629-1

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lvtwentytwo

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Need some help guys.

I'm looking at buying a 629-1 from a private party. It's highly polished and pristine. I have a couple questions.

1. Are they normally highly polished?
2. Is $750 a good price (includes a rubber pachmayer and squared bottom wood target grips, one speed loader and a box of ammo). Also has the .400 smooth target trigger and .500 hammer.
3. No box/case included, so I want to pick up one of those. Not sure whether it would be the one-piece cardboard or blue plastic case. I know the 629-1's were made between 82-88, this one though I'm not really sure. I'd have to ask him for the serial number.

Any help would be appreciated!
 
No none were highly polished from the factory that I know of, some guys will take some Flitz and a t-shirt rag and make them look darn near like nickle. Some stainless guns have a lot of wear and can be polished to look like near new condition so you have to be careful when buying a used polished gun, what kind and how much wear it had.
 
They were not highly polished at all from the factory. They had a brushed finished. You can see several good examples of original finish on the large auction sites. You made no mention of barrel length. That’s important for value assessment.
 
No they were not normally "highly polished".

And as such this makes the gun suspect from the get go. Additionally the price is not all that great. I would pass. I buy model 29s from time to time. 750$ on the gun that you describe. I would walk away from.
 

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Even if the polishing isn't hiding some damage it does lower collector value. BUT there's hope! Most gunsmiths can restore the brushed finish for a reasonable amount of money. The no-dash Model 67 pictured below had some deep scars on the muzzle end of the barrel, some scuffs on the side plate and was polished. My gunsmith charged me $115 to dissemble it completely, restore the finish and clean and lubricate it. It already was in good mechanical condition so you now almost can't tell it from a new one.

Ed
 

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A highly polish finish wont remove deep scratches or gouges, and does nothing to hide mechanical issues. High polishing in my opinion accentuates flaws. Bead blasting is usually a technique to hide marks from dropping the gun, scratches, etc. Likely someone tried to remove some swirls on a side plate, and then realized it looked strange with a high polished part and bushed every where else, and then went to town over the entire piece. I dont care for a high polished finish, and although they did ruin any sort of collector value, it might still be a great shooter grade revolver. Offer him 600 and try to take it home. You can always re-do the finish with the appropriate pads...and have anything from high gloss to matte brushed again. Thats the great thing about raw stainless steel...they can look how ever you want them to.
 
I have one with the 8 3/8” Barrel and it came from the factory brushed and in the blue cardboard box. ;)
 
All I can say is if it's tight, don't let any grass grow under your feet and don't collect 200 as you pass go. Buy it!!
 
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$750 for a 629-1 with Target grips and you are passing on it?

Really?

That's a pretty good deal.
 
Depending upon the condition, 750 is OK, but having been polished out does not add value, actually it detracts. The wood grips are worth 100 to 150, depending on figure, and a box of ammo has to be 40, and the goodyears 10, so i would say you are paying 600 for the gun. Not bad, but it is just a shooter having been polished
 
OP, it's a good price with all the accessories and ammo just as Narragansett said... However, if you like to shoot the warm stuff (I certainly do), you want a 629-2E or latter version(s), a -3,-4,-5 and so on because they have the "Endurance Package"... If you don't shoot the warm stuff and will stick with factory 240gr ammo and appropriately charged hand loads then by all means, buy it!
 
Also not crazy about the ‘High Polished.’
But $750 sounds like a good price!
Or lower!
‘Oh man! Somebody put a shiney finish on this gun! You do know that it reduces collector potential and overall desire- Ability?’
 
Looking at the pictures you posted, it does not look like the Model 629 has been highly polished. In fact, it looks pretty much like a standard brushed finish, as far as I can tell. Based on the pictures, I think $750 is a very good price for that gun. If I were interested, I would at least go take a look at it.
 
rbmac52 said:
Looking at the pictures you posted, it does not look like the Model 629 has been highly polished. In fact, it looks pretty much like a standard brushed finish, as far as I can tell. Based on the pictures, I think $750 is a very good price for that gun. If I were interested, I would at least go take a look at it.
Click to expand...

Agreed after seeing pics!

OP, now why haven't you already gave her a nice new home yet??? That is a killer deal with the Revo, Ammo, and Accessories!
 
Looks polished to me, but not highly polished. Highly polished is a Colt ELCEN.

Colt Elcen Custom 1911 High Polish .38 Super

I had one for awhile and sold it because it was like a mirror. If the sun hit it just right it would blind you.

I'm not sure why everyone is getting worked up over a gun that's been polished. Lots of people polish out scratches in stainless guns because they get scratched up pretty easily. One reason S&W went with brushed stainless. It's a 629-1 for heaven's sake. $750 is a decent price. Go on GB and look around, they don't sell for much less in good condition.
 
The trigger shown on the 629-1 is actually a smooth-faced, .400" wide "combat" trigger, which was standard on these guns, save for the earliest 629 no dash models (the first ones had a grooved target trigger).
 
The brushed stainless factory finish is the original, and best looking, finish on a stainless gun, from my point of view. When polishing is done to a certain point, what you end up with is truly a change of finish.

Some people object to polishing an otherwise blemish-free original brushed stainless gun, but I say to each their own. Myself, I don't own a polished stainless gun because I don't like the look (though I love nickel).

A significant change to the original finish of any firearm has to be considered when trying to assess a value. It most instances, I think it detracts from value, but that is just my opinion.
 
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