I don't entirely disagree, but I do think it's important to point out that even if it doesnt devalue the gun, it still doesn't increase the value as much as you paid to refinish it.

I think anyone thinking about refinishing these days should take a serious look at total cost of ownership. It's not that much more in most cases to buy a really nice (though probably not perfect) example of the gun in question. Then you have all the fun of owning both a pretty one and one you have no qualms about shooting the heck out of.

And believe me when I say, 1917s are guns that *need* the heck shot out of them. Something about those old pre-war N frames just puts a smile on everyone's face when they shoot them.