Bought an ugly Colt

[hachabrava]

Hello folks:

So... The other day I picked up an ugly, beat up .38 Special Colt Cobra. According to the S/N, it dates back to 1974. It was cheap enough, and the mechanics seem to be alright. I have not shot it yet.

AFAIK, the little bugger has an aluminum alloy frame with nickel plating. Looking here and there I've read that there are not a whole lot of refinishing options available, and the few that are out there would cost about three times or more what I paid for it.

This is not a collectible gun or anything. I bought it to shoot the heck out of it. What could I do with it, finish-wise? My only interest is protecting it from rust and such, with no regard to what the option I pick may do to its value.

I'm considering Duracoat as an option. Is there anything else out there I should keep in mind? Should I just leave it as is?

I'll post a few pics soon. Please do chime in.

Greets,
~hachabrava

Edit: Pictures added.

 

[Engineer1911]

Aluminum doesn't rust.

 

[jimmyj]

Hi:
With the condition I observe, I would used/shoot it "As Is".

 

[hachabrava]

Aluminum doesn't rust.

Welp... The more you know.
Thanks for educating me.

 

[GF]

That's a fine carry piece as is.

Stick that in a good leather holster and show your semi-auto packin' friends.

I bet they'll look it over & ask, "youwanna' sell it!?!"

GF

 

[arjay]

If you really don't like the wear,duracoat it.

 

[Cpo1944]

I`d leave it as is , but if you just can`t stand it ,a coat of Krylon might be all it needs. Just imagine all of the potential colors or combinations of colors you could do, even a rainbow if you had a mind to.

 

[Smitty357]

Looks better than any pretty Glock I ever seen in my life.

 

[deadin]

Aluminum doesn't rust.

But it corrodes. Especially out here on the coast....

 

[Wyatt Burp]

Are you nuts?!!! Do nothing to it! It is fine as is. Refinishing is just you paying to make a gun unoriginal. I wish I found a Colt Detective Special like that around here in that condition. Got a Cobra already. You have a very nice gun. Your S&Ws will be jealous.

 

[shouldazagged]

The wear tells a story, and you can have the fun of writing it in your head. Maybe it was carried in a thigh holster by a gorgeous femme fatale...

Doesn't need a thing, in my opinion, but it's your shooter.

 

[S&WIowegan]

The way the gun is now, I'd say just leave it as is and use it. Even Duracoat needs a stable clean surface to adhere to. If you spend money to strip it down first you're in for too much money.

 

[BigCityChief]

The wear tells a story, and you can have the fun of writing it in your head. Maybe it was carried in a thigh holster by a gorgeous femme fatale...

Doesn't need a thing, in my opinion, but it's your shooter.

I absolutely agree. BTW, there are no ugly Colts IMHO!

 

[palmetto99]

Looks good to me. Keep it as and shoot that sucker.

 

[hachabrava]

The wear tells a story, and you can have the fun of writing it in your head. Maybe it was carried in a thigh holster by a gorgeous femme fatale...

Doesn't need a thing, in my opinion, but it's your shooter.

I guess you are right. As the consensus seems to be just that, I'll leave it as is. And yes, the gun does have a story, but I do not know it.

I don't think you can tell from the pictures, but there's a year 1980 case number dremeled into the frame by PR Institute of Forensic Sciences technicians. I was thinking of having it removed if I refinished it, but maybe I'll have the court archivist pull up the file for me, find out what happened with it instead.

Thanks to all for your opinions and suggestions. You've been most helpful.

 

[Bruce51]

Aluminum does need protection.

Has anyone had one of these frames anodized?

Any metal finishing shop could probably strip the finish and apply an anodize.

Maybe someone can chime in about cost and durability.

Bruce

 

[arjay]

Have a compressor? Get a cheap airbrush,some duracoat,take that baby apart and have some fun.

 

[Fishslayer]

Looks better than any pretty Glock I ever seen in my life.

Don't believe I've actually seen one of those....

...some of the guys on another forum I go to fill in the roll marks with crayon and stick slide caps with cartoon characters on 'em though...

 

[Maximumbob54]

I think she's beautiful.

Unless you live at the beach and think you are going to leave it on the back porch all the time then an oily rag wipe down from time to time will keep the rust buggers at bay.

 

[JJEH]

Looks good. Leave it as is and shoot the hell out of it