Late last year a member on my deer lease asked that I look
for him a shooter Python. Found one.
He passed on the before pic at 8 Bens.

I had a little less than that in it so I decided to ship it Fords.
Pleased how it turned out.

Wow, now it’s too nice to shoot ��

That’s beautiful, Xfuzz. Congrats!

You chose wisely

Ford's has always done very good work

Dang, well done.

WOW What an awesome refinishing. In my opinion that refinishing is way better than leaving it with a beater finish.

That's really nicely done.

Anyone have an opinion on having Ford's refinish a gun versus sending it back to S&W for refinishing? I have two or three I'd like to clean up, nickel and blue, all snubbie revolvers.

I guess this is as good a place to ask as any, right?

I think the Smiths should back to S&W.
Likely less expensive and faster turnaround.

I have no personal experience with Ford’s but see they do nice work.

The current factory reblue is more black than blue-black, so the more modern (mid-80s or later) the gun is the closer the finish will appear to original. Also, the more polished the metal is the nicer the refinish will turn out.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

I reckon that's what I will do.............

That is totally dependent on what needs to be done

If the firearm being refinished has good metal and requires no cosmetic restoration, just a re-blue . . . then the Factory is a fine choice.

However, Ford's is capable of turning around guns that you thought would never be pretty again

With firearms that need to be polished to the point that the roll marks get subdued, I have seen Fords re-cut the markings on the firearm with beautiful results.

Fords also offers several different styles of blue to match the era the firearm was from or to produce a truly exceptional show piece

Ford's also does some truly outstanding nickel work.

Just because they are the factory, does not mean they are the best at doing a particular job

Even Smith and Wesson sent guns out for finishing. . . .The Heritage Editions were sent to Doug Turnbull for color case hardening

That’s quite an impressive job Ford’s performed. Did they do any cosmetic work like weld and smooth pitting beforehand?

The factory is not capable these days to match a Ford's refinish.Either blue or nickel .

Ford’s did 2 for me, a Colt Lawman and a Colt Commando. The Lawman was in pretty bad shape, and someone had nickel plated the Commando. Fords Master Blue on the Lawman, and parkerize on the Commando. I am very Happy with the results!

One item of note, and I see the same thing happened to the Python. The cylinder latch on these Colts was investment cast, and turned plum. I found a NIB latch for it, problem solved.

Ford’s just re-blued the latch at no charge, it’s in the mail but I haven’t seen it yet.

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Danny
SWCA #3370 - SWHF #672

Senior, look at the website and the Ford’s Gallery before you decide, they have several different finish options.

Having said that, you already know to NEVER trust an even numbered Chief.

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Danny
SWCA #3370 - SWHF #672

I have has two S&W Revolver refinished at "Fords" in the last months. The bill was BREATH TAKING ! I wish now I had sent them back to S&W. The work would have been as good and about 50% less.

Is it rude to ask Fords price?

$375.00 and $55.00 to re-stamp the pony.
Turnaround 3 months 2 days.

I paid $325 for the Master Blue on my Lawman, that’s their top of the line bluing. $175 to parkerize the Commando, and the stripping was included. I just looked at their price sheet, it’s $200 to parkerize now.

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Danny
SWCA #3370 - SWHF #672

I think that three or four hundred is a fair price for an accurate and specialized job. Quality is priceless: now we know why Pythons & Co were so expensive

"Having said that, you already know to NEVER trust an even numbered Chief. "
Well, I was a SCPO for 8 years before making MCPO....
BTW, what ever the price, I like the finish on the snake....

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Only difference Fool/Mule-ears

Wow! That beater Python turned out great! It looks like a brand new, Royal Blue Python. As for the price that Ford's charges, I would consider it to be reasonable for a high end firearm such as a Colt Python. For a run of the mill, bazillions of them made type firearm, I'd go with a local gunsmith or send it to the factory.

That Python is beautiful.

To those considering sending their gun to S&W for a reblue: my 29-10 suffered from a broken trigger pin so went back to S&W under warranty. They replaced the pin and reblued the gun. It was beautiful, but less than a year later the bluing started to flake off the cylinder. They are tiny little flakes, but certainly noticeable if you examine the gun. I do carry it frequently so suspect it's due to friction with the holster. I don't feel like I can complain too much since it was a free reblue, but if I had paid and waited two months I'd be furious.

I'd go with Fords.

Just an old joke Master Chief, no insult intended. I was a Senior Chief for 7 years when I retired at 23. 15 years of Navy Recruiting was enough...(any similarities between the US Navy and the US Navy Recruiting Command are purely coincidental).

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Danny
SWCA #3370 - SWHF #672

Beautiful work! Be proud of that Snake

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"lets be careful out there"