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S&W Revolvers: 1980 to the Present All NON-PINNED Barrels, the L-Frames, and the New Era Revolvers


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Old 03-18-2017, 08:10 PM
the perfesser the perfesser is offline
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Model 10 snubbie with severe pitting under grips Model 10 snubbie with severe pitting under grips Model 10 snubbie with severe pitting under grips Model 10 snubbie with severe pitting under grips Model 10 snubbie with severe pitting under grips  
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Default Model 10 snubbie with severe pitting under grips

The title says it all, almost. Pawn shop find of no-dash SS revolver with severe and largely continuous pitting - with some clear gaps - under the grips, but nowhere else. Maybe the result of rusting that has been polished away? Or perhaps markings from some machining that was never cleaned up up and got by quality control? Any other explanations?

The integrity of the grip frame does not appear to be compromised, at least to my inexpert eyes.

I am completely ignorant regarding whether or how the pitting could be cleaned up further.

Otherwise the snubbie looks very good cosmetically, as does the bore. I have not gotten yet to checking the SN or testing functionality (plastic trigger lock is installed to prevent cocking).

The shop wants $350. If I decide to haggle, what should my first offer be? It was the price that got me to ask what was up with this revolver. The shop owner obligingly removed the grips to show me.
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Old 03-18-2017, 09:04 PM
wadcutter1 wadcutter1 is offline
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Model 10 snubbie with severe pitting under grips Model 10 snubbie with severe pitting under grips Model 10 snubbie with severe pitting under grips Model 10 snubbie with severe pitting under grips Model 10 snubbie with severe pitting under grips  
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A lot of what you wrote doesn't make sense to me. By "SS" you mean stainless steel? If it's a shiny silver model 10 it would be nickel, not stainless.

What do you mean by pitting exactly? What is the shape? Pitting is little rusted out craters int he metal, which I don't think could be confused for tooling marks.

Assuming it is a nickel gun, I'm guessing a previous owners was in the habit of cleaning the gun with a heavy dose of solution which is not compatible with nickel (e.g. Hoppes #9) and he never took the grips off the clean it. In that case, the actual steel beneath the nickel plating should be intact.

If you're sure it's just bad nickel plating, I'd offer $300. If you're not sure walk away.
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Old 03-18-2017, 09:33 PM
SilentKnight SilentKnight is offline
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Without a picture, wadcutter1 appears to have nailed it. Sounds like a nickel plated firearm. That is the only thing that makes sense to me.
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Old 03-18-2017, 09:49 PM
the perfesser the perfesser is offline
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Model 10 snubbie with severe pitting under grips Model 10 snubbie with severe pitting under grips Model 10 snubbie with severe pitting under grips Model 10 snubbie with severe pitting under grips Model 10 snubbie with severe pitting under grips  
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Thanks to Posters 2 and 3. I presumed stainless, not knowing that that nickel was an option. The pitting resembles severe facial acne scarring. I had not thought about solvent damage to a nickel finish. And, as admitted, I know nothing about how the frame metal is machined -- hence my uninformed suggestion.

At this point I will let it sit a while while I finance other projects. The revolver has already sat on the shelf for months. If my interest revives, then the "it has been here for months" line becomes part of the haggling.......
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Old 03-18-2017, 10:14 PM
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Photos would really help here. It may have been a simple situation of a carry gun whose owner never took the stocks off for cleaning, particularly rubber ones that trap any moisture. The standard tool marks on the grip frame are linear and at a slightly different direction as the angle of the grip frame itself, if that makes sense.
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Old 03-19-2017, 09:15 AM
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It's not uncommon for pitting to occur under the grips on a pistol or revolver, particularly if it has been conceal carried extensively.

Moisture and sweat get trapped under the grips next to the steel, and if the grips are not removed on a regular basis to clean and oil the metal there, rust is inevitable. Rust is hygroscopic (attacks and holds water) so once you get a little rust, you soon have a lot of rust and a pit.

Nickel plating isn't as much protection under the stocks as you'd think as the contact points on the stocks, and any grit that has been trapped there, rub on the plating and over time.

Worse, as noted above, if you use a cleaning solvent with ammonia and do not wipe it off and then oil the surface, that ammonia will eat the nickel plating. And of course, if that solvent wicks under the edge of the stock it will stay there and eat away at the plating much faster than just the residue of the solvent on an exposed surface.

I only have one nickel plated revolver, but I don't use ammonia based cleaning solvents on it at all, and instead just clean it with CLP:

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Old 03-19-2017, 09:27 AM
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Could it be a previously rusty blued gun that was hard chromed over pitting that had the rust removed, but not the pits?
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Old 03-19-2017, 10:40 AM
Pond Scum 43 Pond Scum 43 is offline
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I am liking the flame job on your revolver BB57. Is that etched in to the metal?
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Old 03-19-2017, 12:55 PM
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It's one of the Lew Horton Flame Series revolvers (#162 of 225).

The flames stand slightly proud on the cylinder - perhaps with the rest of the cylinder masked and then plated?
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Old 03-20-2017, 05:16 AM
Biggfoot44 Biggfoot44 is offline
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Don't take the grips off in front of your gun savy friends, and they'll never know.
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Old 03-20-2017, 06:34 AM
GeoJelly GeoJelly is offline
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I had the same problem with a Model 64 bought from the classifieds here on SWF in 2015. The seller was relatively new on SWF and I was not savvy enough to ask him about this. It still has some very noticeable pitting on both sides of the frame under the grips - despite some polishing on my part. Good news is I just saw a tip here yesterday about using an aluminum block as a sanding block to remove it. Even better good news is the fact that, otherwise, it is in super condition despite its age.
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Old 03-20-2017, 11:33 AM
lamarw lamarw is offline
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If it helps any, here is a picture under the stocks/grips of my Model 10 no dash snubbie. It does have the serial number matching stocks/grips as shown in the first picture. It was a former law enforcement firearm with a number under the cylinder on the left side of the frame and a marked P.D. Montgomery on the backstrap. It is Montgomery, Alabama.
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Old 03-20-2017, 11:42 PM
the perfesser the perfesser is offline
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A comparison of the featured revolver of this thread to the photos in post #12: 75% of the grip area is mottled by the acne-style pitting.

Several posters quite reasonably request photos in order to provide better analysis. I have already had the pawn shop owner take the plastic grips off on two separate occasions. Asking to have that done a third time merely for a photo-shoot would, I feel, compromise my relationship with him for some time in the future, if not longer. Sorry!

Last edited by the perfesser; 03-20-2017 at 11:43 PM.
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