Refinishing thoughts

[CZ Pk14]

Good evening, All -

I'm the proud owner of an '87 non-import marked CZ-75 that was given to me as a graduation present 20 years ago.  In that time, I've shot around 4000 rounds through it and the original black enamal finish is chipping off in places.  The only mods to date are a set of LPA adjustable sights that were installed in Germany and a set of Hogue grips.

I'm contemplating replacing the LPA sights with a plain Warren Tactical rear sight and a tritium front sight before getting the pistol refinished (leaning towards the two-tone look, undecided on NP3 (Robar) / Cerahide or Diamond Black for frame / slide - durability is important).  I would expect there will be some milling of the slide required, so best to get the sights fitted before refinishing.

This is certainly a keeper pistol for me (I have the Kadet kit for it which works great), even though I would suspect that it will cost almost as much as a new -75, my only reservation is spare parts availability (keep reading about the slide stop).

Questions for the crowd:
(1)  Has anyone fit the Warren Tactical sights to their -75?
(2) Recommended gunsmith to perform the work? (Sights and refinishing)
(3) Where to find a spare slide stop?

Thanks,
Pk

[Boogalou]

I have no experience with the Warren sights but you could have Jim Miossi install some Novak adjustable sights  for your gun.  His website is here.

For refinishing,  I've heard that CCR does good work and they use both the Cerahide and Duracoat.

You should be able to get a replacement slidestop from CZ-USA, although I don't know if they have the older style slidestop common to PreB pistols.  The later 75B style will also work in your gun.

Hope this answered your questions.

[briang2ad]

about the slide stop. I don't think they have any, but they MIGHT still have some RETRO slide stops which would look MUCH better than the B stop on your pistol. (In fact, they SHOULD have them, for they need to support their retro customers). When you are done, please report back with picks!

[CZ Pk14]

Thanks for the replies - more homework to do!  I just browsed Jim's website - the photos of the Novak sight install were pretty revealing - lots of metal coming off to make it fully integrated - just the way it should be.

Cheers,
Pk

[briang2ad]

hard chrome is the best from what I've heard. It also look great on a preB. There is a pic here somewhere, and it is gorgeous. Sending it off is expensive, but if you don't have lots of patience and equipment, it is the way to go. The black enamel can only look good for a while - mine never did - it came botched up.

[bradktn]

Coal Creek Armory, among others, offers a melonite finish. I've handled a couple of their display guns including a hi-power, that look really good.
http://www.coalcreekarmory.com/custom_finishing.html

[gfbvmb]

Go take a look at my post on this forum dated 10/12/07 with pics of my NP3/Rogard finished pre-B.  Wears well and the NP3 internals make it slicker then poop.  Check this thread again after the weekend and I should have have some detailed pics of the internals posted here.

Robar Also did all the other custom work - including sights - notice that the front sight is now dovetailed.  The original and 2 other custom, post mounted sights kept flying off, hence the dovetail.

George

[asiparks1]

I'd go with melonite too, for durability and looks i think it beats most coatings hands down. It also doesn't affect tolerances. Hers a pic of my Dan Wesson finished by Drakes GUnworks, He did some excellent metal cutting for me too....

[CZ Pk14]

Thanks for the info, Gents - haven't heard back yet from Jim, however, I think I have a little wait ahead of me on this project.  I really like the Warren Tactical sights - if they come out in a 1911 Novak cut, MGW should be able to fit them.  How is the Rogard finish holding up?

Pk

[ranburr]

When it comes to Pre-Bs you really only have two choices; Novak or Champion adjustable sights.  I sent Jim Miossi numerous fixed sights and they just wouldn't work.  We tried lots of different front sights, including the smallest night sight that Novak could make.  In the end, I wound up with a Champion rear and the smallest front sight that MMC offers.  Incidentally, the MMC adjustable rear sights don't offer enough adjustment for a Pre-B.

ranburr

[CZ Pk14]

Thanks, Rayburr -after evaluating my shooting / ammo choices, I think the fixed sight route makes the most sense - once I adjusted the LPAs for the 115gr training and carry ammo, I never touched the adjustments again.  If I understand your post correctly, the Novak cut fixed sight does work on the pre-B, correct?  A plain rear and tritium front is the sight picture I'm after - if the upcoming Scott Warren Tactical sight comes with the Novak cut, that would be the optimum set-up for me.

Cheers,
Pk

[SRM_ATL]

My pre-B (made in '84) has the black enamel finish, which has accumulated enoughs chips and scratches to really bug me...so I'm thinking about a refinishing job.  I would want to have it done "right" (vs. trying to figure it out and do it myself).

From my research to date, it appears that hard chrome plating would be the most durable finish, but I can't decide if I would like a bright, shiny finish.  Black chrome, on the other hand, is apparently tricky to apply and not as durable.  One website even said they don't warrant their black chrome finish (as they do their other work).  That's enough to spook me away from black chrome.

Birdsong's Black T sounds like it may be the ticket, but I'm having trouble finding good pics of a Black T finish.  Is it glossy or matte-finish?

[QuickGrayWolf]

Hi there, gunners;

This is for the guy or lady who said he had a pair of Hogue grips on his CZ.  If you want another pair free, contact me and I'll send you my set for the postage.  I hate 'em.  I tried to figure a way to remove those @$%&*!ing finger grooves w/o destroying the grips...can't do it.  Anyway, so much for Hogue & Co.  I am in SoCal, USA and in the late 70s I had Hogue do a trigger job on a S&W M66 which was totally out of timing when I got it back.  I had to get a guy named "Buz" who worked for B&B Guns to fix it.  I still have it.  Buz did great work!  I wish I knew where he is now.

QGW