I'm in the process of restoring a S&W Model 539....the 2nd generation, blued, all carbon steel version of the single-stack 39-2. Overall, the old pistol was in pretty good condition when I found it, with both original magazines and all the paperwork, but the original blued finish had been badly neglected over the years, and it had a noticeable problem with the trigger action and pull.

The original bluing was nearly gone; it had a lot of surface scratches and blemishes everywhere, rust and pitting had formed on and under numerous surfaces and parts. The original wood grips had been replaced with some ugly aftermarket rubber things at some point in the 539's life. The gun shot great, but it looked really tired and worn out.

The gun's machined surfaces and edges were uncomfortably sharp, somewhat crude and in definite need of attention, particularly the areas around the trigger guard, the trigger itself, the magazine well opening, the hammer surfaces, all the edges of the slide and tang, the ejection port, the rear sight "ears", the edges at the muzzle end of the slide and barrel bushing. All these areas received a lot of attention....carefully hand-smoothing and polishing the various metal surfaces and easing all the sharp edges, while removing as much of the original blued finish as possible. Naturally, the gun was completely stripped, making the process a lot easier.

Luckily, the rubber grips had protected the glossy black aluminum backstrap/mainspring housing for all the years it had been on the gun. The black alloy insert's checkering looked brand new, as did the smooth frontstrap surface. I put on a new set of S&W logo walnut grip panels, along with four new grip screws.

There was something wrong with the 539's trigger action and pull. The DA pull was very rough and uneven, with a definite hitch in the trigger pull just before the hammer released. With advice from Fastbolt, I narrowed it down to a faulty trigger bar. I replaced the original trigger bar (apparently worn out in several areas, or broken) with a new one. I also replaced the hammer mainspring and trigger return spring with reduced power units from Wolff GS. After replacing these parts, and polishing the internal surfaces, the pistol's trigger action felt new again.

While I was at it, I replaced the recoil spring, the firing pin and spring and the extractor. I also polished the barrel hood and feed ramp, replaced the trigger pin as well as replacing a few other small parts that probably didn't need it. Now, after the entire pistol has been restored, I am in need of suggestions for a proper finish.

Restoring the original blued finish, with all bright polished flats and rounds on the frame and slide, and dull matte rounds along the top and rear of the slide and sighting surfaces, would probably be the best way to go to bring the gun back to its original glory. Still, hot blued finishes always wear out and show wear too quickly. I thought about having the entire gun hard-chromed, or nickel plated. (Had it been a SS 639, instead of the carbon steel version, I'd be done now.) A black chrome finish would be nice, if I could find someone to do it. I'm not a big fan of painted finishes, or the dull tactical look, but something unusual would be nice.

Any suggestions?

Very pretty. I have a nickeled one and just missed a blued one. I'd go for the original hi-gloss blue and matt blue where appropriate. You've put too much into restoring the gun not to go first class the rest of the way.

I'd love to see one of these finished by Turnbull in Charcoal Blue, with Carbonia controls...maybe even Sambar stag grips

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45.acp-why shoot twice.

Dark blue or Nickel would be the best IMO but it Doesn't look bad in the raw either.
Since S&W made a SS version I would not hard chrome it and
Paint is completely out of the question.

If you go for a dark blue I believe steel replacement back straps exist and would match the finish as a thought.

A refinish will put you another $200 into it and considering clean 39's can be found for under $450 it starting to look even better in the raw.

To be honest, I think that she looks great as-is.

As Engine just said, re-finishing will put you another $200-300 into it.

I say leave her the way she is and shoot the ever-loving **** out of her!