Hi Guys,

I have this poor 59 that looked like it wasn't loved a lot in its former life. The slide was rusty and pitted, the holster wear on the frame was grinding through the shiny elox or anodized layer and nearly every cavity was filled with leather fluff so that it wasn't even working very well.
Since it's a re-import via Turner Outdoor in Tucson I started working on the exterior and the slide turned out nice with doing some cold blu on it.

Question is what could be done to the frame. I'm not so much concerned about loosing the darker anodized surface but open alu surface isn't looking nice. Any ideas what to do?

Attached Images

	IMG_2300 (1).jpg (170.7 KB, 224 views)
	IMG_2301.jpg (102.3 KB, 181 views)
	tempsnip.jpg (97.5 KB, 203 views)

Honestly, I don't think it's worth an attempt. That's not just finish wear on the frame, there's a lot of actual material loss on the dust cover. I don't think it will look right no matter what you do, it'll just look different degrees of bad.

I've had a few aluminum frames re-hard coat anodized over the years. Don't think this one is a good candidate. Best enjoyed like it is.

Thanks, I think also there isn't a lot to do with it. Looked at it the last hour or so and it is what it is. Wonder what the history of it was. The wear on the frame and slide does not conform with how the barrel and chamber looked like. It was shot a lot but holstered a lot :-) and no detail cleaner ever. The main spring cavity was so full with fluff that it looked like a cat barfed into it. The rust on the slide made it look brown.

Welcome to the forum. Nice work on the slide.

I too would not settle for the frame as is. But I wouldn't do anything until all the surfaces were leveled, "cleaned" of dings and dents, sharp edges restored or given the "melt" chamfered look, and flat sanded/prepared for a refinish. Then for under $40 you can get a satin black CERAKOTE two part epoxy spray-on finish in a spray can.

Or for about the same price my preference, get it powder coated in satin black, or re-anodized in the original color. Doing all the prep yourself keeps the price way down.

__________________
Jim
S&WCA #819

Welcome to the S&W Forums!

Wow! That is one pretty well trashed Model 59, what a shame. There is no way to replace the aluminum that has been worn off and reshaping what is left of the receiver in an attempt to restore a normal looking profile is not at all advised.

Re-anodizing? Doubt any reputable gun refinishing shop is going to want to do that to such a compromised receiver. Kind of doubt they would nickle or hard chrome plate it either. In order to keep you costs low, you could sand or bead blast the receiver and paint it with KG Gunkote or Cerakote. What does the inside of the receiver look like? That anodized surface is what gives the aluminum corrosion resistance and surface hardness. If the insides are shiny aluminum, well... I'd say it's days are coming to an end.

__________________
VCDL, GOA, NRA

You might Email the photos of the frame to Weapons Works LLC in Graham NC. They do some impressive restoration work using Cerakote. Might be worth a try. Good luck! Regards 18DAI

__________________
7 +1 Rounds of hope & change

Thanks for the input. I think the wear on the dust cover is too much to really worry about. In general the frame is pretty worn, the lanyard hoop is bent also. I bought it rather for having a 59 and not as a collectible. The work on the slide was thought as a test to work over some Star Firestar that might need similar work in the slides and I was surprised it came out that good.
In general the color loss on the frame isn’t the issue, it’s more that in these areas the shine is gone. Maybe I experiment with ceracoating down the road. Something bright to have the contrast look for this.

Sand it and polish it.

You won't hurt it and it will look a lot better.

That old bunk about an aluminum frame "evaporating" because the anodizing has been removed has been repeated on the internet for years, ad nauseam.

John

How many decades old Airstream trailers in driveways, aluminum work boats in saltwater, and airframes stripped of surface coating sitting outside at airfields are still structurally sound?

Sand it, seal it, shoot it.

I understand what you are saying, but with aircraft and trailers, it's not what's on the outside or where you can easily see it that can cause major issues. Aluminum corrosion within the structure will cause a failure of the structure.

If the inside of that Model 59 receiver is still in good condition, then it should be fine, but if the insides are missing the anodizing, the receiver rails are visibly worn down, if aluminum shavings are present, it's becoming a structural issue. The anodizing on the outside is for scratch and oxidation resistance, inside, it protects the receiver from being eaten by the slide and barrel movements.

__________________
VCDL, GOA, NRA

I suggest Brownells Aluma-Hyde II.

It is a epoxy rattle-can spray paint that is applied in several thin coats. Use is simple. The first and most important step is to throughly degrease the parts with engine degreaser from your auto parts store or Walmart.

Then spray the part(s) with several light coats of Aluma-Hyde. 4 light coats is recommended.

The most difficult part is after painting let the parts hang and do not touch them for two weeks.

It is a paint which means it will change the tolerances slightly. Screw and pin holes I use the appropriate size drill bit and by hand (no drill or dremel tool) twist the bit inside the hole. Easy, pleasey.

I have used Aluma-Hyde on both steel and alloy parts for my AR-15’s and am happy with the results. I have cans for Matte Black, Dark Parkerizing and ODG and am waiting on the weather to get warm enough so I can do these projects outdoors.

The best news is it only costs $13.00 and whatever the cost of engine degreaser. Watch some videos on Youtube for how to apply it and how to screw it up.

Platers or anodizers don't care what it looks like, they just apply a finish. They'd apply a finish to Swiss cheese if it would work. But the hard chrome is a good idea if there's finish or metal worn away. It will not only add dimension but also hardness to the worn contact areas.

__________________
Jim
S&WCA #819

I had been under the mistaken impression that no one would plate an aluminum frame... I was wrong. Ron Mahovsky shows a Colt Lightweight Commander to which he has applied his Metalife™ hard chrome plating. Everyone I know who has used him has been pleased with the results.

Firearm Plating -Mahovsky's Metalife

If you can clean up your frame enough to make it look acceptable, this process will protect it and add hardness/toughness to the surface. BUT it will still showery scratch and mark you leave behind. The good news is that just having the stripped receiver treated is very reasonably priced.

Froggie

IMHO, not worth doing - too far gone. You could just sand it out and polish it up yourself and if it's half way decent when your done, you could finish it yourself with one of the spray on gun finishes or just leave it raw. I would not put any major money into it at this point.

chief38, I must respectfully disagree. Putting on any of the "Shake-N-Bake" finishes really won't add any toughness and will wear off pretty quickly. Hard chrome, OTOH, is tougher than woodpecker lips... it will actually be more wear resistant than the original anodizing. If he can get it to look halfway decent, it will look that way virtually forever. Price to do the stripped frame is well under $100.

Froggie

I have to ask do you actually know of any gun shops or otherwise that does small batch anodizing . Not sure if you’ve been around anodizing operations but parts require quite a bit of labor to build the rack that hold the whatever parts to insure proper current patch and success. Can’t imagine this being an option at all it but I could be wrong if money is no object

There are a number of gunsmiths/refinishing shops as well as S&W that offer anodizing/reanodizing of aluminum receivers. I don't know about shops that do not specialize in firearms refinishing. I know that S&W will re-anodize only once and only in the color of the original anodizing.

__________________
VCDL, GOA, NRA

At one point in time, I am sure every one of us has made a disastrous and embarrassing buying mistake. Then, we ask around or post pictures about how to turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse. Someone has to have the nerve to finally say, you can’t get there from here. Even worse, now lots of discord has been sowed arguing who’s the expert about various metal treatment processes. Maybe someone should start a Go Fund Me account to buy the OP a decent pistol so this topic can enter into obscurity