Walther LP 53 - refinish or not to refinish

doubletap9

doubletap9

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Looking for some input here ... :D

I recently acquired this in a most unfortunate way ... my Dad passed away suddenly, and I rediscovered this when I emptied his apartment. I didn't know he still owned it. It was the first air gun I learned to shoot. My Dad was a huge Connery-as-Bond fan .... he picked this up after the first few movies came out.


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It is quite worn finish-wise, ( from literally hundreds of sessions of grabbing it by the barrel to #### it.. ) so I had thought of refinishing it to mimic the actual Bond gun ......


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... but I'm not sure about any collectors value ... I'm certain I still have the original pellet tin and the cleaning rod somewhere in my stuff. I'm certainly going to collect a few opinions before I go ahead with anything. It holds some super memories of many warm summer afternoons plinking cans with Dad and the bro in the backyard, and down by the beach ( when you could still do such things without having a visit from the local ETF .... )

On the other hand, I'd like to refurb it for another thirty or so years of service with my own kids ....

Just a drink, a Martini, shaken not stirred.

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DT
 
That is a tough choice and we have been in a similar position several times.

Since you are going to be keeping it, and using it with your kids, I would be tempted to refinish it. Let your kids wear it out again. You have good pictures of it before refinishing as a memory of it the way it was.
 
I have seen a number of these guns over the years, and I used to own one. I wonder why the finish wore off in the first place. Did your father clean off the gun with an abrasive cleaner? I've never seen one with that much finish worn off it. The guns came with a wooden tool for the purpose of cocking without handling the barrel, and without getting your hands gut on the front sight. If you use that tool, you can protect the finish.
 
I wonder why the finish wore off in the first place.
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We never used the wooden block, always just grabbed it by the barrel ... that's 30 years of sweaty, dirty, happy kid-hands cranking that barrel down for the next shot. I will teach my munchkins to use the block properly, so my lad or daughter isn't doing this 30 yrs down the road. I've talked to a few people already, and I am starting to lean towards refinishing. Brownell's Gun-Kote in black is probably the place to start. Have to find a way to match the 'krinkle' like finish that appears on the reciever though.
 
I currently have five distinct variants of these wonderful luftpistolen, and most are as new. IMO, one of the most asthetically attractive, and well balanced air pistols ever made.

In regards to refinishing, any collector value has been diminished by the worn barrel, so at this point, it boils down to whether you wish to leave it as is, in well used, much loved condition - or - refinish it. I have restored a few of these guns now, and most paints don't seem to stand up very well. I have one apart at present that I will be trying something a bit different on - Birchwood Casey Aluma-black. The alloy must be bead blasted, then the blacking applied, resulting in a much more durable finish than any paints. I refinished an older Crosman airgun using this method, and it turned out beautifully, and stood up extremely well. I'm hoping that the alloy composition of the Walther will take the blacking as well as the Crosman.
 
Birchwood Casey Aluma-black
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Thanks for the tips. I'm leaning more towards the refinishing after weighing the opinions I've been receiving. I'm going to take a large amount of good photos of the way it looks now for the personal history, refurb it and then do a "shadow box" type display box based on the 007 display photo above. Then I can display it and use it as well.

DT
 
I would vote against wiping out the memorable traces on this pistol...maybe refinishing it if it came from a garage sale but in your case, I think you better keep this one as is...just my sentimental opinion...
J
 
Refinish it. It looks worn and needs a little tender loving care. Bring it back to where it was when it was new.


Some guys won't wash their dirty pants for weeks for fear they'll lose that lived in look. Thing is, they just look and smell like pigs to everyone else. Who wants to be a pig?
 
My Dad had planned years ago to make it into a "Bond" gun, he just never got around to it. I won't be losing any sentimentality that way, actually I'm getting the idea it would be a great thing to finish it the way Dad would have liked it. If I get the kids to help me on the project, and I document it as we go, it could be a good thing for them to carry over to the Grand-kids someday. It is in pretty sad shape at the moment, and I can't leave it like this.

Off the the Brownells catalog .... :D

DT
 
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