Dep: You have emerged (temporarily, at least) from the subterranean gloom of my Ignore List. I was fascinated by your Sinophobic Method, so I tried it.
Original P38 springs have closed and ground end coils, which means the end has to be plucked out with a dental pick or similar tool before the unwinding can begin. It's over 4 inches of spring, so it takes a lot of unwinding. I got it about halfway out before the remainder of the spring still in the frame started binding on the spring rod, forcing me to use more torque than my precious little fingers could apply. In the end I simply reverted to removing the spring rod, and pulled the spring out forward in conventional fashion.
If the Bamboo-Free Gunsmith Diet works for you, and the spring is undamaged, that's fine; I have no quarrel with it. But I found I can remove and reinstall both springs in less time than it took to partially unscrew one of them.
M