DELETE--How to tell a re-nickeled gun?

[Pumaonly]

How to tell a re-nickeled gun? I know that a blued gun should have the cylinder plunger in the white and sharp lettering etc.. I know the marking under the left grip for a factory job, but how about renickel not done at the factory? Some of the guns coming from the factory line as though they have been excessively buffed. And some of those that have been redone look great. Is there a way to tell? Some guns from the 50's look just too good.

[ken158]

Factory re-Nickel should show a star on frame or cylinder or both - in my experience.

[Tired Gunsmith]

We would order refinished guns not to have the star along the serial number as that was often considered as a different serial number by 'licensing' authorities in some jurisdictions. ( New York CITY AND state.)
The factory complied with the request whenever made.

[gmborkovic]

Hello Puma. your question could be construed as ambiguous, in my opinion.
Are you you referring to an original nickle factory gun, or a blued gun that has been nickled either by the Factory or The Bumper Shop down the road?

[Muley Gil]

Often time, non factory nickel can be spotted by a nickel extractor (factory was blue), nickel hammer and trigger (factory was color case hardened), flattened pins and most show a definite gap between the side plate and the frame.

[Doc44]

Most N-frame revolvers dating from 1950-1955 and finished in blue have a B stamped on the lower left hand corner of the grip frame. If one of these is finished in nickel, it is obviously a change of finish. Revolvers from 1956 and later usually do not have the B, but a revolver originally finished in nickel (K and N frames) will have an N stamped on the lower left hand corner of the grip frame. If one of these has been refinished in nickel outside of the factory and it is expertly done, it may not be possible to tell.

Bill

[poordevil]

I bought a M-36 square butt , new in about 1983. In 2009 or so I had it Nickeled, by the Smith and Wesson factory. As it was from the 1980's, there is no B indicating it started out life as Blue. It has no markings on it to show it has been re-finished. . However, it looks just like a factory Nickeled gun, just no markings ether way as to blued or nickeled. But it is a Smith and Wesson Factory Nickel job.

[deadin]

Hang on to the invoice showing the refinish by the factory. Otherwise there will be no way to prove it was factory done. (At least until the Historical Foundation gets the shop records digitized.)

[JSR III]

You've pretty much got your answers above. All I will add is that with any refinish like many things in life, it is all in the preparation. Like the saying goes, 90% preparation and 10% perspiration.

The factory was very very good at doing an excellent buffing job prior to any refinish. The old photos show scores of buffing wheels in different shapes and sizes and you didn't get that job your first week with S&W. Not sure how new employees were trained in that department but it certainly wasn't on new guns going out the door.