Finish challenged 24-3

[bondjamesbond]

I recently acquired a Lew Horton 3" 24-3 with no original finish,
Since all collector value has vanished with the blueing should I send it to S&W for a reblue,hard chrome it or leave it as it is?

 

[326MOD10]

I have had a couple of revolvers redone by Smith and Wesson and was very pleased with the results.

They were both done with a combat action package and while the finish was more of a dull finish I really like it and the trigger work was nice.

 

[Stirling]

If you are wanting to make it more aesthetically pleasing a nice blueing job would do the trick. I like blue but the hard chrome is functional and does look good too. Consider doing a bright blue finish at a reputable place like Fords.

 

[jringo8769]

well that is a great model and deserves to be refinished back to original ....
it will restore value back into the gin too...God Bless,John

 

[Mulebuk Sam]

it will restore value back into the gun too...

Good point and very interesting. If it was me then I'd have S&W do the work, that way you can rightfully say the finish was restored by the ones who built it in the first place.

 

[H Richard]

It depends. If you think you may sell it in a few years, the blue job will probably be your best bet having it look like the original finish. If this is a gun you plan to keep for very long, and carry in hard work and rough conditions, go for the hard industrial chrome finish, it is almost impervious to wear and weather.

 

[44wheelman]

Regardless, it will always be a refinished gun, and as such will only be worth a lesser percentage of what original finish guns get.

So the question is...do you want to refinish it to sit & stare at it (blue) or will this be a gun you shoot, carry, take outside (chrome).

Other options include: Titanium Nitride, Titanium Aluminum Nitride, & Titanium Carbonitride....or even Techmetals Lasercut 964 (think rainbow) or....

 

[Qball]

I kind'a like the worn finish
Have it on my blackpowder revolvers.

Pictures of the revolver in question?

 

[Arik]

I like worn finish

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Tapatalk

 

[weatherby]

If it were mine to be different I'd go with Nickel

 

[KEN L]

A re-finished Smith always has less value. A Smith re-finished by Smith always has more "less" value. Jes sayin'.....

 

[Ashlander]

A re-finished Smith always has less value. A Smith re-finished by Smith always has more "less" value. Jes sayin'.....

Ken: Generally I would agree with you, but the poster wrote that there was "no original finish" left. That's really bad. What's the value of no original bluing left? I wish we had a photo.

 

[manderson]

...the poster wrote that there was "no original finish" left. That's really bad. What's the value of no original bluing left? I wish we had a photo.

Yup!

I have to wonder why "no original finish" and what condition is the rest of the gun. What happened to it?

 

[bondjamesbond]

I will post a pic later if I can figure it out, it looks like it was left in the desert since 1984 ,no combat grip either

 

[KEN L]

Ken: Generally I would agree with you, but the poster wrote that there was "no original finish" left. That's really bad. What's the value of no original bluing left? I wish we had a photo.

You misunderstand the meaning of my post. I agree it should be re-finished, and if it were mine, it would be done by the mother ship. That way the value remains higher than if re-finished by someone else.

 

[clang444]

If you never want to shoot it again, have it re-blued by S&W. You won't want to mess up that fresh refinish and it will sit in your safe unfired.

If you leave it as is or give it a hard chrome finish, you can shoot the snot out of it absolutely guilt free.

 

[jringo8769]

Anytime you refinish it with anything less than original finish it will take any hopes of adding value to it
Either way u do
It will help it
I like to always restore to original
God Bless,John

Sent from my LGL41C using Tapatalk

 

[Ashlander]

You misunderstand the meaning of my post. I agree it should be re-finished, and if it were mine, it would be done by the mother ship. That way the value remains higher than if re-finished by someone else.

Ken L: Sometimes I am slow on the up take. I now understand perfectly.

 

[SLT223]

Yeah, let us see what you have first.

S&W blue finish today is black, and doesn't hold up to ammonia cleaners...which is easily avoidable this day n' age.

 

[S&WIowegan]

I have several questions first. Did you buy it really cheap(I hope)? Have you shot it at all? I would give it a real test for accuracy and function before any decision on refinish. If it's going to be an every day carry or truck gun, hard chrome is the best gun finish long-term. Hard chrome is pretty expensive vs other possibilities and requires good prep work before the chrome goes on. If you want it to look like it came new from S&W in the mid-1980s, the factory doesn't do that finish anymore. You would need to go to Ford's Custom for that. Last, there are certainly lots of modern spray-on finishes that work fine for hard use non-collectable guns.

I guess I'm just saying; Think it through first.