I traded for a 1994-dated W. German-marked factory 2-tone P226 not long ago, and I really like this pistol. The slide had some fine scratches and was oxidized, so I decided to LIGHTLY use some Mother's Mag Wheel polish and a microfiber cloth to freshen up the nickel. It looks much better than it did before, but it's a tad too shiny for my taste. It's not mirror-bright or anything, but I wonder if it's possible to bead-blast(at low pressure, of course)a more matte finish onto the surface. I know that the older-style nickel plating is quite thin, and holds up better than bluing, but it was prone to damage.

The rest of the pistol is on fine shape, other than some light carry wear on the triggerguard. Heck, the frame rails still have intact anodizing, and the previous owner claimed 500 rounds or less since the original owner(a relative, I think) purchased it in '94.

So will the slide's finish hold up to being reblasted? Or should I live with a somewhat shinier pistol than I wanted?

Thanks..

Almost all plating is very thin and only enough to protect and provide a margin for normal wear from handling and operation.

Media blasting may be more than the plating will survive.

At this point, if it were me, I would leave it as is.

If you want to give it a shot, you might want to tru baking soda rather than glass bead. Try a spot inside the slide first.

You don't want to use your blast cabinet, as soda is a one use media, but you can kluge together something like this (or a syphon air gun you might already have for cleaning would work well: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vuENNhOMQs

Unless you want to detail strip the slide, I'd use modeling clay to cover the FP holes and safety plunger too.