Refinishing my CZ 75 Pre-B

[LogoxSKUL]

I recently completed all of my upgrades I had planned for my pre b 75, but that leaves me with a question of which direction do I go for refinishing the gun? The original finish is worn pretty bad but no rust or anything, and I would like to do the work myself (which makes hard chroming and parkerizing too expensive for the parts needed). I wondered if the metal would take to polishing, or if cold bluing, hot bluing, or some other finish would work best? I have cerakoted parts before but would rather not go that route with this gun, plan on only using it as a range gun.

Any help or advice is welcome!

[SP01bob]

I have an old Israeli 75 BD, very worn finish, but nice trigger. I have been thinking about having it refinished, but not by me. I simply don't have time.  I like that blued finish in the vid above. Thanks for posting.

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[sberres]

I?m personally a fan of slow rust bluing as a means to get a quality finish that is well within the means (both safety and equipment-wise) of DIY application. There?s lots of good information on the forum but diligence in prep and handling are everything in terms of end result.
  I just think a full steel gun deserves more than a spray coating, IMO. But you can and should choose the method that best suits your abilities, wants, and end purpose.

[Earl Keese]

I prefer slow rust bluing as well. Looks good and very durable when done properly.

[myczaccount]

What are some other options to strip it, other than airplane stripper?

[Underwhere]

I recently completed all of my upgrades I had planned for my pre b 75, but that leaves me with a question of which direction do I go for refinishing the gun? The original finish is worn pretty bad but no rust or anything, and I would like to do the work myself (which makes hard chroming and parkerizing too expensive for the parts needed). I wondered if the metal would take to polishing, or if cold bluing, hot bluing, or some other finish would work best? I have cerakoted parts before but would rather not go that route with this gun, plan on only using it as a range gun.

Any help or advice is welcome!

Guardian has done a bunch of different finishes. You should check out his thread wherever it lives.

If you're going to do it yourself and don't want to Cerakote then you don't have too many options.

Options:
Rust Blue - Gorgeous but time consuming.
Brown - Not as durable as Blue
Parkerize (It isn't that bad of a process) - Not as nice looking in my opinion
Polish - A lot of work. Pre-medicate with Advil. You'll learn the gun really well doing this and swearing every time you get to a small cavity like the front sight pin.

I've never browned anything before. My favorite so far is the rust bluing. Looks amazing. I've parkerized something and then Cerakoted it. It's boring and too practical for me. If I'm going to put an effort into something I want it to have some soul.

[SP01bob]

I recently completed all of my upgrades I had planned for my pre b 75, but that leaves me with a question of which direction do I go for refinishing the gun? The original finish is worn pretty bad but no rust or anything, and I would like to do the work myself (which makes hard chroming and parkerizing too expensive for the parts needed). I wondered if the metal would take to polishing, or if cold bluing, hot bluing, or some other finish would work best? I have cerakoted parts before but would rather not go that route with this gun, plan on only using it as a range gun.

Any help or advice is welcome!

Guardian has done a bunch of different finishes. You should check out his thread wherever it lives.

If you're going to do it yourself and don't want to Cerakote then you don't have too many options.

Options:
Rust Blue - Gorgeous but time consuming.
Brown - Not as durable as Blue
Parkerize (It isn't that bad of a process) - Not as nice looking in my opinion
Polish - A lot of work. Pre-medicate with Advil. You'll learn the gun really well doing this and swearing every time you get to a small cavity like the front sight pin.

I've never browned anything before. My favorite so far is the rust bluing. Looks amazing. I've parkerized something and then Cerakoted it. It's boring and too practical for me. If I'm going to put an effort into something I want it to have some soul.

I've never heard of Rust Bluing. Great to learn something new, again. Thanks!!

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[LogoxSKUL]

I recently completed all of my upgrades I had planned for my pre b 75, but that leaves me with a question of which direction do I go for refinishing the gun? The original finish is worn pretty bad but no rust or anything, and I would like to do the work myself (which makes hard chroming and parkerizing too expensive for the parts needed). I wondered if the metal would take to polishing, or if cold bluing, hot bluing, or some other finish would work best? I have cerakoted parts before but would rather not go that route with this gun, plan on only using it as a range gun.

Any help or advice is welcome!

Guardian has done a bunch of different finishes. You should check out his thread wherever it lives.

If you're going to do it yourself and don't want to Cerakote then you don't have too many options.

Options:
Rust Blue - Gorgeous but time consuming.
Brown - Not as durable as Blue
Parkerize (It isn't that bad of a process) - Not as nice looking in my opinion
Polish - A lot of work. Pre-medicate with Advil. You'll learn the gun really well doing this and swearing every time you get to a small cavity like the front sight pin.

I've never browned anything before. My favorite so far is the rust bluing. Looks amazing. I've parkerized something and then Cerakoted it. It's boring and too practical for me. If I'm going to put an effort into something I want it to have some soul.

Yea I am probably going try to polish it, or lightly polish and cold blue like in the video above. I agree that if you put effort in you want it to have some soul, so many of my friends (myself included) cerakote things its becoming boring to me haha... Would the preferred way to polish be with a buffer (something like this https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/metal-prep-coloring/polishing-tools-accessories/buffers/baldor-buffers-prod24831.aspx )? I already have hand polishing stuff like steel wool/dremel and lots of accessories/metal polish and cloths.

[LogoxSKUL]

I?m personally a fan of slow rust bluing as a means to get a quality finish that is well within the means (both safety and equipment-wise) of DIY application. There?s lots of good information on the forum but diligence in prep and handling are everything in terms of end result.
  I just think a full steel gun deserves more than a spray coating, IMO. But you can and should choose the method that best suits your abilities, wants, and end purpose.

I completely agree with it deserving something better than a spray on finish. I have watched videos online about rust bluing from midwayusa and it seems like it does take a long time which I am fine with, but also seems like it could be easy to mess up. I am more comfortable with polishing metal because I have some experience with that, but maybe I am just assuming rust bluing is harder than it looks.

[sberres]

Don't sell yourself short.  It does take some time but with some patience can be very rewarding and you wind up with a very nice looking finish that is more durable than cold blue methods.  If you think you're up for polishing I don't think this will be really any more demanding.
  No matter what you decide, in the end it really is all about you on this.  I'm really looking forward to starting the bluing on the one I'm currently working on.  Of course that is largely due to it signaling the end of this 'endless' winter season we've been having.

[mrcabinet]

Don't waste your time with the cold blue. If prepped and applied properly it can look great, but will wear off fairly quickly and provide zero rust protection. Since you'll be doing the prep work anyway you might as well take the plunge and rust blue it. You really don't need to go finer that 400 grit on the sanding. Express Blue speeds up the process considerably. You'll think you royally screwed up when the first application goes on, then it just gets better and better.

If you polish it, how are you going to protect the finish afterwards? Without a clear coat it will rust in a heartbeat.

As for stripper, I strongly advise staying away from the airplane stripper. The fumes from that stuff can kill you. Really. Years ago I was using it and green smoke started emanating from the pan! Get some Jasco Premium Paint & Epoxy remover - great stuff. Yes it will take skin off, but it really works.

[sberres]

I don?t know about the Jasco stripper, only that some really strong stuff is a necessity and the aircraft stripper (caution!, not for use on aircraft!) does work well, with all necessary caveats for safe handling.
  You?ll also need to remove the phosphate coating under that either chemically or mechanically or bluing won?t take.   
  I?ve heard some rather mixed results with the Express Blue product but essentially the rust blue solutions are an acid solution that has been saturated with iron. Read up on this as much as you can to help sift the truth from the BS and realize that there are no shortcuts. It?s called slow rust blue for a reason.  Brownells has a couple. I opted for their generic version as I couldn?t see that a brand name would offer anything magically different for 3x the price.  It?s acid that is supposed to rust your gun. Pretty simple.  Don?t bother with trying to make it as you only need a very small amount for a handgun.
  Once you get ready to start the process, good prep, clean and oil free mean EVERYTHING to a good result.

[mrcabinet]

I soaked an Argentine Hi Power in aircraft stripper for three days with very minimal finish removal. Three hours in Jasco and it had all bubbled up. I've tried just about every stripper out there and always come back to Jasco. And that's over a thirty period.

Evap-o-Rust will remove the phosphate coatings in about a day. Parkerizing too. Use a wire brush and it will wipe right off.

[exit plan]

I prefer slow rust bluing as well. Looks good and very durable when done properly.

SP01SHADOW did some very informative rust blueing threads here.8

[Earl Keese]

He's the person that taught me. I've learned more from him about working on old guns than from all other sources combined. It's a shame he's no longer welcome here.

I prefer slow rust bluing as well. Looks good and very durable when done properly.

SP01SHADOW did some very informative rust blueing threads here.8

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