I've got a M29-2 nickel. It appears to have been stored in a compost heap for years. It is mint inside after the dirt was removed, but the nickel is pitted. I'm thinking about an Ionbond TB41 DLC coating. Look at the photo and give me your thoughts, pls & thx

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Perhaps try going over with some serious polishing first (I frequently read on forum mothers mag?)
It may improve appearance quite a bit...

FORDS in Crystal River

I would clean it up as well as possible and use it as a carefree knock about fun gun. Get an old leather holster for it on Ebay. It would make a perfect camp/woods gun. There is something to be said for a gun you don't have to worry about scratching or harming the collector/resale value. I like it.

Shine it up and shoot it.

Re-nickel at Fords would be my vote, especially if the inside is in as good of condition as you state.

You will need to fix the red ramp. I recently did so with the assistance of a video by Pete Brownell.

I would repair it. I don’t mind at all a revolver that shows signs of wear and tear from responsible use, but an abused gun calls to me for help. If I was going to keep that gun, I’d have to do something with it - and not paint! Just my humble oh-two.

I think you have nothing to lose by trying a light abrasive first (Flitz, Simichrome) and working your way up to heavier ones depending on the results. The result may surprise you and save what is left of the original nickel finish.

In addition to the front sight insert, having a rear sight would be nice too.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

Yep, an hour or 2 hand polishing with some Flitz or similar will get rid of all the dark spots and make it much more presentable.

Here's an old top break in .44 Russian that started out looking much worse than yours:

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My sgntr is mor thn 30 chrctrs

Didn’t this 29-2 come up a few months ago in another thread from someone who said they were thinking about buying it? Was that you OP!

I remember it due to the condition, missing rear sight and red ramp front sight issues. I think that thread mentioned it was $700+ listed.

Either way I’d also treat this to the rust treatment 50/50 bath and then look for a rear sight, then mothers mag polish or flitz it. Then leave it in shooter condition. Good luck!

SVT28


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

What a pity that your nickel 29-2 was so badly neglected! However, with that said, I think you can easily bring it back to life in an hour or two...not perfect, but nice. I would first see how polishing works before considering a re-nickel job. As stated above, some Mother's Mag & Aluminum Polish works great, and is very gentle. I have used Flitz on nickel guns with great success too, but go easy on the polishing. Use a microsoft cloth, not 0000 steel wool (leaves steel fibers that can rust later), and work slowly. I think you'll be surprised how nicely your .44 Magnum cleans up. Of course, follow your polishing with some Ren Wax or paste wax. Once you're done, it's your choice to leave it as is and shoot it, or pay a chunk of change to get it refinished. Good luck!

I would look at the pits very carefully before sending it to Fords. If those pits are in the steel, then Fords would have to polish them out or nickel over them. Either way it will look good from a distance and bad up close. Unless you are an expert in removing the pits before Fords gets it, you will have a ****** refinished gun. While it looks rough as it is, you won't have spent hundreds to make it look like shiny, but rough refinished up close. Refinishing in nickel will not hide any pits or over polishing. Without some very close up pictures of the pits, I recommend using it as is.

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Blaine
SWCA 3490 SWHF 586

I'd hard chrome it and pretend it's a 629. Then shoot the (deleted) out of it.

Use it as is. Have fun with it

I would only consider refinishing if the pits are very shallow or have not penetrated the plating. If the steel is badly pitted a lot of polishing work will need to be done and you may be left with an over buffed gun and still have some visible pitting. I agree with the clean it up, fix the sight issues and enjoy the gun position . I have a similar Model 29 with a factory applied renickel that was done about 40 years ago. In this case the steel underneath only had minor issues that were cleaned up with a minimum of polishing before the replate.

SVT28. Yup, that's the gun. I've since added a rear sight and front red ramp. My gunsmith checked it out, replaced some springs and now it feels like a new gun. I'll break out the Flitz and see what happens. I'l post before and after photos when I'm done. (I used 68 patches getting the dirt out of the workings. It certainly has been misused.)

Sounds like you've made some good decisions, and are well on your way to having a very enjoyable shooting experience with your 29-2. From your photo, it looks like a previous owner changed out the stocks to magnas (there is a "shadow" from where the original target stocks were installed). A nice set of GA target stocks would look great, and return the revolver to original configuration. Enjoy!

Hawg,

What means "GA" stocks, pls?

Probably Goncalo Alves.

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Formerly Model520Fan

Yes, Goncalo Alves...the standard wood used by S&W for most target stocks from approx. 1975 until the 1990s*. Although some GA was used on earlier Coke Bottle stocks along with Rosewood and some walnut in the late 1950s. I didn't see a s/n in your post, so your revolver could date anywhere from 1962-1982. The exact style of target stocks (plain/smooth, diamond center checkered, or checkered) would depend upon when your 29-2 was manufactured.

*"SCSW 4 Ed.", "Extras That Affect Value- S&W Stocks", pg 38

My 29-2 comes back as 1979-1980. If the gun could talk - what a tale it would tell.
Oh, and totally off topic but still a big bore S&W, here's what you can do with a handgun.

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I would clean it with Flitz, Simichrome, or Mother's Mag Polish, and shoot it. If after cleaning, i did not like it, I would not renickel it. I would have the nickel stripped, and blue it. Then shoot it

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Pete
I ain't no fortunate son

After the clean up a nice set of stocks will help. My nickeled 29 was made in 1965. It still has the original Goncalo Alves coke bottle stocks.

I see that the GA stocks are rather expensive. I'm in the gun less than $550, so I'm not too sure I want to spend the money on the GAs. After all, the pig I shoot really doesn't care

First, contact S&W to find out what they can do and what the price would be.