Nice pistol with ruined finish

gunzik

gunzik

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I just got this little gem today, it is, as described, unfired in the box:

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However, it was obviously handled by someone with acid hands! Sandpaper gloves? In all my years, I have never seen something like this:

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The finish is completely removed from the trigger face, mostly removed from the front grip strap, and no, it's not sanded. It's like some sort of acid sweat which neatly stripped the finish off the trigger face and front grip strap. The rear is slightly faded, and the top of the hammer, same. Otherwise, the pistol is pristine, and legitimately never fired, like new.

When I look at the seller's tiny pictures again, I see the missing finish, as you can on the top picture once you know what to look for. I'm not sure what feedback to leave, this was a shock. A nice pistol, otherwise, but it would be something you would call "a material defect", as a seller. The smudge at the front of the slide is just that, some Frog Lube I didn't completely wipe off. It isn't refinished, it's literally factory perfect except for the trigger face and front grip strap ... what would you say?
 
I have others that have gone through WWII, used and carried, that don't have this type of wear. Maybe someone tried to remove rust and took the blue off too, but again, it's otherwise new. It's not like the seller didn't know about this, he just didn't mention it.
 
I have several Walthers. What is the "goop" around the mag release button and under the left hand grip plate? Have you taken the grips off to see what's "hiding" there? Is the gun actually blued or is it a sprayed on finish and the bare metal parts missed the spray?
 
The goop is green Frog Lube. Every pistol I own is treated with the stuff when I get it.

The finish is normal Walther blue, not paint, and is uniform all over the pistol. This is one of the last pistols made, and the finish is a bit more "matte" and less polished, than examples from the 1930s to 1970s, but it's as the factory did it. Nothing strange under the grips, bluing is intact.

The pistol is unfired (except factory tests, no doubt). It was clearly handled, I'm waiting for the seller to tell me something about this, but my question here is, has anyone else seen "acid hands" like this, and if you bought it, "like new", what would your feedback be?
 
Thanks, guys!

The frame is not used, there is no wear on anything other than this finish damage.

A new pistol, clearly handled by someone with either chemicals on their hands or in them. I'm waiting to find out (!) who did this. Maybe the owner took the gun out every night and fondled it, and wore off the finish. Maybe this is some chemical reaction between his sweat and the gun oil he used. It doesn't look like any wear and tear, since there is no tear. Under the grips, new. Grip screw head finish: stripped, just like the front strap. So chemicals, since the grips themselves show no wear and are certainly correct to the pistol.

I don't think this is an outright fraud, I think it is someone who, if they touch your gun, will strip the finish!

No reply yet from the seller.
 
Such an obvious defect should have been mentioned. It would depend on whether I got a great deal on it or not as to how far I would take it up with the seller. I have seen some firearms finishes get buggered by people who had bug spray (deet) on their hands...?
 
gunzik said:
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The finish is completely removed from the trigger face, mostly removed from the front grip strap, and no, it's not sanded. It's like some sort of acid sweat which neatly stripped the finish off the trigger face and front grip strap. The rear is slightly faded, and the top of the hammer, same. Otherwise, the pistol is pristine, and legitimately never fired, like new.
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I had a GSG 1911 that did that. It took a year of monthly shooting with a buddy and some kids from time to time so I'm not sure who's hands had acid sweat. The GSG has paint rather than blueing though. In my case it was the front and rear of the grip. Trigger was polished by me prior to use.

I'd be pissed if it was sold to me that way without being informed. It's not in as-new-condition, if that was how it was advertised, so unless you really want/need this pistol I'd be asking for a refund.
 
Perhaps it was manufacturing defect. Did you ask him what shape the blueing was in? This is the risk with long distance buying though? Look at EBay this happens a lot with goods not described properly.
 
Sorted it out with the seller, he tells me it was an older guy who owned the pistol since new and handled it, every day ... so that was a good guess. Add acid sweat, maybe a less-than-excellent finish at the end of production for the PPK, and daily handling. Never fired, not even dry-fired, which is how it was described. Older, low res camera so you had to look carefully at the pictures, but the wear was there.

Even with this wear, there are very few of these nice .380 PPK pistols to be had, let alone unfired. I've decided that I'm still happy, just wondering if anyone else has seen such a thing, since I have WW II guns, which have literally gone through the war, that have less finish wear.

Thanks, guys! It won't be unfired for long.
 
It's acidic sweat 100%. I've had gut issues for a while, and fixed them over time. My new pistols do not have the same wear from the grip face as my older pistols did when I had those problems.

Normal handling day to day only wears down the finish to a minor extent. If you had the problems I did, a new pistol would wear down to it's bare metal in a month or two of handling.
 
Conscript said:
It's acidic sweat 100%. I've had gut issues for a while, and fixed them over time. My new pistols do not have the same wear from the grip face as my older pistols did when I had those problems.

Normal handling day to day only wears down the finish to a minor extent. If you had the problems I did, a new pistol would wear down to it's bare metal in a month or two of handling.
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A friend of mine has acid sweat. He and I didn't know until he started shooting my guns, because my guns started rusting BAD! I mean, the chambers of my shotguns got brown rust from him handling and shooting just a couple of shells (that and the action bars), it took a significant amount of 0000 steel wool, 2000 grit sandpaper and polishing compound to remove it in my 870's chamber, and it's still scarred, there is no taking that out. I noticed it when I opened my cabinet to check my West-German P226, only to find a big pile of orange rust, he only briefly handled it the day before.
 
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It's crazy that people have skin so acidic. I handle untreated mild steel for an extended period and nothing would happen to it, but I went to school with a guy who, if he put his thumb to a freshly machined part, would leave surface rust of his thumb print.
 
Bottom line, it is a nice gun and I would keep it. The grip can be re-blued. Aside from the wear on the grips, it looks like it is in good condition.
 
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