The Unofficial P64 Resource Forum

dickfunk wrote: The ramps aren't coated, they're blued. And some of the ones I've seen have had visible machining marks on them. They fed alright, but could definitely use a polish. I don't think you're adding surface area by polishing smooth a roughly machine piece of metal.

I'm using "coating" as a general term. I consider bluing in this as well, as it is a coating (surface metal conversion).

Adding any scratches, microscopic or otherwise, does increase surface area. So while it is possible to do it properly, most Dremmel wielding amateur smiths are not going to be able to pull it off. I know I can't, yet I've seen real smiths do it properly. And then re-coat (whether bluing or otherwise).

My point is simply that this isn't something you just do willy-nilly. It is not an "all positive with no downsides" proposition, yet I didn't see that mentioned anywhere in the thread.

Just trying to give people some perspective on this so they can make an educated decision.

darylj wrote: Adding any scratches, microscopic or otherwise, does increase surface area.

You're correct. But my point is when the initial steel is roughly machined, it starts off with more surface area than a highly polished piece does.

darylj wrote: most Dremmel wielding amateur smiths are not going to be able to pull it off. I know I can't,

If you don't feel comfortable, then you definitely shouldn't attempt it - especially if it's your only part/pistol. We have to remember that we're polishing, not grinding. I think most people can handle a polish job just fine. In a different thread, you mentioned that you polished something on your pistol already, so this should be about the same for you.
If your gun needs it, I think it can add a world of difference when trying to feed HP's reliably. If not, it's probably better left alone.

A suitable substitute for jewelers rouge for light polishing is regular old toothpaste. I used Colgate with baking soda on my P64 and a wet felt Dremel pad. Although it took a little longer it got the job done and had a minty smell throughout the whole process. After feeding through 150+ rounds I have had no feeding problems.

Toothpaste, why not, I have used baking soda before, worked good for me.

Brigade, looks like you did an excellent job on your feed ramp and chamber. I usually only will shoot around forty to fifty rounds with my P-64's, per shooting session, so I think I will leave mine alone. You did an great job though and your picture really explains it well.

I polished the feed ramp recently as well; I haven't had feed issues when firing, but hand-cycling would occasionally result in feed issues, such as failing to completely chamber and close the breech.

I just used metal polishing compound and a tiny polishing tip for my RTX. Worked well, although I had to spend some time cleaning the green goop out of various nooks and crannies afterward.

I also chose not to polish the chamber; as stated previously, this is a blow-back pistol, and increasing this diameter even slightly might negatively impact reliability. I also didn't want to risk affecting accuracy at all. The blued chamber on mine is very smooth, so I didn't see any point anyway. The feed ramp had some machining ridges that I think I'm better off without.

I'm still trying to figure out my feed problems and apprecaite the help from all you kind folks.
I look forward to the day I can report that my little gun is healthy.

Meanwhile, I've discovered that my gun's problem may be with the chamber.
I've posted a pic showing how far the unfired bullet casing sticks out.
It is about as far into the chamber as it will go, short of hammering it in.

It doesn't look right to me, but maybe it's the way it's supposed to be?
If anyone knows, please help. I do have a dremel but I don't want to
do anymore polishing unless I'm sure of what I'm doing.

Thanks again for your generous help.



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I measured mine today with a snap cap and it sticks out of the chamber about 1/10 of an inch.

How does your chamber look? See if there are any burrs. Take a look at some spent casing and see if there are any suspicious marks on it also.

If it looks dirty take an oversize brass cleaning brush and chuck it up in a drill and run it at medium speed then run some patches and your favorite bore cleaner thru it. Put another round in it and see if there is any difference.

...and make sure you have 9x18 (Makarov), not 9x19 (NATO/Parabellum/Luger) rounds.

Good point snailman.

Thanks, Curly. It looks clean. But I will try the brass brush trick.

And snailman, the rounds are definitely Mak. I'm not (quite) that stupid.

I had mine cerakoted a while back, and the feed ramp is coated with Cerakoted, and have had no problems whatsoever with feeding. I was skeptical at first, but I'm going to leave the cerakote there until I do have a feeding problem, which I doubt I will have!
I had a cz 82 done the same way, and the feed ramp is coated on that one too. No problems whatsoever.

My P-64 had never had a round in the chamber until yesterday. I purposely left the factory finish in tact to see how the gun behaved.
I was using normal FMJ, round nose bullets to minimize the chances of jamming. The first few rounds did not want to fully chamber and after I finally got a round to chamber and fire, it cycled pretty well through 50 rounds. I did experience a couple of hang ups, so when I got home I took a little time and some 800 grit sandpaper to the ramp using a pencil eraser as a sanding pad.
It took about 20 minutes to shine everything up and smooth it out.
This is the poor man's Dremmel! LOL
My thoughts on hollow points in this gun: Low muzzle energy results in poor expansion of projectile upon impact. Round nose projectiles will travel deeper into gel than hollow points. In most cases, the round nose bullet will cause a larger overall wound. There are a couple of exceptions but you will pay 3 times the money per round to shoot the highly engineered projectiles.
If you need to use the gun for self defense, the most important thing is for it to work! Round nose bullets may just give you the edge that makes the difference. If nothing else, it makes you think your weapon may be more reliable. The first rule of any battle, is ya gotta believe!

I polished mine w my 12-Ga brush in my drill. Looks real purty.

I use Flitz with a bullet shaped Dremel cone and a light touch on all my feed ramps. Nothing but good results. No offense to the OP but I think he might have gone a little overboard removing material at the transition between the feed ramp and chamber.