Hi Gents & Ladies, new to the forum, but been lurking. Some really great info here, so figured this was the place to ask.

I have a 4506-1, (not the MIM trigger and hammer), on deposit at my LGS, with a polished finish. Question - Did factory make these with a polished SS finish or is this aftermarket?

I had it field stripped and it looks like the job is factory, but might just be a good aftermarket job. I asked and they said it was factory and on the box the finish is indicated as "s". It's the old cardboard box and S/N starts THXXXXX.

Thanks.

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Is it safe?

I am gonna say no...not a factory job.

never seen one either.

I agree SW CQB 45, never heard of or seen a factory polish job on any 3rd Gen Smith. They only auto they ever produced with a shine, that I know of, was the nickel coated 2nd Gens.

If you take Simichrome or another metal polish to a stainless matte finish, it will eventually look like that.

Thanks gents, I will have to go back and re-examine. I wonder if it's possible if it's a chrome job, I will have to look again, but it really did look like it was polished. I looked at the area around the barrel bushing and in the cut out for the Safety/Decocker and areas were a "hack" job would show it's faults.

On the other hand, I have seen some group photo shots on this forum with polished 3rd gen. collections proudly displayed, but have not seen any positive indication of factory origin.

This one really did look nice though.

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Is it safe?

look at it real close.

SW 3rd gen under the bead blast is a term I have heard used in the gun world also known as "Noriega Face" meaning very porous.

if you sand on it, it will expose pores and you have to keep sanding on it for smoothness or polishing.

make sure the roll stamping is not exceptionally thinned.

My 4505-1 has a matte finish with no polished areas.

LTC

Now that you mention it, the stampings looked good, not faded (as far as I remember). This was another reason I thought it was a legit finish. I will call S&W tomorrow and do another recon on Tuesday.

One issue I have is if I can trust my fading eyes. I was hoping some one would chime in here who bought a factory polished and at least confirm the possibility. That would go a long way, as I am not sure if I will go through with the deal if I know it was done after. A pro job yes, but garage job no.

But these things are addictive......

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Is it safe?

There was a time back in the early 1990's where S&W offered a bright polish finish on their stainless semi-autos and probably revolvers as well. Of course, you had to send it back to them to have this done. A 1992 Product Service Dept. price list that I have calls for a retail cost of $57.90 for this service. There's a good chance the gun in question was sent back for this service.

The original question was whether Smith offered a polished FACTORY original finish as an option on the M4506-1. It did not, and sending the gun back to Smith to have such a finish applied does not make the finish "factory" in the generally accepted use of the term.

First off, and more importantly, LTC - that is one nice Pistola!

Nice pics never get old.

Judge (and Texas) - Thanks, that is exactly what I was getting at. If the work was done by S&W as part of a post purchase work order, I would be very happy with that, but as we all know, some times finish jobs are done to "correct" damage to original finish rather than to accommodate taste.

If the Polished Finish came first and no subsequent job was done, then this piece was well taken care of.

No way to know for sure, but I will see if Smith can tell me, I do know the S/N. I really don't think this was a weekend project by owner. If this was in fact done over a brushed finish, it had to have been done professionally.

Not that it could not have been done, but would some one with the requisite skill set put in the effort and then sell it? Possible, but less likely.

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Is it safe?

Here is a 3rd gen that I polished by hand to cover the scuffs in the matte finish. This was a police trade.

deanodog, that looks superb! Wish my 4506 looked like that.

Spoke to S&W. Not 100% sure I spoke to the right gent or not, you know how that goes, but it would appear that it was not a factory finish from what he told me.

Here's the catch though, and my quandary:

It was sent back to S&W @ 8 or so years ago for Feeding and extraction issues, that were apparently worked out, in that it was not sent back for a second trip.

What do you fellas think? I am inclined to pass on this one then. Could be that it works great, but it was not one of the ones that ALWAYS worked fine.

Knowing of it's history, I don't think I would feel comfortable. The barrel fit did seem very tight when field stripping it as I recall. What that tells me, I don't know. Oh well. And so continues the search......

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Is it safe?

Real, for whatever it's worth, here's my story.

I have a 4506 that I bought new in 1990.

It would feed and shoot anything I put through it until about 2 years ago; at about that time, every now and then a fired case would stick in the chamber and would not get extracted/ejected. So, I sent it in to S&W for attention.

I had it back in less than a week. On the paperwork, they said they made a "barrel modification and replaced the extractor spring."

I can't tell for sure, but it looks like all they did to the barrel was to polish the chamber. Of course, now, it shoots and extracts/ejects like a new one. And to top it all off, they didn't charge me a penny, not even for the shipping.

So, I wouldn't discount the gun just because it was sent back in for service. It might have been for a very minor problem like mine.

Jesus H that is BEAUTIFUL!!!!

I would love to polish mine, but both are TSW with billboards that I personally would like to keep. Now IF I could polish them and send the slide in to have it reapplied, I might consider it..

Upon Closer inspection, the Refinishing job was not what I had remembered. It's like now you're sober, she don't look so hot.

There was a very nice 659 there, no box and 1 mag, but it felt real nice in the hand. (this time I could see straight ) I know this is getting off original topic, but would that be a nice pick up?

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Is it safe?

I have one that I love. It is in much better condition than one I had sold prior, so this one stays in the collection. Plus, you can polish the slide and frame to your heart's content.

I have a 5906 I polished out by hand. It really makes those guns come alive. I would bet someone did the same thing with it.

It looked like a hand job all right, no pun intended. The $250.00 S&W polish service would no doubt be the cat's meow.

Not that great neither. If you looked real close, it had that eggshell kind of thing going on. At half the price I would have done it, but all things considered, I would like a better specimen.

I'll see what comes up at the next gun show...

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Is it safe?

I polished one that was a police trade in in need of some TLC. The problem becomes that the laser etched model and serial number on the frame near the trigger would have to be polished out to get a first class job. The SN is stamped under the grips, but I backed off before obliterating the markings near the trigger, the left side and total slide came out pretty much mirror bright.

I don't have the same reverence for my semi autos that I do for the revolvers.