1991 S&W 5906 - Factory Refinish and CS Experience
Several years back I bought a used S&W 5906. It’s a 1991 model, with the flash-chromed hammer and trigger, rounded trigger guard, and Novak-style sights. It has always been one of my favorite guns.
It was fairly clean inside, but the finish - particularly on the slide - was scratched and worn from use when I acquired it. I had it for several years in such condition before I ultimately decided it needed a makeover. In October of 2023, I sent it to S&W for a bead-blast factory refinish.
Dealing with the wait time, payment, and ultimately the return shipping with S&W was a headache and a half; their customer service department gave conflicting timelines and answers, failed to charge my card when I provided it to them, and only communicated with me if I called to request a status update. In fact, my gun sat ready to be returned for nearly a month as my card had never been charged the first time they received the info. Once I learned this (via snail mail) and called back to charge my card again for the work, they actually sent the charge through. My gun then sat for almost another full month (and nearly a dozen calls to their customer service department) before they finally shipped it back to me. My experience was a poor one overall and I caution you if you must do any kind of PC work on any of your guns. It will take a very long time, you will be left in the dark every step of the way, and the customer service team will not be helpful.
Fast forward to last week: I finally got the gun shipped back after forwarding my dissatisfaction to management. For as much of a pain as the entire experience was, the gun looks brand new! Not a scratch or ding in sight and you’d think it was fresh out of its blue cardboard box. I’m excited to cause new marks of my own over the years!
But as one final middle finger to me - S&W reinstalled the magazine disconnect safety, which I remove from all of my 3rd Gens. I did not request that they to do this, I did not tell them it was absent, and I am quite displeased that they took it upon themselves to do so when it was sent to them purely for a refinish job…but I’m sure I’d get some excuse regarding liability if I called to complain. Had I known that would even be noticed, I’d have specifically stated I didn’t want it re-installed.
To wrap things up: it’s a 50/50 experience! My 5906 has definitely been restored to its original glory and it remains one of my favorite autos. The whole event was quite the fiasco though. If you have 6-9 months of patience, a calm demeanor for your many phone calls, and about $175 saved up, give your 3rd Gen a makeover!
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