I acquired a Model 10 from a police trade in. Actually it was used withing the State corrections. I had to pick through a few in the counter checking lockup / timing and end shake. I found the one I liked without any rust or pitting. Some were really abused / neglected. The only thing "wrong" with this one is that the prison etched their tracking number on it under the trigger guard and the bluing is heavily holster worn.

Wanting to make this as new or at least really clean and nice looking, I have been comparing the different refinish options. I have Duracoated in the past but I think it's too thick for this project, looks dipped inplastic. I started to look over Brownells Oxpho bluing process and it seemed promising but The rep suggested GunKote.

What do you think? I want a nice clean looking gun with an even finish with plenty of years left to shoot. I also am looking to practice some skills on it as I go. Keep in mind, Home workshop, hand tools, and no aceess to hot bluing.

On a second note. I saw a mention in a thread about swapping the cylinder on a Model 10 and it being capable of .357. Can I fit a hand and Model 13 cylinder, thus creating a franken-gun in .357mag?

Badge54

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Badge54

Blue Wonder is a system that seems to give a good, uniform, wear-resistant blue.

Home Page Blue Wonder Gun Care Products - Cleaner, Bluing and Protection

It's not exactly a cold blue as it involves heating the parts with a hair dryer, but it's within the capabilities of home refinishers.

When I recently reclaimed a Colt M1917 from the dead, I fully disassembled the gun to work on it, and then I gave the parts to a local gunsmith to hot blue. Since he didn't have to disassemble/reassemble the gun, he didn't charge much for the reblue (about $45 in my case). That may be another course of action if you so choose. I bead blasted that gun since the finish was fairly rough, and the final product was quite shooter-acceptable.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/attachm...1&d=1326489229

Insofar as changing caliber to .357, I wouldn't do it. The .357 K-frames have a strengthened frame compared to the .38's, but even the .357 frames wear out fairly fast when fed a steady diet of hot loads.

Good luck with your project,

Buck

Attached Images

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Thank you, forget the idea of swapping cylinder's, it was just a thought. I will just load them a little hot and be satisfied.

I have heard of Blue Wonder. I really want that smooth buttery deep gloss look of Blue. Lots of polishing to do.

Badge54

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Badge54

I use the Oxphoblue from Midway. I heat the parts and it works fine. A light buffing with 0000 steel wool brings out a nice gloss. It usually take a few applications. Nothing beats a nice hot blue though and its not as expensive as you might think. Around here, its about $125.00 for a revolver.

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Cliff

On most cold blues, a little heat with a heat gun applied before bluing works wonders for the bluing. No cold blue, whatever method is used to apply will look like factory finish though. It'll still look good.

If you have the patience, the time and a place to do it, rust blue is an option. The only special equipment you need is a burner and something a little larger than the gun to boil water in.

American Gunsmithing Institute AGI310 Video goes into complete detail on how to do this.

I believe Oxpho-blue is proprietary to Brownell's.

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NRA Benefactor

Nix the thoughts of conversion to .357 magnum. The magnum models are heat-treated to a greater degree and you will run into trouble with excessive wear and headspacing. I tried this in the 80's when I worked for a gunsmith and he advised against it. I should have listened to him. There were no catastrophic failures but it was not satisfactory. Save yourself the grief and forget about it.

I don't want to spend 125..+ on a 200$ revolver. If I found someone close I could drop off a disassembled and polished for hot bluing that might be an option.
But.
I really wanted to do this myself.

No one has tried Gun Kote? I know its not blue... but if blue wont come out perfect I am curious about this.

Badge54
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Badge54

You make a very good point about the investment part. However, you fail to realize that in very short order the stock of turn in Smith & Wessons will dry up. In a year, your gun could easily be worth $100 more, even if you did nothing. In a couple 3 or 4 years your guns value could double. Personally, I would have a hard time buying a used painted revolver without some sort of assurance that it was sufficently high tech and professionally done. Some guy in his garage with an aerosol can just wouldn't cut it for me. Painted semi-autos of late seem to be accepted in the marketplace. Revolvers, much less so, unless they were painted by the manufacturer. At least with something like Dura Coat you know someone made the investment of an air brush and all that goes with it. I have painted guns using the high tech equivalent of their respective eras. And while they can look good and can be durable it depends on the specific application and quality of prep & workmanship.

Painting a revolver that would normally appear blue or stainless is asking to devalue your gun. Unless you have a specific non economic reason, like camoflage. Even then, it would take "just the right person" to come along to appreciate it.

But to answer your question. Yes, I've used the Gun-Kote as marketed by Brownell's. 20 years ago it was one of the best coatings that was available for the home tinkerer. Today, I think there are better options. If it were me, I'd try the cold blues first. Something like Oxpho-blue, 44-40 or even Birchwood Casey cold blue. There are many others, but I haven't tried them. I would use the heat gun method of application. Youtube has a bunch of methods chronicled. Second, I would get an electric or propane single burner hotplate and a pyrex or stainless steel pan big enought to hold your biggest part and try rust bluing. Although tricky to do, rust bluing will increase the value of your gun beyond just factory type bluing. Some potential buyers recognise and appreciate rust bluing over factory hot caustic bluing. Third, well there wouldn't be a third for me. I would not take my gun to be blued to just anybody. I seen gorgeous guns come from some gunsmiths shops just as many that I've seen destroyed coming from gunsmiths shops.

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NRA Benefactor

Slow rust bluing? I have time on my hands right now. What products do you recommend?

I get the whole "worth more... worth less..." but the fact is its abused and wont be a collector with the wear and markings put on by prisons system...

It will only be worth what someone will pay for it "if" I sell it!

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Badge54

I've never seen a painted revolver that looked like something I would give even a hint of thought to owning.

Worse comes to worse you could parkerize it. That's easy enough to do in the garage.

Brownells & Midway both sell Pilkington rust blue. For an equally good looking but slightly less durable rust bluing is the Mark Lee Express rust bluing. It's advantage is more immediate gratification. With traditional rust bluing solutions you pretty much let the ambient atmosphere create the rust. Each application will take several hours to create the rust. Depending on your ambient humidity you could easily do 2 layers a day. You'll need at least 6 layers with as many as 12 layers. With the Mark Lee product the rusting is chemically induced and almost immediate. Both methods work well. Each create a beautiful appearance. The Mark Lee is faster but less durable. BTW, one of the advantages of rust bluing is that it's far more durable & rust resistant than OEM style caustic hot bluing.

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NRA Benefactor

I bought a bottle of the Pilkington's from Midway but haven't gotten around to trying it yet (still looking for a first "victim"). It seems to get good reviews.
Classic American Rust Blue 4oz Liquid

The preparation seems a bit particular.

I just attempted Blue Wonder on a commercial Russian Makarov and the results were not pretty. I polished the gun up nicely and believe that I followed the instructions. Still, I ended up with a blotchy finish. Now, I will fully admit that this is just my experience and others might have better luck with it. I just finished Duracoating it a couple of hours ago and it looks okay. I wouldn't Duracoat a nice S&W, although I do have two nicely parkerized ones.