browning hi power w/nazi stamp nightmare

[freeclimber57]

I have recently aquirred a p35 browning hi power made in german occupied france(if i am not mistaken). i have done my homework and it is what it is;has the dirty bird stamp on the slide and frame.Also has the WaA140 GERMAN INSPECTION STAMP and matching serial numbers on frame,slide and barrel.One prob though......some jackass hard chromed the whole gun! its a good dip job, but ruined at least a 1000 dollar gun.looks like something a pimp would carry!haha. the barrel is in fantastic shape, so i bought some new parts for it to make it a shooter(firing pin is excellent). my biggest prob is this:they have chromed where the slide rides in the reciever. you can operate the slide with your hand, but i think it is too tight to cycle itself.Any thoughts on getting it off?buff it out? acid? any thoughts or experience will be appreciated.

 

[Leo]

Disassemble the pistol down to bare frame and slide. Get a tube of Permatex Valve lapping compound from the Auto Parts store. Start lapping the two parts together. When it feels like it is making friction but no grinding, take it apart and rinse in hot water. Repeat as needed. Do not go too far, if you make it too loose it is a pain to rework iy again. Plus the process of expanding the rails will probably crak the nickle and cause it to start peeling later. Good Luck

 

[grimor]

not sure really

 

[TheDude]

Arrrrggggg!!!!! Why must people customize???!!!???

 

[freeclimber57]

thanks i really appre the input!

 

[freeclimber57]

heard that,buddy

 

[steve666]

By the way, it would have been manufactured at the FN plant in Nazi occupied Belgium.

 

[freeclimber57]

your right, my mistake.

 

[turnandshoot4]

not sure really

yes, this

 

[snapping turtle]

nickel plating was very popular in days gone buy and that hi-power was at the time not worth lots of money and could be purchased in the advertising section of gun mags.

The nickel plating is micro sized and I doubt it will effect the slide/rail fit.

 

[CarmelHP]

By the way, it would have been manufactured at the FN plant in Nazi occupied Belgium.

Yep.

WaA140 ch F. N. Lüttich (BE)

 

[freeclimber57]

thanks for insight. its just hard to understand why someone would mess with a piece of ww2 history but oh well. the plating is making the slide a little tight, but hopefully with a little permatex it will be ok. wish i was computer savy enough to post pics.sorry dudes

 

[1032JBT]

create a photobook account (it's free) or something similar and you can post them here that way........or you can email them to me and I'll post them.

 

[Colt556]

If it were mine I'd have it professionally restored. The chrome can be removed and an original finish applied. I love the Hi Power and love shooting them.

 

[Hiker1911]

Consider getting a restoration!

Why customize? You can create a 'unique' to love-for others to hate!

 

[Drail]

If the plating is indeed industrial hard chrome it would NOT add enough thickness to tighten the slide/frame fit. The buildup is on the average of .002". Someone may have attempted to "squeeze" the slide in an effort to tighten it up. In days gone past individuals have taken guns to shops that do automotive chroming and had them plated with SHINY chrome. This will mean there is a layer of copper under the chrome and the chrome would have been built up in multiple layers. That WOULD tighten up the slide/frame fit. In any case any good refinishing shop should be able to strip it back to original metal and have it blued or hard chromed. If it were mine I would go with a quality blue job. It won't be cheap though.

 

[freeclimber57]

i figured stripping and reblueing would be pretty pricey. will the blueing raise the value or is the gun too comprimised?

 

[Businessend]

Is it safe to shoot? I'd always been told that the WWII ones were not safe to shoot due to intentional defects created by the workers at the FN factory.

 

[CarmelHP]

i figured stripping and reblueing would be pretty pricey. will the blueing raise the value or is the gun too comprimised?

I would say collector interest is gone and the value would be around the same as for a poor quality specimen.

 

[gunman41mag]

I would buy a N E W recoil spring, maybe the old one is weak ???