CS-1 686-what would you do? *Updated with pic*

[equivet]

So, I picked up this CS-1 a little while ago. Somewhere along the line someone polished it up ( Maybe when it went in for the mod? Unless there are some CS-1s out there that came polished that I don't know about).

Obviously, this doesn't affect the way it shoots, but if it were yours, would you send it out to get it bead blasted to look more "original" or keep it as is?

here she is:

 

[gm272gs]

Heck no. It looks good polished. If you leave it polished, you can polish away that cylinder ring every once in a while, too. Makes it look "new" again.

 

[AveragEd]

I'm not into stainless guns that look like nickled ones so I would have the finish restored to original.

I'm considering having my 4" 686-3's red ramp front sight replaced with a pinned one like yours. I just prefer the sharper sight picture of a Patridge front sight and my gun already has a black rear sight blade.

Ed

 

[824tsv]

"I'm not into stainless guns that look like nickled ones so I would have the finish restored to original."
I agree with ^

 

[murphydog]

A matter of personal preference, so I would do whichever you prefer; if you don't care about "original" leave it as is. Fortunately, with a stainless gun you can have either finish with relatively little cost or effort.

 

[clevolver]

Does it shoot? Is it accurate? If so, leave it alone. If it ain't broke...

 

[DR505]

Was the original bead-blasted or brushed stainless? There are plenty of threads on this forum to explain how to re-finish the brushed stainless from a highly polished version. I personally prefer the brushed stainless, with a bead blasted matte a close second. The high polish looks like a nickel finish to me, or worse yet, chrome, and I don't care for that at all. If I want a mirror, I'll buy a mirror.

 

[shawn mccarver]

So, I picked up this CS-1 a little while ago. Somewhere along the line someone polished it up ( Maybe when it went in for the mod? Unless there are some CS-1s out there that came polished that I don't know about).

Obviously, this doesn't affect the way it shoots, but if it were yours, would you send it out to get it bead blasted to look more "original" or keep it as is?

here she is:

This is not a factory job. Send it back to restore it. I am sorry, but I am not a fan of these kitchen table bright polish jobs.

 

[equivet]

Thanks for the input so far. Personally, I'm leaning towards having it bead blasted.

 

[ken158]

You have a neat and desirable gun and I would have it factory restored. Polishing a stainless gun to make it look nickel just shows prints and it seems to get dirtier when fired.

 

[rwsmith]

Don't like mirrored guns

I don't care for a mirror finish on a gun but if it were mine I don't know if I'd go to the trouble and expense of having it redone.

 

[KLYDE]

While I usually clean up my stainless guns a bit with Flitz I also dislike the bright polish. If you choose sending back to the Factory for the finish expect about 3 months turn around time.

 

[wproct]

In the same position.

I'm in a good position to offer my opinion, as I have a 686-4 4" bbl revolver that looks almost exactly like yours finish wise, even right down to the grips. If I had my preferences, I would have a factory finish. However, I don't really mind the polished look, and mine is going to stay exactly as it is! Even if I had mine refinished by Smith & Wesson, it would still be a re-finished revolver.

 

[jebo125]

686-1 M

Hey Guys, I picked up a 686-1 M High polished SS , in a trade see pic, I am thinking of putting it up for auction. Any suggestions as to what value to put on it ?
Thanks
Jebo125

 

[Dave T]

Since it has been altered from it's original finish/appearance I wouldn't hesitate to change in now if you so desire.

I personally hate that polished stainless look and would have it fine bead blasted in a heartbeat. YMMV!

Dave

 

[NRA DOC]

Send to S&W for beadblast finish.

I just got my 625-3 back from S&W. I had a factory beadblast finish and they smoothed out the trigger. They took a while to do the work (6 weeks) but it came back looking like new. If you want the original finish I would not mess around with anyone else. Send it back to S&W! They still do great work.

 

[.357magger]

And on the other foot...I tend to like stainless that has been high polished. So I'd leave her as is and enjoy the heck out of it.

From previous posts, I checked SCSW and didn't note a "hi polish" 686-1 variant but of course, like anything S&W, anything is possible. Especially considering TALO, Lew Horton, etc special runs.

Back to the OP, I would, were it mine, put a gold bead on that front sight and call it a great day.

Enjoy it Brother. And thanks for sharing the pics.

 

[05CarbonDRZ]

LEAVE IT ALONE! Someone went through alot of trouble to make it look that nice.This way you can use the heck out of it and polish it up to look like new again.The Bead blast finish shows every little scratch and is hard to make it look nice again.

 

[kennyb]

i too have the cs-1 version of the 686...4" that were made for the u.s.customs service...some refer to it as the "treasury model" some say it is the greatest combat revolver ever built...about 3500 were built and had the satin,stainless steel finish
this is not as some have mentiond in previous post a 686-1...this is the cs-1 version with the round butt...mine still has the magna grips on it....congrats a fine model !

 

[gunny4053]

I may be wrong, but I believe there were considerably more CS-1s produced. The 3500 number refers to the number of survivors. When the Customs Service transitioned to semi-autos, per normal government procedures, the revolvers were destined to be destroyed. Through some degree of luck and perseverance, some were saved. If I remember correctly, approximately 2000 of the 4" models and about 1500 of the 3" models were the benefactors of those efforts.

This is how the guns looked from the factory, except the 3" models came with Pachmayr compact grips. It's your gun, and it looks nice the way it is, but if you're looking to preserve a little piece of history, have it re-finished.

As a side note, guard it with your life, they just don't show up that often, and prices aren't dropping. I let mine go before I knew what I had , and have been on a quest to get another ever since. Do a search, there's a thread on here with a lot of historic information about the CS-1s.