# Sig P226 To Be A Classic or Not, Help



## Runco (Feb 24, 2012)

First post, I need some advice. I recently purchased a Sig P226 in 9mm as a Israeli Police/Military trade in. By the proof marks it is a 1987 model, shows moderate holster wear, had light frosty rust, worn OEM toy plastic grips, slide rails still show black with very little shiny metal in the frame rail, but the weapon cleaned up well. Other than the moderate holster wear cosmetic appearance, the weapon is flawless and shoots like it should, smoothhhhh and accurate by my standards. My primary pupose of buying this weapon was to simply add to the HG collection, shoot occasionally, add a Israeli firearm to my collection and brag to other Sig lovers that I have a West German Sig, woo hoo whatever that means.

Here is where I need help, other than replace the springs, 
A.) Should I leave the firearm alone as to the costmetic problems cleaned up of course, keeping its original character, keeping it a classic like a barn find 68 Camaro Z28 all stock but in good running condition?

B.) Durakoat (Cerakote, etc.) the firearm to its original new condition, replace the well handled grips with like new OEM grips.

C.) Durakoat (Cerekote, etc.) to a dersert brown or other funky color, add night sights, replace the grips to desert mint SIG oem grips.


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## berettabone (Jan 23, 2012)

Guess it depends on how flush you are........


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## TedDeBearFrmHell (Jul 1, 2011)

i would leave it alone..... i have a west german p6.... it looks like its a serious gun, it has holster wear and shows signs of being almost 30 years old.... but i want my gun to look like a work gun, not a show pony..... that way i wont think twice about marring up the finish with blood and hair and skin if i run out of bullets and it becomes a bludgeon. 

but hey, thats just me.


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## hud35500 (May 8, 2010)

The only thing I did to my German 226 is put an E2 kit on it. The grip is far more comfortable, I think. It's not a permanent alteration, so it can easily be put back into original form. I think holster wear adds character to the piece. If you can, post a photo, I'm sure we would all love to see it.


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## FNISHR (Aug 9, 2011)

I haven't refinished my West German Sigs yet, but I'm likely to in the future. I didn't buy them so much as I adopted them, and I shoot them all the time. I plan to keep doing so as long as I'm healthy enough to shoot.


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## TGS2 (May 6, 2006)

I personally would leave it battle scarred and just keep it up mechanically.


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## silvoor (Apr 22, 2012)

The real question is the definition of the word classic. In the history of firearms "classic" original western handguns like Colts may be singularly unique compared to modern mliitary handguns. Do you want a classic 1911? Do you buy one manufactured by Colt, IBM or Singer? - maybe just get a new SIG 1911. 

Todays handguns are made better, more affordable, have better surface treatments, shoot non-corrosive powder and are probably stored year round in a humidity controlled environment. There will an unlimited supply for the forseeable future. 

Enjoy them and treat them as you want. Let your great grandchildren figure out if they are classics.


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## crescentstar69 (Sep 24, 2011)

Personally I would just leave it alone.


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## Rockhound (Sep 28, 2011)

If you want the slide refinished, then I would send it to Sig's Custom Shop and have it re-blued. They charge about $100, but they will not refinish the frame. This will bring the appearance back to original. While the P226 is at the Custom Shop, you may want to invest a little more and purchase one of their service packages. Sig will perform a detailed strip and inspection of the P226 and replace springs and any worn parts. Go to the SigArms web site and check out the options.


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## chessail77 (Mar 15, 2011)

Shoot it, leave it as is and enjoy it....JJ


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