..

Here's the auction.. If anyone wants it more than me go ahead and bid.. While my brother has always wanted a Luger, I'm sure we could find something else if one of you all wanted this one... :mrgreen:

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... m=84349840
~Matt
Blanco_Diablo

Re: Taking nickel plating off a Luger??

Post by Blanco_Diablo »

Hey everyone, this is MauserMatt's brother, Jeff. I'm the one bidding on the Luger. I've wanted a Luger my whole life, and I dont exactly mind if it's not completely original. I dont plan on selling it if I get this one. I was going to rebarrel it to 9mm (if it's not already 9mm and the seller just made a mistake) and then sending it to Lugerman and having him restore it (bluing the pistol and restoring the "straw" coloring to the correct parts). I dont mind if it's not as collectable after rebluing or rebarreling, I just dont have the resources/time to reload for .30 Luger. I plan on shooting this pistol alot. While I'm going to take care of it and make sure it looks nice, it will not be a safe queen. So, would it be possible to take off the nickel without damaging the Nazi markings? It's very important to me for those to be intact.
Kleist

Re: Taking nickel plating off a Luger??

Post by Kleist »

If the mag was matching then MAYBE.... but IMO your way over at that price + 9mm barrel + install + plating removal + reblue....

At the last local show there was an all matching gun with mag with not that great finish for $1200. You'd be at the same price and this gun would always go up in value. Figure another $300 to reblue it. So for $1500 you would have a matching mag that looks brand new..

Looks like the barrel was replaced already. Must have been done along time ago cause I think the only idiots that plated those were the original GI's that brought them home..

There will be a time when that gun will be worth more as-is then what you want to do to it.
Blanco_Diablo

Re: Taking nickel plating off a Luger??

Post by Blanco_Diablo »

So you're saying I'm spending too much on this particular Luger, or just that by the time I'm done having it restored, I'll have too much into it?

Well I kinda do wish I could back outta the sale but I cant, so if I DO win it, I'm going to make it exactly how I want it. The guy that's going to be doing the restoration of the Luger (Lugerman) said he can number the new barrel, as well as number the magazine, to match the pistol. I'm thinking about having the barrel matched, but if I were to sell it, I'd make sure to note that it is a replacement. Either way, I would rather have this pistol the way I've always wanted one, even if it's gonna cost a little more. Ya only live once, eh? :P

But like Matt said above, if any of you want the pistol, feel free to outbid me :P The price that's on there is my highest bid, and I'm not gonna go over $700. I have always wanted a Luger, but I could find another one, and I kinda need to buy some AR parts as well. :P
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