DDelambre

I know they're not Rugers, but those Italians know how to make a fine firearm.

A couple weeks ago I picked up a brand new 84FS and a Beretta 1919 (.25ACP)

Here are the two together.


The 1919 was made in 1932 and is now the oldest gun I own!


Well, I like the Cheetah design a lot and thought I might want another, but in a different caliber. Hmmm, well, I like the .32ACP, or 7.65mm Browning, and found this nice but beat up 81. She arrived without a magazine, but I bought one brand new from BUSA, along with new grip panels. On to pics!




I found a chart of date codes and discovered that this pistol was made in 1981, same year as me! Woot!




Finish all around is a bit rough....:shakehead:






Although, the bore is quite good and will make for a nice shooter!

Another interesting bore shot


As I was taking these pictures, the UPS man arrived with these grips. I can't decide if I like the wood with the medalion, or the plastic grips. I took one side off the 84 and it fit....




This little pistol will be a project. I can tell that the slide is/was blued and I will try my hand at re-bluing it, but I can't tell if the frame was blued or painted (Brunition???) because it looks glossy in some areas but not others... Can someone shed some light on this?
If it is supposed to be finished in a way other than bluing, I will duracoat it black and blue the slide, or maybe duracoat both so they match.
Since UPS showed up in time, looks like the 31 year pea-shooter will going to the range with me tomorrow!

And here's a parting pic of the two Cheetahs together...


I may have to start making a wheel-o-Berettas like Shipwreck! I have a feeling he'll chime in here!

luvmysr9

I'd love to get my hands on a Cheetah for my collection, but I've never seen a used one in a gun shop & I can't afford to throw nearly $700 at a new one. I'm not sure when Beretta started using bruniton, but the frame on yours looks anodized. You can't blue aluminum frames, but there are companies out there that do excellent refinishing or you might find a product to do it yourself. It's good to see a Beretta getting new life. I'm a Beretta junkie. Keep us posted with updates on your progress.

DDelambre

That's what someone on another forum said. Looks like I may duracoat it to get an even finish.

Sbh87

I love Berettas. I just got my 96 transferred up to me from my dad in CT. Can't wait to take it for a good run.

DDelambre

Took the little 81 to the range today. It is pleasant to shoot and is rather accurate. It's a bit more accurate that the 84FS, but I may need to drift the rear sight on the 84 to the right a bit.

303lithgow

Gotta love 'em Berettas.

DDelambre

There has been progress made in refinishing the 81. Here are a few pics on the progress.

First I disassembled the entire gun to clean and strip it of its finish. These pics show the state it was in.









"A Box of Beretta"


A good cleaning and scrubbing in Simple Green before stripping.


I used a combo of wire wheel and blasting to get the frame down to bare metal.



For the slide, barrel and other blued parts, I used Birchwood Casey's re-bluing kit. Worked quite well at removing the existing blue. It isn't as dark as I'd like in some spots, but looks pretty good none-the-less.

Bright and shiny slide and barrel.



For the frame I used matte black Duracoat.





All I need to do now is finish refinishing the grip panels and reassemble the slide. More photos will follow as it is finished!

303lithgow

Wow! I'm impressed.

78CJ5

Nice job, what's not to like about Beretta's

James6591

Work in progress, looking good.

wheelyfun101

Nice work!
Can't wait to see the finished product..

I used to carry an 85F, which is the single stack .380.
Not bad for it's day (very early 90's), as there were not nearly the options that exist today, when discussing concealment options.

jdavis

NIce Job!
I know what you mean about the blue not being as dark as you like. If you get a tube of Birchwood Casey bluing paste and apply 6 or 8 coats using 4/0 steel wool to buff lightly between coats, you will get much better results.

DDelambre

I may try that for the slide and barrel. The smaller parts that I blued came out looking black, like I painted them BLACK.

DDelambre

UPDATE!

I finished sanding and staining the wood grips. Now, keep in mind, (Minds out of the gutter here ) I'm not really a "wood" guy, but I think the grips came out looking good.





The LH grip was a bit darker, but I think that gives it character.

laidlerj

Beautiful job!

Jim