So, I bought this on a "buy it now" whim from Gunbroker. The nickel finish on the end of the barrel and the cylinder is quite worn. This was obviously carried quite a bit in a holster. However the bore and mechanics are excellent.

I bought this for not a lot of money. And it fills a niche in my collection! (I've always wanted a nickel 3 inch .357 magnum).

The seller indicated that this was used at an Air Force Base, but as they say, buy the gun not the story!

Now, the 275 dollar question, do I send this back to the mother ship to be renickeled? I do plan to carry it periodically. I'm not worried about hurting the value by having it refinished.

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Here are a few more photos of the ugly girl...

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Nice!! If it goes bang when you pull the trigger then its all good...

A tube of Flitz and an old tee shirt with some elbow grease on your part and that nickle finish will stand right up!

Nice revolver.

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SWCA #2420

I don't believe that S&W will refinish nickel guns any longer Apparently, the chemicals are toxic and they don't feel it's worth the money to upgrade/replace the equipment.

Doesn't mean you shouldn't call the factory, because I'm sure that there are people here who will want to know.

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Can open, worms everywhere.

That's a good point. I'll call them next week. As for now, they're still listing it as a service on their website.

Damn that's nice!

There’s no such thing as an ugly 3” 13!

^^^ Yep !
Nickel, worn, if only it could talk. I'd leave it as it is and be proud to own it.

A lil holster wear is a beautiful thing.

That gun is screaming, "Carry me!"

That's a good looking gun. I would leave the finish as it is.

I have a nickel 29-2 with the same type of wear. I like the fact that I can use it the way it was intended with no worries about the finish.

Alright guys, I'm probably going to leave it as is. Next question, what is the likelihood that this was used by any law enforcement agency?

I'd call that a bit more than "holster wear".


OP:

I'd be tempted to get that redone if S&W would do it. Otherwise I would leave it as is, or maybe polish it up a bit.

It may have been carried by an AP member on base???
No way I'd refinish it at this point. Carry it as is, like it was meant to be used.

Greater likelihood that is an ex LEO gun then the USAF story. I would think more security guard pool gun because LEO generally take better care of their issued and private owned carry pieces.

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S&W factory revolver armorer

Ain't no such thing as an ugly M13!!! My Blue & My nickle M13 3" RB s are the best balanced & best shooting Smiths I own. Probably the best balanced .357 ever.

-don

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SWCA LM#2190 SWHF#414

Clean, polish, carry, shoot.

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213th FBINA

You referred to a “$275question.” If that’s what you paid for it you got a great deal regardless of condition.

Thankfully, it was not much more than that amount. The "275" refers to what Smith and Wesson is quoting on their site for a refinish in Nickel.

Another vote to NOT re-finish. You will be paying money to make it look worse and lower its value.

IF some of that wear is actually corrosion, I'd be inclined toward a refinish. Elsewise, I'm inclined to weigh-in with the leave-it-alone crowd. As to refinish, hard-chrome, NP3, or DLC/Boron Carbide.

I inquired some time ago to S&W amount a nickel refinish and was told that nickel was no longer available. Should you change your mind and want the 13 refinished, contact Ford’s in Crystal River, Florida. They do beautiful nickel as well as blue finishes.

Given the flaking and other loss of the plating, I would not be surprised if it has already been refinished. I have not seen a modern S & W nickel gun appear this way - worn, yes, but not with missing patches.

If your intent is to carry it, I would polish, wax and enjoy. S & W still lists nickel refinishing on their website, and if they still do this and you want to redo it that is the way I would proceed. Good luck in your decision.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

The 3" K is a cult object, you can justify almost any expense for one.
Options:
As is for economy.
Refinish nickel for pretty.
Hard chrome for "Hard Use."

You could polish it, wax it, then carry it.
That finish is very worn, looks like there is some pitting, and some of the sharp edges on the cylinder flutes are worn and rounded. I kind of doubt that this one would be easy to bring back to the factory, polished nickel finish. You might want to consider NP3 or hard chrome over a bead blasted surface as an aftermarket finish. Either one would produce a satin finish that will be highly resistant to wear and corrosion.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

Thank you everyone for your input. I've decided to leave it as is for now, as I am not very much money into it and its mechanically superb.

IF I do decide to refinish it, I'll do it in the original nickel and send it to Ford's - here is why: My FFL is also a very good friend, I woke up to a text from him telling me I could use their dealer account with Fords and have it done at their cost. His in-house gunsmith stated "This was carried a ton but rarely fired."

Regarding what appears to be pitting on the cylinder, its actually not pitted, per se, but those are individual flecks spots of deep finish loss. The edges of the flutes are not sharp, very astute eye! If it were pitted I would be inclined to put a NOS nickel cylinder on it if I could find one (maybe a model 19 cylinder?)

This begs the question: What must one do over a period of 38 years in order to cause such wear as this on a revolver? Was this repeatedly in and out of a holster ? Have any of you seen one in the same shape, and if so, what caused it?

(Here are more pics, sorry for the ****** camera quality)

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Ugly? Never!

Leave it the way it is, shoot the heck out of it, and let your kids or grandkids decide what to do with it after you are gone.

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Only a cold warrior

I think it's perfect just the way it is.

Not seeing any pitting in the pics, like you said. I would give it a light Flitz treatment and I expect that will make it look quite a bit better. Then just shoot the heck out of it.

I'd do Flitz and wax too. You might find some or all of the roughness comes off. I have a mdl.38 Airweight J with the same finish. Range/LGS owner who I bought it from said he thought it might have been exposed to salt air for a long time. Said try Flitz, and gave me a good price on it. It cleaned up well.

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Heavily armed old man.

If you do have it refinished I think it would look outstanding with a satin hard chrome finish of some kind, and add an orange insert to the front sight.

Correct. I contacted them last winter about refinishing a Model 19. They're not doing that work.

Id have to wear the rest of the finish off before i thought about having it redone. Its fine as is and you dont have to worry about scratching it up.

Many replies say use Flitz but on the bottle is states specifically NOT to use it on Electroplated metal!!! I don't know, I don't have any nickel plated guns to try to ruin.

This caught my interest because the person I bought it from said it was used at a US Installation in the Caribbean. There may be no way to know without lettering it.

Congratulations! I think that it's beautiful just the way it is.

Nice piece. It needs a Tyler T grip adapter and you are done!

shoot it, carry it and keep it running. You done fine.

Fords re blued a 586 for me that was damaged by the previous owner who etched their SS # and initials on the side plate, bottom of the trigger guard and ffffn cylinder. I got it cheap for that reason. Fords did a great job.






its now my back up blue pimped comp piece

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if you're gonna be a bear...

I'm very impressed that Fords didn't ruin the letters and markings !

I stoned off the etchings on the cylinder and trigger guard. The side plate was too deep and Fords did that for me. I would not hesitate to use them again.

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if you're gonna be a bear...

Sweet piece. I'd keep it as-is. I don't think I'd ever get rid of my M13 3".

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SWCA 3563
10mm aficionado