Hi Smith friends,

I just bought my first Smith and Wesson! It's a 629 Deluxe 3" factory new. Bought it based on very low price, gun-lust, and just liking how "impractical" a choice a snub-nose 44 mag is.

The wooden finger groove stocks aren't doing it for me. It seems like if I use the grooves, it puts my hand too far down on the grip.

I've got an idea for how to dress it up. I would give it a mirror polish, and put on skinny, round butt, white color grips. Give it the look of an old-fashioned snub nose 38, which I think would set off the massive size of the gun nicely.

Anyway, my question is, if I have it polished at the Smith factory and save the paperwork, will I decrease the value, raise the value, or what? This is a new gun, not a classic.

I'm a novice, so your wisdom would be appreciated. Thank you.

Having the work done at the factory will probably retain the value reasonably well, however it looks like it'll cost you $200 to $300 bucks. Having this work done will not add anything to the value of the gun.

I polished up a GP100 a couple years ago myself and it came out reasonably well but a high polish gun will highlight any imperfections and scuffs.

Welcome!!!!!

As so many said to me, " we deal in pics here" Sooooooooo, we need to see a pic of what you are dealing with. Yeah, I resisted, and then finally figured it out how to post them. " Weatherby( Paul) kind of shamed me into it, by offering to do it for me. I still do not have it all down, but I manage.

First let me say you bought the gun for all the right reasons. As time goes on, you will think of different reasons why you bought your 15th gun, that you did not really need.

Unless you have some finish issues, like imperfections in the finish I would not polish it out. 300.00 is half of your first 10-5, or 15-3 snubnose, or model 36 or 60. That would be gun #2. See the reasoning? You will not gain any value by sending it to the factory, and you would probably hurt value by doing it yourself.

As for the grips" finger groove", combats??

Grips, IMHO think Culina LLC for wood, but i am sure there will be a lot of helpful comments coming that will help you with your plight and help empty your wallet for you.

Again Welcome!

Pete

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Pete
I ain't no fortunate son

I beg to differ on the 3" 44 Mag being impractical. It depends on your needs. I hunt Bear. When I feel the need for a "backup" handgun when in the big bear woods I carry my 3" PC 629-6 Carry Comp. Sort of compact, non adjustable sights and the power to take a bear if I do my part. In my mind the perfect back up bear gun. Although not the 44 I have used to hunt for bear with.
Polish if you wish, But as stated above it will not help the value . And if used, you will be constantly be touching up the polish job.

old 1911 fan

If you intend to shoot your new toy get yourself some rubber grips, they are ugly, but functional and make shooting much easier and more enjoyable. Keep the originals for the times you need a barbecue gun.

You bought the gun! You own the gun! Do to the gun as you wish! Don't worry about "value" at a trade, Any item's value is "What someone will pay you at that given point in time!"

You can have the mothership redo anything to any (modern ) S&W it seems to no help and sometime detract from what others are willing to pay for a used gun. Modify it anyway you please and enjoy it. If, and when you decide to part with it, you will get the most for it from someone that thinks just like you!

I picked up a 629 2 1/8" a few month ago. The grip just behind the cylinder release is a little sharp on the corner. I could remove, reshape or replace it, but instead I went with a lower velocity ammo. in a mag case think 44 special +P+. It still has a good deal of authority and I don't bleed after shooting it!

Ivan

I agree with Ivan in that it’s your gun, so dress it up as how it brings you the most joy and pride of ownership. A mirror polish can be achieved at home with a little time, mother’s mag or Flitz, elbow grease and polishing pads, for far less money than sending it in, but that’s your call. A topic search will turn up plenty of threads on home polishing jobs. Grips are a whole other story. Sounds like maybe you would like some faux ivory or even stag? Personally, I like dark grips on stainless but many prefer the opposite. Lots of choices out there in light colored woods. Birds eye maple perhaps? Check out Culina or Ahrends stocks.

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Oui Chef!

Welcome to the forum PI.
You got it for all of the right reasons, now dress it up to meet your desires. You are getting sound advice from knowledgeable people, and I am sure there will be more.

I also agree with Ivan. I had a couple 65 Lady Smiths, and hated the bead blast finish. Polished one up, and removed the Lady Smith etching. I may have ruined any collector value, but my daughter can worry about that when I'm dead.

Wow, great advice! Thanks for all the responses.

That picture of the Lady Smith is exactly what I had in mind. Now imagine the exact same thing in N frame... it's about as far as you can get from the modern, lightweight, plasticky aesthetic.

I think I'll hold off until I have at least a couple thousand rounds through it. First I have to prove to myself that I will even be able to shoot it that much. Then, when I've "proven myself" to the gun, I'll make it mine.

The reason I was so worried about the value was that I felt guilty even buying it, so I needed to justify it by telling myself that I could always turn around and get back all the money I paid. "I'm not really buying a gun, I'm just borrowing it from the Gun World for a time."

Having been raised in a hyper-thrifty and fiercely anti-gun environment has left its mark on my thought process, even at my old age.

Thanks again, fellows. I'm going to start another thread about the experience of overcoming (gradually) a lifetime of anti-gun indoctrination. Let me tell you, it's really an anti-gun OWNER ideology.

And yeah, I'm going to get some black rubber grips. I saw some Pachmayrs that look like they cover up the whole backstrap.

How come most grips leave the metal exposed? It seems like that defeats the purpose of rubber grips.

Anyway, thanks again, and feel free to comment on my other thread about leaving the anti-2A world.

I recently bought the same gun as your’s and I am delighted with it. I took it with me on my camping trip last week in bear county and was comforted by it’s presence.

Last autumn my wife and I were awakened in our tent about 3 AM by a bear attacking the campground dumpster about 100 feet from our tent. With no luck on the bear-proof dumpster, the bear tore off several pieces of siding from the adjacent restroom building. Fortunately the bear left us alone in our tent but I was comforted to have my short barreled 629PC ready just in case. Now I bring my 629 Deluxe camping and save the PC gun for bedside. I reload so for home defense I load to what I would call a 44 special +P level. I feel confident that this is a fight stopper but I am concerned that it is still rather loud for indoor use.

Regarding polishing S&W, my opinion is the world is divided in 2 types of people. Those who like the look of polished revolvers and those that don’t. I am in the latter category however my best range buddy is in the former. It is quite easy to polish your revolver yourself but it is rather difficult to restore an original type finish to your revolver after it has been polished. So be aware that polishing your revolver will reduce its value for a significant number of people. If it’s what you want however, you should read the many threads on this forum how to do it.

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Accuracy supercedes Speed

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Hand size, some folks have short stubby fingers and some have huge hands, if you cover the back strap it ultimately places the stubby trigger finger farther back from the trigger surface, big handed guys don't have that problem and may prefer a larger grip.

Don't worry about recoil, get a set of VZ tactical diamonds, mine have no finger grooves, and a aggressive, grippy diamond pattern, which ever color you prefer for your revolvers taste, not having finger grooves allows you to "choke up" your grip, which helps me alot.

I think we too often get wrapped up in getting a few hundred dollars in value back from a firearm. Nothing wrong with that philosophy but how often do we buy sub $500 or $1000 items knowing we'll never see a penny of it back? Electronics, yard equipment, things for one hobby or another and so on.

So, firearms aren't really consumable goods, but it's not always about getting your money back out of them. To me, anyway. A couple hundred dollars sent on some modification that you'll never get back is really not much different than buying whatever device a person is reading this message on.

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Just Say No - To Social Media

I don’t buy guns to make money on them at some future date. I buy them for enjoyment or for personal and home defense. For enjoyment, it’s your gun, do what makes you happy. Keep paperwork and original box and you will most likely brake even. I have a polished Ruger Security Six that I love to shoot for fun. My home and personal defense guns are bone-stock and I don’t customize or modify those. Guns to me are tools and each have their purpose. But some of my revolvers are just for my enjoyment. I found a mint, not fired S&W Mod 36 when I bought it. I shoot it today for enjoyment. I bought a new 442 Pro Series that is a pocket gun for personal defense and that gun I train regularly and carry daily in a pocket holster. Life is short, guns are meant to be fired and enjoyed.


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I like the 3” 629 for ccw and woods carry, and they’re sexy, especially with a nice polish job. Hers my 627-0 with a factory polished finish - brought it back to the original condition. Cost me $140. Practicality and value are what you determine it to be. It’s your gun, just do what makes you happy.

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Me likes em shiney. This was a beat up turn-in gun so there is no real value issue. It's actually easier to get a high polish than a nice even brushed finish.

My 617 was also a good deal when I bought it because the side plate was scratched up. I tuned it up and used it as a competition gun. I also tried to restore the side plate to original finish but I found it easier to just polish the whole gun. I also added my logo just for fun and it has gone from just a working tool to one of my favorites in my collection.

I get more enjoyment from it than I did before when I go to shooting matches. I don't care if the resale value might go down, it's nothing like the value you loose when you drive a new car off the lot. I say make it your own and be happy.



I also think it is much easier to clean after a match, the powder marks seem to wipe off easy.

Only a collector will know what the gun came from the factory looking like.Most gun shops will look at the gun and see a gun that is in good shape,not beat up,all the parts are there.So if you're buying it to use and enjoy, have it polished or polish it if you want to.If you're buying it as a future investment, leave it the way the factory sent it out.

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1st smiles,lies.Last,gunfire.

I guess it is like the old folks in the 50's bought couches that wanted and then put clear plastic covers on them.then when the they passed the kids threw out the couch with the plastic covers on it . You bought it because you wanted it, use it ,and take care of it .ENJOY IT

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age is just a number

Crazy bout the glimmer. Wish S&W had made a 586 Snub in nickel finish...but they didn't. The 686 polished stainless was my option. Pictured is the 686 high polished by the guy I purchased it from. He said he used a buffing wheel and jewelers rouge.
Good Luck on which ever way you go.
You mentioned putting a couple 1000 rounds thru the 629. Sure hope you plan to spread that over a period of time. Your 3" with 44 mags packs a heck of a punch.
Enjoy and have a blast with your new Big Boy Toy!

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I have the the same gun. I loved the looks of the original rosewood grips, but they were inadequate for controlling the recoil of full load .44 magnums.
I bought the gun as a woods gun for bear country, not a BBQ display piece so I ended up replacing the grips with a set of Pachmyer Diamond Pro grips. They're not bad looking for rubber grips and they cover the back strap with a shock-absorbing chamber. They make a huge difference when shooting magnum rounds.

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Would you say that waxing (as opposed to polishing) also highlights imperfections on a blue revolver?