Well, It looks good... The Park job doesn't stand up too terribly well, and i'd imagine the Nickel wouldn't do much better, but... It looks good, and carry wear is character. Mine's got a lot of character and it's only been... 8 months. It's got shiny spots on the side of the trigger guard, in front of the ejection port on top, and around the muzzle. Still looks good...

 

Polished Nickel Durability

Let me just say there are a great many finishes more protective and durable than electroplated, polished Nickel. When I say durable I don't necessarily mean "looks as good as new". Wear and tear doesn't necessarily degrade performance in some finishes, Parkerization included. Nickel wears quickly. It's softer than the base metal. Any compromise in the plating, regardless of how minute/microscopic allows any cleaning compound with Ammonia (many bore solvents, ex. Hoppes #9) to reach the Copper flash plating below the nickel and subsequently the nickel starts to erode due to the loss of the copper flash coat. Nickel easily shows "feather" scratches from any embedded dirt in cloths used to wipe the weapon down. Having said that they make good/flashy/pimped out Safe Queens.

 

1911rocks speaks much truth; nickle plating was widely used for both firearms and the brightwork of automobiles in the early part of the 20th Century for much the same reasons: it was cheaper and stronger than brass and really caught the eye. Though with guns it was mostly because the cheap blue-jobs that lesser consumer pistols carried almost rusted on contact and nickle could be batch-applied and looked pretty good for longer. The high-priced Colts and S&W guns had far better blue finishes available though they were often given nickle finishes on order. But as hard-chrome plating became available at reasonable cost both the motor industry and the gun makers found going through the extra electroplating step to chrome gave a brighter, longer lasting gleam. I am aware of a process called "soft-chrome" that comes out of the tank looking like nickle but with chrome's durability that is used for industrial coatings but I don't know if it is ever applied to pistols or what the effect would be.
Just know that if you decide to go nickle it will never be as reflective or as durable as either bluing, color-case hardening, Parkerizing or chrome plate; but it will look good for a while (depending on use and maintenance).

 

I agree with everything said thus far

 

Thanks for your replies - I think I will go for parkerised.

 

I'd be curious what the "special" price is?

Bob

 

keep in mind, there are 2 kinds of Parkerize finishes generally available.

Manganese- usually dark black in color, but will vary to wards the Grey end on harder or more highly polished metals. I prefer this one applied over a glass bead or coarse aluminum oxide surface preparation. it gives a low gloss sheen, with an almost "velvety" look, holds oil or preservatives well. (heat to ~150 degrees and dip/soak until cool) Very scratch and holster wear resistant.

Heavy Zinc -This is the "old standby" military finish. can be light gray to bright green in color, depending on surface preparation and metal hardness.

Some contracts call for a hot caustic soda dip, to slightly etch the surface, prior to treating. this sometimes results in a slightly "soft" appearance. Usually darkens with age and oil build up. Slightly softer than manganese but "self healing" to some extent, when scratched or dinged.

Zinc is often used as a "Primer" of sorts, for a paint or dye finish, usually over a coarse media blast surface preparation. This process provides rust protection as well as a very "toothy" substrate for paint or ceramic based coatings.

Ya pays yer money, and takes yer choice...

Paul

 

Arkie, the special price is $590. I am in Australia, and that's pretty good for here. Pete

 

Paul - great info! I always wondered what the differences were between the traditional and newer formulations. I've noticed that the finish on my TCM tends toward the grey-end of the color scale while the CS and FS are a deeper black. I'm wondering if the TCM's have a different prep before finishing.
Thank you again for the education - Dave

 

Dave,

Both of my TCM kit's are very dark, both the frame and slide. I'm of the opinion that the metalurgy has as much to do with that, as the surface prep.

In my experience, getting a forged frame and a cast slide (or vice versa) to come out the same shade is, sometimes, a ZEN thing. It can take several tries to get all the small parts to match the frame and slide, as well.

Down here in the swamp, the temperature of my solutions and even the relative humidity can alter the results...

Paul

 

You said blued, did you mean Parkerized?
I thought that you could not buy a 1911 in Australia, only revolvers? :scratch:

 

Night Al, you are correct, they are Parkerised, not blued.
You can own an auto pistol in Australia, as long as it has a minimum 5 inch barrel, and the mag is less than 10 shots. you can only have up to .38 cal, unless you have approval for a competition such as metallic silhoutte , where you cn use up to .45 cal. A 1911 in .38Super, 9mm, or even .357 Sig, can be used in most competitions.
regards Pete