hard chroming

williamcjones1988 · Jun 16, 2012

so I want to hard chrome my 1911, but the guy at alison and carrie said that hard chroming adds more material and that the firearm will not fit back together ??? If I do go hard chrome I'll most likely go to hard chrome inc in estacada so my only fear is I'll spend the money get the pistol back and the parts won't fit back together

Bigbaddude · Jun 16, 2012

I don't know about a 1911 but he did a Glock 19 slide and it worked good.
I can't remember the guys name at Hard Chrome but he seem cool ask him he's a gun nut and he will tell you what to expect hard chromeing a 1911.

motoman98 · Jun 16, 2012

NOT a fan of Allison and Carey gunshop: they wouldn't even work on my 'economy" O/U shotgun. The guy acted like he was too good to look at it. Wouldn't trust him a bit.

OregonJohn · Jun 17, 2012

I had a Kimber raptor hard chromed in Estacada. Very nice work and the price was about half of what I thought it would be. The gun was a good/fair shooter before the chrome. When I got it back I had to lap the slide to the frame. Very easy to do. Took about 30 min. After the lap the frame/slide play was gone. Group size are now half of what they were. It looks great too.

Straight Shooter · Jun 17, 2012

Hard chrome is a great product but if the guy is warning you it adds too much, take his advise.

Bam · Jun 17, 2012

Wrong... don't take his advise.

Always get a second opinion.

williamcjones1988 · Jun 17, 2012

so john your saying your pistol shoots better now that it's hard chromed

OregonJohn · Jun 17, 2012

williamcjones1988 said:
so john your saying your pistol shoots better now that it's hard chromed

Yes. No question. But the question would be why. It is my belief, that the extra amount that it added to all surfaces, took all of the play out of the pistol. Same play as the very high end 1911s. Kind of like doing a bedding job on a rifle stock. Just lap the slide/frame the same way they do the high end pistols.

Straight Shooter · Jun 17, 2012

How do you go about lapping the slide to the frame when they won't even start together?

OregonJohn · Jun 17, 2012

Straight Shooter said:
How do you go about lapping the slide to the frame when they won't even start together?

You put a little compound on the frame and rail. I never said that my 1911 would not start together. My pistol did start about 1/8 inch. Lap the slide/frame to the point that it passed over each other. Then oiled and shot 200 rounds. Perfect. The person that does the hard chrome is a gun guy. He knows what he is doing. His personal 100% hard chrome AK is unbelievable.

jake2far · Jun 17, 2012

Guys, you can buy this:
<broken link removed>
It comes in hard chrome already, I own one and it is a very nice pistol.
Read the list of features, ya can't build one for what this costs. Sell your pistol, take the money and buy one of these.

Jim

jbett98 · Jun 17, 2012

motoman98 said:
NOT a fan of Allison and Carey gun shop: they wouldn't even work on my 'economy" O/U shotgun. The guy acted like he was too good to look at it. Wouldn't trust him a bit.

I felt the same way when I asked them to work on one of my pistols.
It helped me decide to learn how to work on my own firearms and I never went back.
I have a gunsmith in SW Portland that I use for anything that I can't handle, but the turn around time waiting for my gun back seems like an eternity.

rumblebee1967 · Jun 17, 2012

I had a standard STI hard chromed through Dawson Precision when I bought it and it has functioned flawlessly. If its done right then I would say it works. If its not well, yes you can have problems. I would ask some people like Dawson or other gunsmiths that offer hard chroming what their opinions are. Reputable gun smiths off it so it must work, they stake their reputation on it.

williamcjones1988 · Jun 17, 2012

well I like the pistol it's just the finish has more to be desired so it's hard chromeing at hard chrome inc, ceracoating at guncoat northwest, or blueing at alison and carrie

williamcjones1988 · Jun 18, 2012

well just got off the phone with the guy from hard chrome and it's a go I just have to get one of the grip bushings re tapped and have the sights removed then it's off to hard chrome inc for plating

jdogg · Aug 1, 2012

Anyone have any troubles with the wait time at Hard Chrome Inc.? I was told 3 weeks, and I am now nearing 2 months and 1 week with no work done on my gun. I am considering picking it up and going somewhere else, but it costs me $40 to drive to Estecada and back. So unless he does it, I am out nearly $100 just driving back and forth. The people there seemed really great, but this wait is getting ridiculous. He said he did not make money on doing the guns so it kind of took the back burner but this is getting on my nerves! ARRGGHH. If it ever gets done I will post some pics before throwing it back together, but at this point I really cannot recommend their services just based on wait time.

deadshot2 · Aug 2, 2012

motoman98 said:
NOT a fan of Allison and Carey gunshop: they wouldn't even work on my 'economy" O/U shotgun. The guy acted like he was too good to look at it. Wouldn't trust him a bit.

Sometimes gunsmiths are just too brutally honest. He may not have 1) not had the time; 2) didn't know the issues involved with the shotgun (or perhaps did); 3) didn't feel that the work requested would be worth the cost. Somehow I don't equate brutal honesty with "trust".

I'd worry more about the guy that says "hell yes, I'll do it and you'll have it by this time tomorrow", only to find that 6 months later I'm still waiting or what I got back was crap.

jrprich · Aug 2, 2012

jake2far said:
Guys, you can buy this:
<broken link removed>
It comes in hard chrome already, I own one and it is a very nice pistol.
Read the list of features, ya can't build one for what this costs. Sell your pistol, take the money and buy one of these.

Jim

Where are these pistols made and what do they cost?