Mine is from the mid 90's and had quite a lot of wear after living on my ankle (daily) for over 12 years. A few small areas had begun to peel just the tiniest bit. Discoloration appeared in spots throughout the frame. It was all cosmetic. I kind of liked the way it looked.
A few years back I sent it back to S&W to correct a minor mechanical issue. While it was there they refinished it, even though I hadn't asked them to. When I got it back I could hardly tell that it was the same gun (other than the telltale nick on the front sight). It really looked nice. It appeared that they had bead-blasted off the clear coat that was originally applied.
Unfortunately, one day after shooting I gave it a bath in the ultrasonic. When it came out there were dark splotches all over it. I'm assuming that the cleaner attacked the aluminum. Now it looks nearly like it did before S&W refinished it.
I'm not losing any sleep over it. It's an ankle-gun for pete's sake! It leads a rough life and shows it.
