Stay away from Ford's Refinishing in Fl. for firearm restoration..
I sent them a original S&W 19 /2.5" for minor rust removal and Ford's totally destroyed a originall factory #19.3
Trying to work it out..
Horace & Larna Booth the original owner/operators have turned the business operation over to the "Grandkids".
They have retired. I B back with pictures and invoices... This is the 2nd attempt by Ford's to get it right after 8 months.. GO SOMEWHERE ELSE for your refinish needs.. will show outrageous prices and workmanship..God help us.... George K 472....

I can understand you being upset, however pictures would be helpful.

Yes, we definitely will be needing pics, preferably some before and some after Fords.

I have had some great work done there, and have seen much more. It's gonna take more than just say so from one person to get me to stop using them. I'm not saying that you didn't have a bad experience, but everyone has a bad go once in a while. Doesn't make it a constant. Now if a dozen or so recent customers chime in with the same story, I'll be more likely to stop using them.

Send them a $12-$1500.00 valued handgun...If you have the guts...

post some pic if you have the guts!

I’ve personally seen about a dozen guns that Fords restored for me and friends I know. Everyone came back as good and most better than expected including a couple where logos and stampings were recut. My best friend had one packed last week to send to them until he was told right now it was a 9 month turnaround. From my experience I would have no reservations in sending them a $10k gun.

I have no personal experience with Ford's, but as an active reader of this forum, I can tell you there are numerous posts about negative experiences with them in the last few years. Problems listed included side plate fit, rounded edges, degree of polish, etc. I agree pictures are warranted, but others have had problems as well.

I used to live in the Florida panhandle and have had 3 guns worked on there. They were done before 2016. That being said here are my results. The first one, a Marlin 1895 that had seen better days was refinished there and came out very nice and I was happy with it.
Sometime later they worked on my Krag sporter it had to go back twice to be corrected. In the end was exceptable and I have both of the rifles today.
The last was a nickel S&W M10 snub that had seen better days to be re-nickeled. After 3 try’s I gave up. Logo was buffed out, rollmarks looked smeared and nickel was bubbled in a few spots. I cut my losses and sold it at a loss.
I never went back after that. The owners at that time where teaching different people to do the work and should not have let then touch customer guns.
YMMV but mine did not. Good luck should you choose them.
There are plenty of good refinishers that, I feel, are more reliable and competent.
Again this is my experience based on actual dealings with Fords a few years ago and they might have improved…..or not.

I have no experience with them, so I have no player in the game.

But everything I hear lately about every place is that things everywhere ain't what they used to be.

Not just service companies, but the manufacturers as well.

(Heck, I can't even get my car fixed right at a local 50 year old GM dealer)

Maybe these ARE the worst of times.

You would think the OP couldn’t wait to show the pics of the horrible work.

I have used Horace since 1976 when He was located in Plant City, Florida.. The first two handguns were pre-war Model 27 .357 3.5" that were purchased on Police Affidavits. All numbers, letters, and decals were completely buffed out. Gave both away. I worked part time at a large Gun Shop and we used Horae for refinishing work. The problem was He did not change His cleaning solution often enough so when we received firearms back, we had to strip them down and clean the green goo out of them. His work improved over the years. Years later after He relocated to Crystal River, Florida I had His shop refinish a S&W Model 10 5" that was "Rough". It came back like new but very expensive. I think that the new employees are learning as They go. I sure that over time the shop will be back to normal.

Ford's used to be known for being able to do a Python type Royal Blue mirror finish that had the 50's Colt "wet look".

A couple of years ago other people began doing the work and quality plunged.
A couple of members on the Colt Forum sent in Pythons that were just absolutely destroyed.
They come back with that "bar of soap" look with all edges and corners polished off, stamps washed out, and ripples in flat surfaces.
One member who sent in a Python to have the lettering restored got back a gun that, honest, looked like some kid did it with an electro-pencil, and crudely at that.

Last I heard, they were still able to do good plating, but not good bluing.

If you need quality bluing, Glenrock is the best there is, with Precision Bluing being excellent.
Other sources talk the talk, but Glenrock produces. They can do a Python Royal Blue.

For hard chrome and other plated finishes, APW/Cogan is possibly the best all around refinisher there is, with Reliable Elecroplating being the go-to for bright nickle.

Thanx for your input and experience.
I will post pics and invoices from Ford's shortly..I'm waiting for the revolver to be returned. They said "maybe" this week..after 8 months.

My 25-2 from Ford's

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Hard to tell anything from blurred images.

Kevin

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Unshared knowledge is wasted.

Sorry to hear this! There are only a handful of placed left that have true craftsmen - and with the closing of Cylinder & Slide, now there's one less.

The reason I started doing my own work 40+ years ago was because of poor ethics, poor workmanship, ridiculous pricing and absurd wait times. Unfortunately one of the things I won't do is re-bluing or re-nickeling.

That is exactly why I would never buy a gun that already needs refinishing the day you get it. It's bad enough when you have to have one refinished that you have owned for years. I have had exactly two guns refinished in my lifetime. Both were long guns and both were done my Midwest Gunworks. Both times they did spectacular work and the blued finishes they did are better than the original factory jobs. When I say they needed to be refinished I'm not kidding! Because they were both family heirlooms and I want to always keep them in the family, I had to stop the constant rusting and did not want pitting to begin. Since they won't be sold, I have no regrets about having them refinished although they came out so well you can't even tell.

I don't think MWG does handguns but it might be worth a call to find out. It was a dozen or so years ago when I had this done but hopefully they still do quality work. Oh and BTW, their prices were palatable.

I had Doug at Glenrock Blue do his S&W High Polish
factory type rescue and am well pleased w his work
It was a 6 month start to finish time frame last year..
I'm away from the house, but I'll try to edit in some pics tonight..
Better late tonight than never tonight, bout forgot this thread.
I tried to show the sideplate area that I thought
turned out well. The cyl edges, in hand, still look good, and it has really nice blue and polishing , finish wise. The overall experience w Doug and Katie went fine. Just expect 6-8 Mos at best ..
I sent xtra dough and he sent it all back, minus his advertised price.
BTW..What happened with Cyl and Slide Closing, if anyone knows ? I've only heard good about them, save for the long que times.
Best, Randy..

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I will echo exactly what sjbrdn said. I've heard the same things in other forums as well.

"BTW..What happened with Cyl and Slide Closing, if anyone knows ? I've only heard good about them, save for the long que times"

The owner wants to retire, and apparently there's no one to take it over.
This happens a lot with old line gun related companies....the guy who started it has no one interested in running it and it folds.

They're selling everything, so if you want some parts, buy NOW.

Yes, the firearms business can be lots of headaches! Not only do you have to deal with normal business problems you also have to deal with the ATF, shipping companies, insider theft, higher than normal liability insurance, finding qualified and honest employees, etc. Don’t think it would be a pleasant business these days!

ANY small business that serves a niche clientele, is hard pressed to find someone who wants to learn the trade. I am a very successful sharpener. Mostly knives but pretty much anything, but not saws, electric hedge trimmers or electric hair trimmers. I support my family, but could not find anyone interested in learning what and how I do things.

When I decide to pack up my tools, knife sharpening in my area will basically, die.

So yes, I understand how it is with Bill. He has decided to retire. His son, has decided not to carry on the family business. It sucks, but that is the reality of life.

Kevin

__________________
Unshared knowledge is wasted.

OUCH...blurry images or not that gun is good for the garbage can now

Several years ago I sent Ford's a Winchester M/52 to reblue, I was disappointed with the results. Glenrock Blue is used by several big name engravers and they have an excellent reputation, if I had any reblue work I wouldn't hesitate to send it to them.

Glenrock always did better work, but nowadays Fords is total junk-

We had a local small gun store close (Tex-Guns), the owner was a retired school teacher and had been running the gun store on the side until he retired. It was kind of a nitch store, he had a lot of military firearms and obsolete ammo for them, carried some new guns but mostly dealt in used stuff. I you needed something obsolete firearm wise or ammo he usually had it or knew where to find it. When he turned 70 he decided he wanted to travel. His son who had worked in the store since he was 9 said he wanted to do something different. So they closed up the place, a big loss to us local gun cranks.
SWCA 892

That's too bad Kevin, before you know it, all of the gifted people with talent will be gone. Who will replace them? China of course, with disposable everything....really sucks to see some great chapters of America closing.

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Todd