Bought this one last Friday cheap. It looked pretty bad but was solid mechanically.

It will make a good shooter. I could not stand the poor appearance thus a refinish.

The two before picture do not depict just how bad it looked. I did get all the rust off and took it to bare metal with white vinegar and water. I tried not to over do it and remove the rollmarks and S&W emblem.

It is of 1975 - 1976 vintage with a 5" barrel. Matching serial number is on right grip.

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Looks good. Did you cold blue it? The nekked photo without the stocks looks like bare metal, or is it from the lighting?

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Inconsistently consistent

The bare metal picture is just that after letting it sit in a 50/50 mix of water and white vinegar for an hour or so.

I had a partial bottle of Belgian Blue on hand and used it. You basically heat the parts in boiling water, wipe on the Belgian Blue, reheat again and card off. Keep repeating the process until you get it where you like or get tired o messing with it. LOL

Nice catch!! Rescuing these orphans is a noble pursuit!!

Nice job to give the old gal a new look I've used white vinegar on numerous projects like yours. Amazing how effective white vinegar is without causing any harm to the metal

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John

Is the white vinegar used to remove the rust ?

I love the old Smiths and it is good when an abused one gets saved. Good work larmarw.

White vinegar is very effective to remove bluing, old patina finishes and surface rust like on OP's. I soak really rusted parts in Kroil

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John

I think it's alot of fun to sit around prepping a gun for refinishing. I have done the cold blue (even heating the metal) and I just like hot bluing better. You might be able to find a local gunsmith with the equipment and if you did the prep work he might hot dip it really cheap. Something to consider.
Model 15-2 reblue

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USAF AMMO

jimmyj, I used kroil and fine grade bronze wool to remove the rust. I then soaked in the 50%/50% mixture of white vinegar and water to remove the old bluing. There was actually only about half of the bluing left on the revolver. It is amazing to see what the white vinegar does and how quickly it works. You will not need to soak more than a couple of hours, but I doubt if leaving it over night will hurt anything.

GunarSailors, I enjoyed going through your thread. It made me wonder if blood might of caused the rust on the right side of my gun where the S&W emblem is located. Look at my before picture and tell me what you think. The revolver was a police trade-in. I had sort of wondered if someone had spilled hot sauce on it, but blood sounds more reasonable.

Anyone who can boil water can do what I was able to accomplish. You also do not have to worry about ruining any pots/pans with this process.

Thanks for all the comments.

I acquired a Model 10-5 that was in good shape, but the bluing had something to be desired. I sent it to S&W for rebluing for a cost of $234.00 freight included. They did a beautiful job. Having read this post and seeing the results, I might have been able to save some bucks. Good job.

billdavidmoore, I doubt my home remedy is even close to the work S&W performed on your revolver.

My inexpensive revolver is a shooter and will always be just a shooter. I just wanted to improve upon the looks a tad.

Does S&W still stamp a star on the butt of the gun when they refinish it?

I would enjoy seeing pictures of your factory refinish.