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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Looks like Smith had it back to you in 6 months or less. That’s a pretty good turnaround time for a refinish at a good shop.

I’m not surprised that Smith would reinstall the magazine disconnect safety. They’re not going to let a gun of their manufacture out of their shop with an original safety disabled. Even if you’d alerted them that you wanted that safety disabled, I suspect they’d still have reinstalled it.

Yeah, I figured as much about the magazine safety. I’m sure they’re way too worried about a lawsuit to not restore it to “factory settings”.

As for the timeframe, sure, 6 months is faster than their current 9…but the issue was that it was truly finished around…4 months. 2 of those months it was spent sitting there “waiting for payment” they received then “waiting for FedEx” to pick it up. They claimed they had no control, for almost 3 weeks, of when FedEx would pick it up…you can imagine why I find it dubious that their shipping entity didn’t pick anything up from them for 3 weeks straight.

[QUOTE=ThirdGen9623;141957380] Yeah, I figured as much about the magazine safety. I’m sure they’re way too worried about a lawsuit to not restore it to “factory settings”.

.........../QUOTE]

So we are better than 50/50 now I guess.

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NRA Endowment Member

You did better than I. I sent in a 4566 a few month ago. I never did get the “quote letter” they said I’d get in 4 weeks. Long story short, they sent my pistol back after doing NOTHING!

I still like my old Smiths. But I despise the present day S&W.

Six months is very poor service. Inexcusable. 25 years ago, I sent a revolver back to have it bead blasted. I sent it off on a Monday, I got it back on Wednesday. Honest.

Judging by the photo it is beautiful!
BrianD

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696-6906-457-38-3913-CS40-411

I have a 686 that needs a refinish and this experience has convinced me to go through a local gunsmith instead of the factory. It’s a shame, because they still really good work. The times just keep getting worse though. I asked just for the sake of it and was told they’re now looking at 9 months minimum…for a brushed stainless finish!

I understand the company may be busy and not focused as much on their older guns, but between that and the poor service when they told me multiple times the gun would be shipped out over the course of a month left a bad taste in my mouth. As with anything, your mileage may vary.

[quote=JH1951;141957417]I mean…not really. Just because I understand what their excuse would be doesn’t mean I approve of the unwarranted and unwanted modification.

That it is. The only thing I have to compliment was the way it turned out!

Just a couple of odd thoughts:
As to time issue, where was work done - were they possibly in process of moving the rework facility or making administrative changes at the time? Any legit reasons?

As to the safety issue, I would assume slide as well as frame would be completely disassembled in order to refinish - so by the time it was reassembled they may have just put it back to standard configuration with new parts.

This is why I sent my S&W PPK/S to Walther instead of S&W for the safety recall. The time frame from my first email to Walther to getting the gun back in my hands was 11 days.

How about the sights? I recently acquired a 5906. It is in good shape except the sights are burned out. I understand that is not uncommon. Did S&W do anything with your sights?

I can appreciate the displeasure with the wait time, I have a 952-2 at the Performance Center for repair. I sent it to them in July of 2023, still waiting .

That I’m not sure of, but I was told the machinery they use is now not working, so the turnaround is a minimum of 9 months.

Mine has standard, non-night sights, so I can’t be sure. I would think they will replace them if you ask. You might just need to supply the sights (but even that I can’t be sure of).

Ouch! I’d be livid. My 686 will most definitely be getting refinished by a private gunsmith.

Trijicon may be able to re-lamp your sights for $57 if they provided the tubes.

I understand all the annoyance EXCEPT the magazine disconnect complaint.

You altered a factory design and then sent the pistol back to the manufacturer. Most any gun manufacturer in existence would do exactly the same thing (exactly) with one small exception… some of them would charge you for the replacement of the missing parts.

Same reason that you shouldn’t send a gun back to the manufacturer with any aftermarket grips or stocks either, because you might lose them.

Similarly, if you send an old-style Ruger Blackhawk for (any!) service at Ruger, they will put all the new safety related parts in to it. (word is that they do return the original guts, in a bag)

$175 sounds like a pretty good deal for a full bead-blast refinish on a 3rd Gen.

I sympathize with your wait time and communication problems but the bottom line is that your 5906 looks great! They did a good job for a reasonable price.

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Why duck?? It's a 9mm!

I bet you'll be even more livid after a private smith takes a year to get your gun back to you...

I dropped an action off to get a barrel installed. Not a re-barrel, just a naked action. He had the barrel blank in stock. Not a caliber change, so no bolt face work. No bluing or finishing. He thought maybe 6 weeks.

It was a year...

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Just Say No - To Social Media

Eh, I’m a believer in a society where stupidity isn’t an excuse for companies to take on liability. Wishful thinking.

I also am a very detail-oriented person, so it’s annoying to find something I didn’t ask for was done anyway. If I had wanted that, I’d have asked them to do it.

In my view, I sent it to them in whatever state it was in and requested only that they refinish the firearm. I didn’t request any repairs or replacement. I *wish* we lived in a world where the company only did the work that was asked of them, but I *understand* that we live in a world where they replace the factory magazine disconnect purely so that I am not able to shoot myself out of negligence and sue them for not reinstalling the part later.

It’s a minor annoyance. Let’s just hope I can get the sight drifted to remove it without damaging the brand new finish…

That’s all that matters in the end right?

Wow, that’s unacceptable. Rest assured, I’ll be holding them to whatever time they quote me. If it’s not done in that time, they give it back and don’t get any money. Thankfully the gunsmith I’m using seems fairly transparent and truthful about their turnaround times.

If not, I guess it’ll have to go back to S&W for another 9-month runaround!

Definitely your choice but don't be surprised if the finish isn't up to snuff. Going with whomever is a bit of a wild card, especially if one is anticipating something like "back to factory" standards. Don't be surprised if the wait time is longer than Smith's. Gunsmiths and Geologists have the same perception of time.

FWIW, it ought not be a surprise that Smith installed the mag disconnector. Sending a gun back to most makers would have the same result. Ruger is especially a PITA that way with their SA revolvers. At least the Smith is easy to reverse.

At the end of the day, Smith & Wesson is simply not going to return a pistol that does not have all of its original safety features.

The revolver equivalent of this would have been if the owner removed the side plate, took out the hammer block, then sent it back for refinish, and when returned, Smith & Wesson had installed a brand new hammer block.

There is no doubt that the presence or absence of a magazine disconnect is a controversial matter. That said, from the company standpoint, there is simply no controversy about how that pistol should leave the factory when it has been returned for maintenance of any kind, including a refinish.

If you had told them you didn't want the magazine disconnect restored they would have refused the job. They, not you determine what the potential liability is for letting what they consider an improperly modified firearm leave the factory.

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Can open, worms everywhere.

I've got a 59 that needs refinishing. I guess it ain't go'in to the PC now.

Anyone have any suggestions as to who does a good job, in reasonable time, at a fair price?

They have to remove the sights in order to refinish the pistol. That would be a dead give away that the magazine disconnect plunger was missing.

No company is going to return a product with a disabled safety device. The mind boggles that this is even an expectation.

The billing and shipping was the shipping department, not the gunsmiths. The gunsmiths did excellent work. Yes, S&W needs to have better staff in shipping.

As for the safety, I can totally see that happening. Likely the person that did the disassembly didn't do the bead blast. He stripped the gun, put all the parts in a bag or box or something while waiting, then when it came back from the blast, he reassembled. And it may be they have a standard small parts bag they install. When it came back, he reassembled and if new kit, he put everything in. If using same parts, noticed the mag disconnect was missing, so he put a new one in. I can totally see that happening. It was no disrespect to you. It really isn't hard taking it out yourself now. Drift rear site out, left to right, dump out the spring and plunger, drift site back in place.

Rosewood

There are a couple of guys on this forum that do refinish work. Don't know there names off the top of my head. Someone else will chime in.

Rosewood

As for a bead blast on stainless. I have less than the $175 in my total setup to do it myself (not counting my existing air compressor). Bought the blast cabinet from HF and the media from McMaster Carr. Have done several slides and a couple stainless frames.

Rosewood

Glad you got it back safe and sound. I'm afraid we're stuck with these kinds of scenarios and reports until the company commits to fully funding and professionally staffing their repair/service facilities. My fear is that if this current situation prevails, shooters will begin to look elsewhere when considering a new firearm.

The good news about stainless steel is that it is a piece of cake to re-hab without the risk of shipping. and without all the aggravation and expense. Disassembly, soaking, cleaning and re-finishing is not a chore, and can be done without expensive tools and equipment.

Here's an old 5906 that was born March 6, 1992. A victim of an abusive PD and it's environment, it looked horrible when I got it. Heavy oxidation on the sights and under the grip, covered in horrible scratches and dings, full of gummy lubricants and shooting debris.

A couple of hours of hand labor, a silica shower, and approx $50 in replacement parts, including new grips, and voila, it's good as new.


Carter

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

With how good yours turned out, it seems worth it to do this with my 4006tsw, despite the time frame issue. Luckily my 4006tsw only ever sees range duty, so wait time won't matter much. It would just be cool to see it looking brand new.

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Please no more EZs...

What is a silica shower?

I think he means a bead blast with the proper blast media. Probably a slang term for "sand blast".

Rosewood

For those who do their own bead blasting, is there anything special you do regarding the engraving (serials, model and logo etc)? Or is that not really affected when you blast?

The "silica shower" is just glass bead or sandblasting. I used to use a 60 mesh silica for blasting. it gives a slightly heavier texture when compared to the factory finish....which makes it just a bit more resistant to scratches.

The silica particles have a "rounded" profile similar to glass beads, but silica is much more affordable. "Black Beauty" or "Black Diamond" is much more aggressive, and has very sharp edges on the individual particles. Also, very inexpensive, compared to beads.

Glass beading, when done carefully and at the correct pressure, is not as hard on corners and markings in the gun surface, compared to machine buffing. Buffing is really an art form, and is much more difficult (and dangerous) than blasting.

If you try blasting be, sure to protect your eyes, and use an approved respirator or mask. Dust from the process is very dangerous to your lungs, as you can imagine.....so please be sure to use the proper equipment.



Carter

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Ret. LE, FA Instr, S&W Armorer

I agree 100%. The results speak for themselves.

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Why duck?? It's a 9mm!

If is rollmarked, it doesn't hurt it. If it is lasered on, then it will remove it. Something to consider before you blast. I want to blast my 4013tsw, but the writing is lasered on and the finish looks different, so I have left it alone. I did knock off the warning note on the side of my 1006 when I blasted it.

Rosewood

Wow! That came out looking beautiful!