Hello everyone. I'm a first-timer and am pleased to be here.
There is much to be learned in this forum.
My tale of woe is what I did to my lovely pre-Model 15 Combat Masterpiece. In an effort to ease cleaning, I had taken to removing the cylinder from a revolver I'm cleaning, doing the patch and brush routine, then spraying it down with Gun Scrubber. In an effort to reduce the wails of anguish from my wife with regard to the particular scents of my cleaners, I take the cylinder outside and spray it there. One day, I was stricken with a case of stone hands. The cylinder of my Combat Masterpiece slipped from my fingers and landed.............. on concrete. Two areas on the cylinder now have a bunch of little "impact pits".
My question is, what would you guys and gals do to rectify?
Refinish? Replace cylinder? Leave it alone as a reminder of my foolishness? Thanks for listening.

A photo would be most helpful, but if the damage is not very obvious I'd vote to leave it alone and chalk it up to experience.

__________________
Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

I guess it comes down to how much it bothers you. If it keeps you up at night, send it off. If you can live with it, leave it be. I'd give it a few days before a decision though, might not look so bad after you've gotten over the initial sickness of dropping your beloved heater on the concrete.

__________________
Get off my lawn.

Want to sell it?

medxam

__________________
Doc Garrett
Dead Man's Doctor

I vote with Jframe.

Assuming it is only minor cosmetic blems, after a few days it won't seem so bad.

Did you ever paint a ceiling, and for 4 days stew over the two spots with paint too thin. Then you failed to notice it ever again?

And it can certainly serve as a dofus reminder

__________________
Incoming fire has right of way

If it's that bad and it does keep you up at night (I can understand the feeling), if you still think it's a problem after a few days, why don't you investigate replacing the cylinder? It might not be cheap or easy, but it would give you peace of mind. I wouldn't think refinishing would help. And might make things worse.

take a small brass hammer and litghtly tap all the ruff places until it feels smooth and get some good touch up blueing, if you have a magnifying glass you will be able to see which way the metal was pushed and tap it back in the direction it was dinged.

If it bothered me even in the slightest, I would not be able to live with the negative energy. Life is way too short to have something bother you daily.

Take the cylinder to a good used car dealer. They do wonders for messed up stuff.

Get it refinished if it really bothers you, then show your wife the bill and tell her you're not taking it outside anymore because stuff like this can happen. My wife used to complain when I clean guns here at my computer desk, but I told her that this is my area and she has the rest of the house to find something else to do. She then went to her area, the kitchen. Yep, then she made broccoli casserole because she knows I hate the smell of it. It all works out

__________________
386NG, M&P R8, M&P40c, 460 XVR

I know your pain. I have this very nice Browning Citori Sporting Clays that I leaned against my workbench when I took it out of the case to clean it when returning from the range. As I turned around to get some cleaning equipment, it "slid" down the edge of the bench and as I grabbed for it, it hit the concrete floor. It has the little "impact pits" and the top barrel was bent in enough the choke tube was difficult to remove. Gun was only a month old and one of the few guns I ever bought "new". That was about 7 years ago and now I don't even see the marks. I took a tapered round wedge (the ball end of a ball peen hammer) and gently tapped it into the barrel end which made the barrel end correctly round again. I've put probably 10,000 rounds through it since and it just has that well cared for, pre-loved look.

It's kind of like the first scratch/dent on that "new car".

__________________
H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

.........................to all for your responses. Just for giggles, I'm considering contacting S&W's service people and getting some estimates. What is more likely, though, as several of you recommended, is I'll leave the revolver "as is" and continue enjoying it. Living with one's mistakes usually ensures they won't be repeated.

Congrats , now you have a little reminder from the screw-up fairy's visit . I would maybe smoth it a bit as a previous poster suggested . The new Birch wood Casey supper blue is a vastly improved product if you want to put just a touch . Pack it shoot it and be glad you didn't wreck your brand new BMW 2002 on the day you bought it like I did .

__________________
Idaho , Elmer and Milt

You think a lot like me.
My bride got used to me in a hurry. I clean my guns at the kitchen table. Well, I bought the damn table !!

I haven't used the kitchen table because she knows this is MY area. The only place in the house you'll see a tin sign with a Farmall M having a tug-o-war with a John Deere G, a die-cast '69 Charger Daytona, and random gun stuff (Pachmayr grip here, SKS stripper clips there, etc.). I got one area so I'm not going to try to get greedy, I don't want to be moved out to the building in the backyard

__________________
386NG, M&P R8, M&P40c, 460 XVR