Yes, there is a cut off date before which Smith will not accept a firearm for refinishing but I'm not sure what it is. When I sent my 1963 Mod 36 back for refinishing last year I was told I just made the cut off. A person at customer service told me it was because they don't have parts for many of the old firearms and, as you know, they don't like to ship a firearm back with bad parts in it.