Blued The CZ-82

[Squaregrouper]

A month ago, or so, I received a "hand picked" CZ-82 from SOG. To say I wasn't impressed with what they called hand picked was an understatement. There were >10 chips on the slide, so I decided to do my first Bubba.
The three hour process was as follows:
1- Field Strip and remove grips
2- Spray with paint stripper
3- Wipe down w/paper towel
4- Repeat steps 2&3
5- De-grease
6- Boil for 1 minute (in water)
7- Birchwood Casey Perma Blue
8- 0000 steel wool
9- Repeat steps 7&8 for a total of 3 cycles
10- Saturate with Aerokroil
11- Wipe off excess Kroil

The ridges in the trigger guard are accentuated because of the flash- it is evenly blued.
I think the Kroil was key, as it got in to all the nooks and crannies and removed any remaining moisture.

PS- Sorry for not including any feet in the picture.

 

[ea689c]

I like it! I had the same experience with the "hand pick" option. Never again will I waste the extra $10.

 

[yellowsled]

very nice... can you take some additional pics of the entire gun not so close. CZ82's have a great finish if they are not chipped. Once you get a couple chips, mosly from the import mark they quickly look like crap.

 

[Sev89]

Wouldn't exactly call what you did a bubba

 

[Docster]

Looks nice; I'm too lazy to spend the time to blue--I'm taking mine out to be cerakoted........

 

[Melnic]

That looks great so far. yes more pics

 

[Arcamm]

Looks good to me. +1 for more pictures.

 

[kazan182]

Terrific job. I may do that to one of my CZ50's that showed up in what sounds like the same condition your 82 showed up in. I may need to ask you a few questions in a couple of weeks...

 

[yellowsled]

Terrific job. I may do that to one of my CZ50's that showed up in what sounds like the same condition your 82 showed up in. I may need to ask you a few questions in a couple of weeks...

CZ50's are much rarer than 82's. I would seriously reconsider not refinishing a 50 unless its a rustbucket. my .02

 

[kazan182]

CZ50's are much rarer than 82's. I would seriously reconsider not refinishing a 50 unless its a rustbucket. my .02

I got two of them for $180 each from Century just a few weeks ago. It's not a rust bucket but is missing the finish in some spots as big as my thumb. The other is in better shape. Any coating I can put on it to stop the balance of it from coming off? I would swear every time I look at it more of the finish appears to be missing. I have not even had a chance to shoot it as I am looking for ammo for them.

 

[yellowsled]

They are very snappy for a .32

Kinda reminds me of shooting the P64. 2-3 mags and I am done with that gun for that range trip.

Do as you see fit, post some pics if you can. I personally would not refinish it but do as you see fit.

 

[cz27jim]

I bought a CZ-82 from SOG a few months ago. I paid the hand-pick fee, and the gun that I got was spectacular, and included a holster that looked like it had never been used (the holster wasn't even listed in the deal).

Order by phone, and ask the person how many guns they have left. The lady who I spoke to said that they had a few hundred of the 82's and she recommended the hand-pick fee for that reason. If they have 20 or 30 of something lift, you can pretty much figure that they are now down to the rejects of other people's hand-pick deals. You are going to get whatever they have, you are paying for "the best of the worst" at that point.

 

[Squaregrouper]

I called my job a Bubba because, in my eyes, any time a surplus firearm is modified from original configuration (which can't easily be un-done) it is a Bubba.
Here are a few more pics. I can't seem to get proper lighting from a good angle, so these will have to suffice.
I knew a foot was required in all MDS pictures, so I added one from Google.

 

[KRONIK27]

Sweet Piece, been wanting to get one. But every time I see these listed online. They look like crap with all the paint chippings on the slide. Classicarms had some a long while ago reconditioned in OD Green paint that looked Awesome, But I lucked out due to them selling quickly.

 

[Seagrave1963]

After seeing the bluing, I might go that way instead of Cerakote. That came out very nice!Of the 3 CZ82s I have, 1 of them is in serious need of some refinishing.

 

[Squaregrouper]

Kazan182- I have to agree with Yellowsled on this one. Refinishing a CZ-50 will destroy any collector's value. There weren't too many imported, so it will hurt even more.
Here are a few examples:
I bought a Waffenhampt (Nazi marked) Walther PP, without import marks, for $200. Why? Because someone had it Parkerized. The act of re-finishing that pistol took it from ~$1,500 to $200.
Original configuration Krags in decent shape sell for a minimum of $800. You can buy modified ones for $200-$300 all day long. They shoot the same, if not better, but their "collectability" has been lost.

 

[yellowsled]

I would call it bubba's too, but its tastefully done and wasnt done on a "rare" gun so its ok with me.


Here is how I look at it.. A 82 refinished nicely will command a premium over a standard 82 with original finish. We all know that 82's have a horrbile finish when its chipped.


a cz50 on the other hand even in white (no blue), will have a higher value than one tha was reblued. Again, unless its a rustbucket or non-numbers matching, leave the 50 alone.


Does either of your CZ50 have a "NB50" or similar mark on the front of the grip?

 

[Squaregrouper]

After seeing the bluing, I might go that way instead of Cerakote. That came out very nice!Of the 3 CZ82s I have, 1 of them is in serious need of some refinishing.

I went with bluing because I didn't have to do a 100% disassembly- which is a purported nightmare on CZ-82's. The beauty of bluing is that you only need to be clean and free of grease and rust. As long as the bluing salts reach all of the necessary locations, the metal is protected and there are no tight tolerance issues to be concerned with.
I made the slide and frame pretty, but simply made sure bluing was applied to all surfaces- no buffing necessary.
Kroil was golden on this project.

 

[kazan182]

I would call it bubba's too, but its tastefully done and wasnt done on a "rare" gun so its ok with me.


Here is how I look at it.. A 82 refinished nicely will command a premium over a standard 82 with original finish. We all know that 82's have a horrbile finish when its chipped.


a cz50 on the other hand even in white (no blue), will have a higher value than one tha was reblued. Again, unless its a rustbucket or non-numbers matching, leave the 50 alone.


Does either of your CZ50 have a "NB50" or similar mark on the front of the grip?

I will leave it the way it is. But I would like to somehow stop it from chipping any more. I will post photos when I get home tonight. I don't remember about the markings but I will check that too. I didn't realize they were that hard to find. Since Century was selling them for $180 ea I didn't think they were that hard to come by. Thanks for the info

 

[Machodoc]

I think that Cerakote is closer in appearance to the original finish, but you did a really nice job on that. Nothing to be ashamed of, at all.