UNEXPECTED SURPRISES
Only when a weapon is stripped and disassembled, do you get a chance to see all the little things you merely glanced over or the wonderful surprises the manufacturers have left us. Here are a few of those encounters that we call “making our day”. That’s when we call you to let you know what we found. In decades we have seen just about everything, I could write a book.
Flaws In The Metal…
– Only after we receive the firearm, strip it down to bare parts and inspect it, we sometimes find, flaws just below the surface that only show after striping. Sometimes this pops up under a Nickel Plated gun or a firearm that was welded or heat treated previously.
– The steel wants to have an “orange peel” effect when we get to the final finish. Usually caused by the raw metal blend of steel or aluminum having imperfections.
– Rough surface firearms can require re-engraving of weak lettering, or serial numbers. This can run your bill up dramatically. We have our own four thousand dollar Pantograph machine and can come close to matching most lettering. We also have several of the more popular logos like S&W, Colt, RUGER and Walther, but, not all of them. And each logo is unique and the logo plate or chip to produce in volume it is 175 to 300 dollars our cost.
– Blasted Finishes without prior flaw removal at a reduced price, we do not recommend or warranty them. At AP&W, all bead-blasted final finish surfaces go through complete flaw removal (cutting stage) prior to final blasting, so machine marks, casting flaws, prior pitting and abuse marks are kept to an absolute minimum.
– NOTE CAREFULLY – Without this process, the flaws would be amplified after plating. While our prices are not the cheapest, you get what you pay for (and then some and we tell you upfront). The procedures described above are not standard practice with most of our competitors whether they charge more or less than we do.
– We do not plate pot metal, period.
– Extra Charge: Minor flaw removal is included in our base pricing. If a firearm is heavily flawed, extra time and highly-skilled labor are required to correct this condition. Extra charges for restoration-type work or some really classic collector piece are $85.00/hr.
– READ: Incidentally, and just so you are aware, some firearms currently being manufactured are leaving the manufacturer with virtually no polishing or flaw removal prior to the factory-applied coating. In some instances a heavy coat of Polymer PAINT is applied to hide the flaws, in others a heavy coarse blasting media like aluminum oxide is used prior to the bluing process. Two examples: Cost effective for them, labor intensive for us to remove.
– Mil-Finish Beretta Pistols
– Desert Eagle Products.
– IPSC and other action shooting sports have created a need for extra charges due to the added number of parts and the complexities of dealing with compensators, scope mounts and numerous other add-ons. Minimum additional charge for full house race guns is $25.00. Please refer to the “Extra Charge” section for specific pricing on these pistols.
– Stripping…of already plated or painted firearms incurs expenses for extra man hours, chemicals and waste treatment. There is no extra charge to strip bluing.
NOTAS: on SIGs, Browning’s…On late model SIG stainless guns, they have been using a hardening process similar to GLOCKS Tennifer finish. The reason for this case hardening is so that the slide and the stainless frame don’t start to gall which they did in the past.
When we get a SIG top in to refinish or chrome to make it more durable we can only bead blast and chrome it. The Browning lineup of pistols is also finished in this manner due to their hardening.
A reminder and our mantra: Metalworking is both a science and an art, but we are not magicians even though some of our customers have mentioned that on occasion.