CZ 82/83 refinish? How? Why?

[JJBTEXAS]

Just picked up a CZ 83 from AIM today at my local FFL and love the gun so far.  I've ordered some wood grips from grips4u and some Wolff springs but I also noticed a thread about refinished 82/83s and I'm curious.  Other than "cause it looks better," is there any reason I need to look into this? What's the best way to go about it? 

[imarangemaster]

Military firearms, especially European, have excellent finishes.  The Czechs have very durable bluing.  Unless the finish is awful (less than 80-85%), I would not bother.  Honest wear in a Military firearm is part of it's history.  I would rather have my used and rebuilt Inland M1 Carbine than one that was "restored" to pristine "original" 1943 condition.

[JJBTEXAS]

Thanks for the input, the finish on mine seems to be in great shape and I will most likely leave it alone.  I'm curious as to what government agency/country was using the 83 in 380?

[imarangemaster]

I heard that some were used by Israeli Police, but that was just Wikipedia.  Probably some non-former Eastern Block police agencies.  Places like Portugal, Holland, etc. that have no domestic firearms manufacturing capability.

[eastman]

Thanks for the input, the finish on mine seems to be in great shape and I will most likely leave it alone.  I'm curious as to what government agency/country was using the 83 in 380?

Israel bought satin nickel .380 CZ83 pistols. Cole's had them on GunBroker.

[rsjrev]

My 82 has rust issues on the backstrap and on the left frame under the slide release. I've cleaned the rust off, cold blued the areas and kept it oiled, but it keeps coming back. The rest of the finish is grey rather than the black enamel I see on most 82's. I'm thinking of refinishing it in Duracoat to prevent anything getting to the metal.
Advice or recommendations?

[imarangemaster]

I have always thought a CZ82 would be cool with Manganese Phosphate parkerizing....  That would be a tough finish!

[Hillbilly357]

This is a '93 that I added the grips to. Along with CGW front FO sight, and combat rear sight. The Ceracote color is Cobalt. This is a wonderful handgun, very accurate. Wife has almost adopted this one..
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[Blackwatch]

That is a great looking piece!!

[mauserman]

That's a good looking piece. What kind of sights are those?

[Hillbilly357]

Thanks for the comments.
Front sight is CGW original height fiber optic. (050-390)
It replaced as well as any other, including full size 75B. They all require some dressing to fit.

Rear sight is CZ Custom (CZ83 H-Tac Tactical rear.)
This is an amazing handgun now.

[JAKELEG]

A great looking handgun for sure. Great grips !!
Just a suggestion, but one of these will look really good on that piece. I put it on both of my 83's and my 75 Compact.

http://www.berettausa.com/en-us/beretta-92-series-plastic-magazine-bottom-with-steel-insert/c57058/

[Hillbilly357]

Good suggestion. I just saw this in another thread. They fit without modification??
Thanks

[mauserman]

thanks for the info. I guess new sights are in order.

[geen]

I cold blued the CZ 82 myself as the finish was about 75% and the import mark was ugly.

lots of prep work and took my time going through the bluing process about 5 or 6 times and it came out pretty good.
and the import mark looks like it was always there not hacked in later.

the process is posted here.  http://sailorcurt.com/category/cz-82-vz-82/

I put on grips4U grips and these CZ 75 mag bases. They are rubber and give a little extension.
I swapped out my larger aluminum CZ 82 main sprig plug with the smaller CZ 83 one and the
CZ 75 mag bases fit perfectly on the mags with the flat steel base plate on the thicker aluminum bases
they leave a small gap that I don't care for.

Link at CZ USA for the rubber CZ 75 mag bases $9.00
http://shop.cz-usa.com/ProductDetail/273199000850_7585--Rubber-Mag-Base-Pad

Link for CZ 83 main spring plug Also $9.00.  they used to have them with the lanyard loop but don't see them on the website now.
http://shop.cz-usa.com/ProductDetail/0340042101_Main-Spring-Plug-83