1911 38 super

[robledor]

Hello Calgunners,
I hope all is well. Would a 1911 with a nickel plated finish be durable?
I'm wondering if shooting it often would ruin the finish excessively?
Or should I do a 2 tone and only nickel plate the frame? I'm gonna say 250-500 rounds per month. Not really any aggressive gun handling and no holster wear strictly a range toy. Thank you

[G. Freeman]

As long as it is prepped properly, the finish should be very solid and last a lifetime, especially if you are not going to holster.

Also, do not use any ammonia-containing solvents for cleaning and you should be good to go. Use a very reputable plater.

[sigstroker]

Storing it improperly will cause more wear and damage than shooting it.

[robledor]

Yes it would be kept inside my safe with humidity right around 40.. also I only use ballistics.

[hambam105]

Why take the chance and wear the gun with such a high round count?

At 500 rounds per month, I don't think that gun would last more than 60 or 70 years of steady use.

[JTROKS]

Yep! The do not use ammonia based cleaners is a serious matter with nickel plated steel. I have a 1911 that was nickel plated that looked great and a year later some areas started flaking off. I wish someone warned me about solvents containing ammonia. If you want durable get hard chrome.

[naz]

. If you want durable get hard chrome.

Other ideas are np3 and dlc

[I Swan]

You could consider a high polished stainless steel too. Not many 38 Supers on the roster though.

[-hanko]

I'd advise hard chrome or go home.

[heidad01]

Hello Calgunners,
I hope all is well. Would a 1911 with a nickel plated finish be durable?
I'm wondering if shooting it often would ruin the finish excessively?
Or should I do a 2 tone and only nickel plate the frame? I'm gonna say 250-500 rounds per month. Not really any aggressive gun handling and no holster wear strictly a range toy. Thank you

Should be fine if you do not bang it around, holstering included. Others mentioned good cleaning tips.

Which nickel plated 1911 are you looking at?

[robledor]

Rock island .38 standard black finish and then a shop apply the nickel plate... I know they offer one but don't really like the quality of the nickel plating.

[IVC]

It will also depend on who finishes the gun. Not all finishes are created equal even if they carry the same name such as "nickel plated." Best to look at the specific gun, then ask about that particular model.

[sigstroker]

Rock island .38 standard black finish and then a shop apply the nickel plate... I know they offer one but don't really like the quality of the nickel plating.

Oh, you're going to have it done yourself? Then I agree with others, hard chrome or np3 is what you want. A blued slide will show holster wear. I don't know if Robar is still in business, so maybe np3 is not an option.

[RickD427]

Oh, you're going to have it done yourself? Then I agree with others, hard chrome or np3 is what you want. A blued slide will show holster wear. I don't know if Robar is still in business, so maybe np3 is not an option.

Sig,

The Robar Gunsmithing operation is now closed. But the founder of Robar operated two different companies. Robar was the gunsmithing business and Coating Technologies was his metal plating business.

He sold off the Robar Company and the buyer went out of business. I never learned the details.

But Coating Technologies remains in business and is still doing NP3 plating. The only rub is that they can't (or will not) accept firearms from the public.

They have a business arrangement with the Wright Armory in Phoenix to accept firearms for NP3 plating.

I've had the NP3 plating on a number of my firearms and have been very impressed with it.

[alland]

http://techplate.com/

Techplate in Orange does nice job of hard chrome plating. I've had several 1911s hard chrome plated by them.