[TheMadBadger]

I am the owner of a wonderful Walther pp chambered for 32 acp and imported by interarms. I've had the gun for the last 5 years and haven't really shot it all that much. However, in the time that I've owned it I've noticed that there are scratches appearing on the chamber hood. Some of these are quite deep. While I don't think that they are cause for concern and the pistol still functions well, I can't help but want to figure out what is causing them and stop it. I've read that scratching can occur during assembly and disassembly. However, some of the deeper scratching looks like it could only have occurred during operation of the gun. Does anyone have any experience with this? Is it cause for concern? and what would you recommend to stop it in the future. I've attached some pictures of the damage. Thank you in advance.

 

[BigMangoes]

I'd check both ends of your recoil spring for sharp edges or burs left over from manf.

If you find any, stone them down until smooth, reinstall slide on frame, hand operate firing cycle, look for new scratches.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Those scratches could only come from the inside of the slide as it passes over the barrel hood. Have a look at the inside of the slide, particularly around the ejection port. You have a burr in there that is scratching things.
Moon

 

[MGMike]

Those scratches could only come from the inside of the slide as it passes over the barrel hood. Have a look at the inside of the slide, particularly around the ejection port. You have a burr in there that is scratching things.
Moon

That certainly might be a contributing cause, but in general they are the results of disassembly and reassembly in which the slide is not held squarely to the frame (tilted to one side or the other), lifted up at an incorrect angle, or not fully retracted against the (very strong) spring.

The chew marks on the rear circumference of the barrel boss are caused by the much harder extractor, and the sharp edges of the slide's feed rib are leaving the long scratches.

The little chew marks can be smoothed off with a fine stone (don't go overboard trying to remove them completely!) and the boss wall visible in the ejection port can be lightly sanded in a vertical direction (but stay away from the proof stamp!).

To minimize their recurrence, practice dismounting and remounting the slide with the recoil spring removed and a spacer holding open the trigger guard until you develop a feel for when you are holding the slide correctly.

The recoil spring does not come into contact with this area and has nothing to do with it.

M