Sometime back in 2012 my daily carry Makarov caught slight traces of rust near the hammer, that was because I used to carry it daily, and more importantly on my jogs wearing a belly band. The humid environment and sweat did it. No amount of sandpaper job and bluing would kill the rust permanently, until my friend suggested Duracot. I got it done on most of my pistols. While duracot is good and does give good protection against rust, it also wears off with frequent use (holster wear), specially in case of daily carry weapons. So this time when a dear friend Rotor, told me he had built a setup at home for Cerakote, I jumped at it with closed eyes because I had read a lot about Cerakote. Not only is it more smooth, good looking, comes in various colors but also it is more long lasting.
So in to the sandblast chamber went the 1949 Military Surplus Makarov, removing the old Duracoat layer. When bone naked it was painted in two tone Cerakote, and then put in an oven for about an hour for drying. The looks were amazing, the feel was smooth, and off course the gun came out more rust proofed. I was told the Duracoat takes weeks to dry off, but Cerakote takes an hour at most in the oven. Just see the pics, you’ll love them just as much as I do. Besides now I am thinking of re-lifing my old pistols and revolvers. Let me know what your thoughts on this 🙂 Cheers
My Random Ramblings 
Not going to lie. As a devout Makarov collector, this makes me cringe pretty hard. 1949 Soviet PM’s were Pre-Production for Military Trial only with just 5000 produced. They are hard to find even in Russia (Most are deactivated or “Maket” examples) and so far non-existent in the West. Obviously it’s yours to do with what you please but personally I would have never carried such a weapon much less refinish it. That said, not trying to be dick just being honest and as long as it makes you happy that’s all that matters. I suppose.. lol
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Hi. Many thanks for the useful information. I never knew I had Gold 😀. I got this piece few years ago in pristine condition. And I’m in love with Makarovs too. There’s something about Russian weapons. The cerakote was done to protect it from rust. It’s hot and humid in summers so chances of getting rusty are pretty high. Thanks again. Cheers
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Correction,…. you once had “Gold”,…. but you decided to monkey with it and now you have Lead. Weight is the same,…. shape is the same,… but now a very different colour. Sandblasting an original collectible,….. like taking a sanding disk to a valuable piece of antique furniture,… to get rid of all those nasty dents.
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Dear sir
Which license would be needed to carry Type 59(chinese version of macarov) in pakistan ?
What would be written on license, normal 9mm license would work for it ?
Your guidance in this regard shall be highly appreciated, pls
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First of all I would love to see your Chinese Makarov 😀
And yes please use 9 mm license for your Makarov. Cheers
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Well, before even with the bluing, it was a $2000+ handgun. Now it’s worth a quarter of that. I’ll never understand people who refurbish milsurps without spending 5 minutes to doing some research.
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Hi. Many thanks for the comment. It goes like this, a certain weapon will have a certain value in this part of the world and another in your part of the world. A Makarov costs $600 max here and $2000 in the US. Similarly a Glock 19 gen 4 costs like $600 in the US and $3500 here in Pakistan 😀. Hope this answers your question. Cheers
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And for value after cerakote, well I got it cerakoted to protect from rust which here in summers and humidity is very damaging. As this is my carry gun. 😀
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haha.. Chinese call it type 59, I will make a clone of it in Peshawar 😀 since i can’t afford the original one.
I do have valid 9m license for all Pakistan use, just want to confirm that if it would work with 9x18mm.
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Just to clear a thing here 9×19, 9×18, 9×17 all are 9mm.
All are good to go on a 9mm license.
.30 bore is 7.62×25 hence 7.62mm
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yes you are right. Thanks for sharing
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