While I was inclined to go along with your opinion that his best choice is to proceed with the original plan, if S&W reblues it its collector value will drop to the value of a poorly done reblued gun. Like Ruger, S&W no longer actually does bluing. Neither still use processes that chemically bond however many oxygen atoms to to surface iron atoms. At both factories the new substitute for bluing is an obviously different color. Remember, part of the original poster's motivation is to return the gun to the way it was made to restore collector value. It is still common for small businesses to reblue the old fashioned way. That argues for having the job done locally. However, I'd ask S&W if it is likely that they'd have to reblue to cover up heat discoloration. Also, S&W's rebluing charge is high so I'd ask what that could wind up costing.
