[SPO1SHADOW]

Restoration of a pre-b Transitional

I purchased this gun off of Gunbroker several years ago and put in the safe with the intentions of restoring it. I don't get to work on my own guns much these days but I am finally caught up on most of my projects so I thought I would do something for myself. I have never seen a plumb brown CZ 75, I have done them in 2 tone but never the whole gun. It doesn't sound very appealing at the onset but during the next several weeks this is what will be done to this one and I am interested in what the outcome will look like. This gun does not look that bad on the outside but it has had many rounds down the tube since 1992. I am going to spend some money on this one so a new barrel and lots of Cajun goodies are going in it.

 

[picklenav130]

Can't wait to see this transformation.

Have you ever considered a color case hardened slide? It would look amazing with a brown frame.

Matt

 

[SPO1SHADOW]

Yes Sir! That would look great for sure. I may do one like that also. I wanted to do the brown on this one first because i have never seen one and secondly because it adds to the corrosion resistance that most anyone can do at home without having to send their gun off and pay the big money. Your suggestion would look unique and i will certainly keep that in mind for the next one.

 

[Goju]

Looking forward to this transformation! Is this a "transitional" model?

 

[rich63]

Looking forward to following your posts in the next few weeks. If it's anything like your past transformations, it will surely turn out awesome.

rich63

 

[Earl_Keese]

Looking forward to this transformation! Is this a "transitional" model?

Looks like a transitional to me. I bet this one turns out pretty like the others that have come before it.

 

[SPO1SHADOW]

Yes, it is a 1992 Transitional. It may be a week or so before i can start on it. I have to go out of town on business but when i get back I will be ready for a break.

 

[Scarlett_Pistol]

Can't wait to see it!

 

[Easy CZ]

jk

Looking forward to the build.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SPO1SHADOW]

It's going to be about a week before i can get started. I have to go back out of town this weekend. I can't wait to get started on it myself.

 

[SPO1SHADOW]

I have the worst case of jet lag ever but i got started on it this morning. Right now i have stripped it all down and dropped the frame and slide into the epoxy paint stripper. I will leave them in there for most of the day and then rinse them off and drop them both into a bowl of Evapo-Rust to get rid of the Phosphate underneath the paint. I have some rust on the grip frame i will need to deal with after the Evapo-Rust does its thing. We will see how bad the pitting really is.

 

[rich63]

Looking forward to following this. It's going to be a beauty.

rich63

 

[Goju]

Shadow cookin' up another inspired soup...

 

[SPO1SHADOW]

After getting the slide and frame out of the Vapo-Rust i found a very rough surface under all of the black paint. Rust and dings that could not be seen with the original finish on. This will be the perfect gun for browning. The rust brown finish will fill in a lot of these defects just like the black paint. I left the parts in the Vapo-Rust until they turned black. This will assure there is no Phosphate left on the inside of the slide or frame, it also is a good indicator when you start the sanding. It will show you areas that are suppose to be flat or small areas that you would miss if not for the blackened color. Don't be fooled into thinking that the nice black color left by the treatment looks so good you don't want to go any further. I had a friend that did this and all the black rubbed off in less than a week.
I started the sanding this morning with 220 grit which works well with browning. The rougher the better for this finish as long as you don't leave deep sanding marks in the metal. 220 is about as rough as you can go. It does a good job at quickly getting rid of the dings and pits without leaving deep sanding lines.

 

[SPO1SHADOW]

Here is a perfect example of how the blackening helps you out. If you look at the top of the slide inside the hammer well it is not flat and it has 2 black pock marks on each side that will probably resist the browning liquid. To prevent this i stoned the area down flat and got rid of the pock marks. Then hit the area with 220. Now the browning solution will produce a nice even finish in this area.

 

[SPO1SHADOW]

On to the frame. This is a rough one. Most of you know i am slightly anal about flats and lines. On this frame none of the lines are sharp and none of the flats are flat. There is an easy way to make it right. I glue a 220 sheet on a flat surface and place the frame on the paper. With equal pressure on top of the frame work it back and forth until both sides are flat. The blackening of the Vapo-Rust will show you the dips. This method also restores the sharp lines back to each side of the frame. After the sanding is done around the trigger guard and the underside of the frame i will do this again to make sure the sharp lines on the side of the frame are perfect before the finish is applied.

 

[SPO1SHADOW]

For those of you that like to go to the gym and work out, if you decide to do one of these you might want to miss that day. I assure you by the time you shoe shine all of the trigger guard and the grip frame on one of these you will have accomplished a total work out without having to leave your home. The casting of this frame must have been done on a Monday or Friday. It looks like that the guy who did it was drunk as the lines are all over the place and the casting is very rough around the trigger guard. I am having to use a round stone to to get all the cut marks out at the trigger guard junction. Here i have removed most of the casting and polishing flaws but the is still a good hour left to get it like it's supposed to look. Thick black Polycoat hides all of this stuff so while you may think you are getting a nice frame, wait until you strip before you get too excited.

 

[SPO1SHADOW]

I began to put the lines around the trigger guard back by using a round stone. As you cab see in the previous pictures the lines around the trigger guard do not exist. The shape is there but the lines have been blurred by a polishing wheel. By stoning the lines back and using a flat holder for the sand paper i created the lines back in their original location. I will be much more satisfied now with the finished product.

 

[SPO1SHADOW]

Any gym rat that felt cheated on the trigger guard restoration will surely feel gratified after this modification. Here is where i feel CZ messed up their wonderful ergonomics. The beaver tail on the older CZ's are a point of irritation in the web of your hand. I will get rid of this irritating edge using a Moto tool with a coarse, then medium and finally with shoe shine strips of 220 paper. Go slowly, check your work often when doing this to make sure both sides remain even.

 

[SPO1SHADOW]

Now to the rust pits and dings which are prevalent in just about all of these Israeli service weapons. The grip on the back has some rust the the Vapo-Rust got rid of but left all the pitting. With patience and elbow grease you can get all of this out with some 220 cloth backed strips. When you are sure your arms will fall off you will be just about done.