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1943 M1911A1 - were there original chrome or nickel finishes?

5.6K views 21 replies 11 participants last post by  dogface6  
#1 ·
This gun either has a nickel or chrome finish. Did the factory issue nickel or chrome plated guns around 1943?

I was told that plating was common at the time although not so wise for the value of the gun today. I am assuming this gun was blue but plated along the way.
 
#6 · (Edited)
There are also examples of gold plated Remington Rand 1911A1 pistols, but were not military issue.

The photo of the nickel plated pistol in Meadow's book doesn't appear to be up to Colt standards of the day. When the finish was changed from blue to phosphate the Colt factory records continued to list the finish as blue. Wonder if the records actually show the pistol as nickel finish.
 
#7 ·
Good info!

A guy I described the pistol to mentioned chrome but not nickel. Did some do chrome and some nickel? Seems like at the time, nickel might have been expensive.

Are the chrome finishes tougher than nickel? This guy does show some apparent carry wear at the edges.

In the areas with wear, the finish below has no hint of blue. Would they strip these guns down to bare metal before plating?

Did they fully break them down into parts and plate all?

Does the plating affect tolerances enough to matter?

Thanks!
 
#11 ·
This.

When every auto and truck on the road had a stamped steel front and back bumper, chrome plating shops were in nearly every town and city. Virtually all of them would accept metal headboards, guns, auto wheels, etc. for chrome plating. Some platers knew their job and took care in the process, while some were staffed by summer teenagers who needed a job and didn't mind the heat and odors of the hot plating tanks in a hot industrial building. Hard chrome plating has its' own processes specific to it.

Nickel plating [not electroless] requires a different plating technique than chrome - a steel firearm cannot be directly plated with electrolytic nickel as it won't adhere properly. The firearm must be plated with nearly pure copper, polished, and then the nickel finish is electrolytically applied over the copper. Nickel is a soft metal and should not be exposed to ammonia based solvents, copper solvents, or 'miracle cleaners'. They can weaken the plating to the point where it can be peeled off with a fingernail. Use silver polish to clean and polish bright nickel guns.
 
#13 ·
There was a lighting manufacturer in a nearby town that had a plating shop. More than a few guns went through the shop on the graveyard shift only to find that they wouldn't go back together after being plated. The last one I saw was an early Model 1900 Luger brought into a local shop in a cigar box many years after the plant shut down.
 
#15 · (Edited)
Love the history of those days.

This particular 1911 is a good book to slow-read over time. My dad was a police officer after the war (Navy) for several years, and I believe he carried it as his sidearm. It would be hard to account for the carry wear on this plated finish otherwise. I never knew him to fire it. It remained in a safe for decades until recently brought out for examination and research. Sadly discovered with a significantly corroded bore. I found a box or two of possibly corrosive ammo, one with some rounds missing. I suspect some were fired and bore cleaning omitted. Hence I may get a shooter barrel for it. Will have the corroded bore checked by a known 1911 gunsmith. The chamber walls also show some possible pitting.

I doubt that he had the gun plated, and his envolvement with his few guns was on a very practical basis only. I suspect be traded for it already plated, but that detail is lost for good now.
 
#18 ·
About thirty-five years ago I was in a bank that had experienced a couple of hold-ups within a short space of time. They were in the process of having thick, bullet resistant plexiglass installed between the customers and the tellers. While the work was being done they had arranged an armed guard to stand by during open house and he was carrying a chromed or nickeled 1911. I asked him about it and he said he had the plating done when serving in Korea.
 
#19 ·
I would say the rifling is faint, but can still be detected. Bore surface as I recall is pretty much consistently rough, disappointing to look at although not alarming from a danger perspective (to my novice eyes) to look at. Slightly more concerned about the chamber walls, though the marks seen there are probably too shallow to matter.

I need to try for pictures to post for more experienced eyes.

Did someone say there is a chance this gun is not fully heat treated? While I doubt it will ever see a large number of rounds by me, I was thinking it would see some plinking with standard power FMJ or copper plated rounds.