Anyone have their revolver reblued at the S&W factory lately?

[Dbrazeal77]

Purchased a rough example of a model 19-2 this week from a friend. Has some rust spots on the barrel, & cylinder that I believe I could sand down and polish on a buffing wheel. I wouldn’t have bought it, but the lockup and trigger are great. Bore is clean, & timing is perfect. I was considering making it my “truck” gun, & just shooting it with Alumahyde from Brownells. I am now thinking I would like to just send it to get blued, & no one near me seems to just blue guns anymore. There are probably a hundred guys nearby that do cerakote, but I really prefer bluing. Was looking online, and Smith seems to be priced rather reasonable on their bluing/bead-blasting.
Wondering if anyone has any recent experience with sending one back to smith for this?

 

[stansdds]

Some pictures would be helpful in assessing the condition of your newly acquired Model 19-2. If the rust spots are not really bad, then oil and gently polishing the rust spots with copper or bronze wool will make them look a whole lot better. As for S&W current blueing system, it is a very black finish that is known to take on a plum tint when exposed to ammonia or solvents that contain ammonia. It does not look like the blue finish of their pre-1980 firearms.

 

[Capt. F.]

Purchased a rough example of a model 19-2 this week from a friend. Has some rust spots on the barrel, & cylinder that I believe I could sand down and polish on a buffing wheel. I wouldn’t have bought it, but the lockup and trigger are great. Bore is clean, & timing is perfect. I was considering making it my “truck” gun, & just shooting it with Alumahyde from Brownells. I am now thinking I would like to just send it to get blued, & no one near me seems to just blue guns anymore. There are probably a hundred guys nearby that do cerakote, but I really prefer bluing. Was looking online, and Smith seems to be priced rather reasonable on their bluing/bead-blasting.
Wondering if anyone has any recent experience with sending one back to smith for this?

I sent my 38/44 HD 6 1/2” back about five years ago ( really surprised they agreed to blue it) and was mildly disappointed in the results.
I realized before I sent it it wouldn’t be the same bluing process as when it was made but had hoped it would come close.
I guess in the end it looks better than it did.

 

[Arm]

Looks like cold blue from a bottle. Not real bad though.

 

[richrd]

I had a m10 like that. I sanded the bad spots then polish the hell out of it. Blued it with oxpho blue from Brownells. Worked good

 

[Retired W4]

S&W has a 19-3 and I'm waiting for my number to come up. It's really an experiment on my part to see how they do. They will give me their evaluation and the cost of the work for my approval. Stay tuned and I will report. They have two basic options, standard blue or high polish.

 

[Photog]

I sent my 38/44 HD 6 1/2” back about five years ago ( really surprised they agreed to blue it) and was mildly disappointed in the results.
I realized before I sent it it wouldn’t be the same bluing process as when it was made but had hoped it would come close.
I guess in the end it looks better than it did.View attachment 756121

Looks like they restamped the markings. Also reminds me of the finish on the M28.

 

[SnidelyWhiplash]

Brownells Oxpho Blue is the best. I particularly like Oxpho Blue Creme. It's not all difficult to do...but following directions is mandatory or you will be unhappy with the results. Do some online research on cold blue...preparation is everything.

If you're not happy with the results you can still send it out for re-bluing.

 

[Shotguncoach]

Or you could drop by the Smithing forum and check out how to do it yourself. I’m doing metal prep now and will start a slow rust blue tomorrow.

 

[Dbrazeal77]

I sent my 38/44 HD 6 1/2” back about five years ago ( really surprised they agreed to blue it) and was mildly disappointed in the results.
I realized before I sent it it wouldn’t be the same bluing process as when it was made but had hoped it would come close.
I guess in the end it looks better than it did.View attachment 756121

Thanks sir.

 

[Dbrazeal77]

S&W has a 19-3 and I'm waiting for my number to come up. It's really an experiment on my part to see how they do. They will give me their evaluation and the cost of the work for my approval. Stay tuned and I will report. They have two basic options, standard blue or high polish.

Good info. How long have they had your revolver?

 

[Dbrazeal77]

I had a m10 like that. I sanded the bad spots then polish the hell out of it. Blued it with oxpho blue from Brownells. Worked good

It has a few spots on the barrel that are going to be pits once I get the rust gone. Will likely take some of the sanding & or light file work to get back to “smooth.” I will do that prior to getting on the buffer.