Brought home a rusty 19-4 and scrubbed the rust off

[hammerfired]

I saw this 19-4 .357 4 inch in a local pawn shop a couple weeks ago and made a really low offer on it because of the rust. The guy I was talking to yelled my offer across the shop and the money guy dismissed it saying the gun was worth more because it has a tt and th. I thanked them and left. I thought about it for a few days and went back. This time I went directly to the money guy. I raised my offer a bit, pointed out the rust, said I would pay more but the rust had gotten into the bluing....



He countered, I asked if I could pull off the grips and side cover, it looked great, no rust underneath, it was mechanical sound, very smooth action, and we made a deal and I brought it home.

Sn is 44K2xxx. He told me it was sold to the shop by a local Sheriff's deputy. The rust was through the bluing in several places and I removed the grips and put the gun in a plastic bag covered in oil for a couple days. Then I used some Big 45 Frontier metal cleaner with some light oil to scrub the rust off. It cleaned up nicely and while it has some bare spots and a scrape on the cylinder, it will make a great shooter that I don't have to worry about scratching. It has a lot of character and I like the fact that it belonged to a local LEO. I don't know if it was a duty weapon but the wear could be an indicator that it was. Definitely a keeper either way. I can't wait to shoot it.

[cmj8591]

Nice pick up.

If you send that back to Smith, they will refinish it and make it look like it just came off of the assembly line.

[jframejoey]

Nice. Affordable "beater" guns are the reason I have 30 Smiths instead of 3 "safe queen" Smiths. You wont mind subjecting this to the heat/humidity of the Gulf Coast.

[quinn]

Nice cleanup job. This should be a really good shooter. Good find.

[italiansport]

Originally Posted by jframejoey

Nice. Affordable "beater" guns are the reason I have 30 Smiths instead of 3 "safe queen" Smiths. You wont mind subjecting this to the heat/humidity of the Gulf Coast.

I agree: I have plenty of nice Smiths that are hardly if ever used. One in this condition can be an everyday tote it around gun without having to worry about lowering the value.
Jim

[markeb]

Congratulations. Amazing clean-up on that 19. OK, what did it set you back?

[gmborkovic]

Man, that gun looks just like a gun I have bought. They are ugly on the
outside and clean up great and function perfectly, Great snag. Best.

[jringo8769]

well that is a beauty in my book....love to see another one saved...great work...God Bless,John

[mojave30cal]

It's amazing what a little soap and water will do! Good job.

[ctdair]

I'm curios too on what You paid. Have a 29-3 6inch from an estate that had rust that I cleaned up and cold blued. Trigger guard was pitted but doesn't show much , cold blue did great. Left side rust cleaned up no pits cold blue pretty obvious not matching. Have asked $500.00 local no interest. Not a offer to sell only available local to people I know. That condition placed by executor.

[FifthWheel]

That cleaned up nice!

[MCorps0311]

Cleaned up it looks great.

[lamarw]

It sounds as though it kept calling to you Help - Help. You responded and did a great job with the rescue.

Been through the same process a time or two myself.

[hammerfired]

Yeah it was kinda calling to me I guess. It kept popping up in my mind. I gave 400 otd. I didn't buy it for collector value, obviously, it just felt good in my hand and I know the quality and craftsmanship of this revolver goes much deeper than the bluing.

[bobbyd]

Have done the same thing on several rusty guns. The best process that I have found is to soak in Kroil for a day or two which loosens up all but the worst. For the really bad spots, a copper penny (softer than steel), applied sparingly, will get off the rest.

[mrchuck]

Nice buy. I would of done the same.

[H Richard]

This is a 19-4 I purchased from a LGS. It had maybe had 1 or 2 cylinder-fulls shot through it, but had been in a residence where there had been a fire and it was in a gun rug that got water-soaked, (no heat damage), and had laid in the wet gun rug for a couple months. There were 3 or 4 pretty good size rust spots, going into pitting, but otherwise a nearly new 19-4. I worked on the rust, but gave up and decided it had to be refinished. I sent it to Metaloy in Berryville AR who had done a 1911 lower for me 20 some years earlier. I removed all the parts not wanted to be coated, and had them not coat the top rib and front sight.

Oh, I paid the LGS $275 for it, and another $250 for the refinish and shipping.

[TAC]

Originally Posted by cmj8591

Nice pick up.

If you send that back to Smith, they will refinish it and make it look like it just came off of the assembly line.

Do they still do 'old school' bluing? I didn't think they did.

[rwt1405]

Congrats!

Should be a great shooter!

[Arm]

I picked up a pair of 28-2's last year, the 4" was in the same condition as your 19. I just used oil with a soft cloth and worked on it slowly for a week, no hard rubbing. I think it came out decent, pair of good shooters. You will enjoy yours too.

[Vulcan Bob]

Yup, that will do to shove into a Bianchi holster and head out for the day! Well done Sir, enjoy that one.

[Targets Guy]

Great job. Love to see them get saved. Was that a bell that just rang?