So back story. I bought a new smith TRR8. It came in with a scratch on the barrel and a bunch of finish problems on the frame. Also the front and rear sights were loose. So called smith and sent it in. Great! Well it came back with a new barrel shroud and it got refinished. They didn't do anything with the sights. Sigh. Here is the real problem that I need help with.

The gun came back and the front barrel shroud is really gray. Like very noticeable gray. I sent it back to smith and they sent it back with the sights fixed but they said the Finish was fine. They said that the two different metals and such and I should just be able to put oil on it and it'll look better. Well I put oil on it just like I did before and it's still horrible! Like really really gray. And I've looked and saw that some are mismatched in color but not nearly as bad as this one. I understand the two different metals and such. Need opinions on it....IMG_1963.jpgIMG_1957.jpg

I suspect that when they refinished the barrel they did not refinish the whole gun and therefore we have two different batches of finish which are not quite the same (an understatement). I suggest you call again and perhaps ask for a supervisor and explain what you think happened and ask if they could refinish the whole gun with the same batch so it all matches.

They probably don't want to do that because they would have to disassemble the whole gun and keep track of the parts while the frame and barrel cure and then put it all back together again. A lot of hassel they would rather avoid for a cosmetic issue.

Sorry , I find the new composite barrels unattractive.

Yours is a bit more unattractive than the stainless finished ones for sure, but within the broad range of typical.

So, before I sent it in I already talked to a customer service manager whom said he was going to look at it before they sent it to me. I am not sure if he did or did not. I sent him an email asking if he looked at it or not. I am assuming he didnt look at it. Anyways I think yes they did the gun in different batches. And I know they probably do not want to refinish it but with this thing coming from the factory messed up, to this I am pretty put off by the whole thing. Not sure if they will refund me my money or not. Id rather not and have a black revolver but I guess it all depends on what this manger tells me when he gets back to work (he is off today as per his auto reply email he had set up)

I would be pissed, that is not the norm and the fact that it was sent back twice with a manager supposedly checking it before going back to an unhappy customer is sad.

I hope you have better luck than me with my 627PC. I spoke to a manager when I sent it back the second time and she assured me she would update me on the intended plan of repair, etc. didn't hear a single word after they got it. I reached out after a week and was told 'they replaced the barrel it's shipping back to you today'

Well came back with problems so I reached out two days ago via email and no response. Today I called a higher up manager and left him a message. No response

My 327TRR8 & 325TR both have slightly lighter, grayish, barrel shrouds when I hold them in my hand. In my pictures they don't look quit the same though.

I can't really tell on your pictures. It kind of looks like mine but it's hard to say. The shroud & frame are definitely not the same black though, on mine.

Does a LGS have one you can compare your's to?

I'm guessing you haven't shot it yet? I hope you can get it taken care of because it's a real fun revolver to shoot.

Let us know what happens.

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Waiting for the break of day

Welcome to the Forum

Mine are different colors as well.

As you already know, the frame is Scandium Alloy and the barrel shroud is not. They will always look somewhat different

You are obviously not happy or your first post to the Forum would not be a product complaint. Do not E-mail, call a Smith and Wesson manager and talk. Unless S&W tells you this is the way it is, ask them to put a different shroud on and hope for a closer color match.

However, before you do that you might want to see how it shoots. Personally I do not let anyone swap critical parts on a gun that is a good shooter just for cosmetic reasons.

Mine has two different colors. But, I use it for competition and this doesn't concern me.

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I understand wanting it to look the same, but IMO leave it. Function test it at the range and if it's G2G, leave it.

You will never get dissimilar metals to take on the exact same appearance of "bluing". It is chemically impossible.

Just enjoy the great revolver and shoot it until it has some REAL honest wear that you can display proudly. A "shooter" shouldn't ever look "pristine".

Pristine is nice in some situations but a TRR8 ain't gonna be what you seem to expect.

I have a customer that bought a new one into the range, fired it twice before it locked up, sent it to S&W who replaced it with by their count 26 parts, and returned it looking much like yours.
I'm in the camp, if it shoots great keep it. The different metals will prevent it from ever being an exact match and guns are made for shooting.