I two-toned my 3rd Gen (pic heavy).

[Hillbilly77]

I recently entered the world of 3rd Gen pistols and bought a 5906.

I don't care for the look of all-stainless guns, but I bought it with a plan in mind. I like the look of two-tone pistols so I decided to turn this into one.

I dropped the frame off to be Cerekoted a couple weeks ago. In the mean time, I polished the slide to a shine. Also, I learned here that there was a recall on the grips. I called Smith & Wesson, and sure enough they sent me a new grip.


I just got the frame back today and put it all back together.

Here's my new, old, new 5906.

Before:

Polishing the slide:

After:
Frame and reassembly.

The lighting isn't the greatest, but you get the idea.

 

[Rustyt1953]

[ame]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iViMcBJicrc[/ame]

 

[snubbyfan]

I kinda like it.

 

[medic15al]

Looks good, but upside down.

A proper two-tone is stainless color frame and black/blued slide!

 

[twistedracer]

Looks good, but upside down.

A proper two-tone is stainless color frame and black/blued slide!

That's what I keep saying. I might just be getting old lol.

But either way it's still looking good.

 

[vigil617]

I've never really warmed to the two-tone of black slide and natural frame. I like the way you've done yours instead, Hillbilly. Very nice!

 

[epj]

Looks nice. How does it shoot?

 

[Hillbilly77]

Looks nice. How does it shoot?

I don't know..... I'm nervous to shoot it now and mar the finish.




It shot great before, so I'm sure it'll shoot great now.
It'll just look prettier doing it.

 

[03hemi]

Looks good, but upside down.

A proper two-tone is stainless color frame and black/blued slide!

I like the slide being polished and the frame dark, I've seen a lot of guns done this way and makes more sense. Your not going to wear the finish off the slide going in and out of a holster.

 

[Arik]

Fancy meets Shmancy again!!!

[emoji106]

 

[mlk18]

This is why everyone should own two 3rd gens of every model, one in blue and one in stainless. That way you can switch and swap to get whichever look you like the best.

 

[opaul]

Looks good, but upside down.

A proper two-tone is stainless color frame and black/blued slide!

Where is that written? Insert smile face here!

 

[BAM-BAM]

SWeeeeeeeeeeeeet........ I like!!!

Good call on the straight back grips..... my preferred grip.........

Even though I'm more of the "reverse two-tone" guy...blue slide/matt stainless frame...................


Recently did a 915's frame matt silver/titanium......

 

[rasmith3442]

Is this how to do it?

A used but not abused 5906 frame and 915 slide.

 

[tigman46]

I kind of did the same thing but a little different way. I took my 915 and found a nice Stainless 5906 slide. and then replaced the trigger and slide stop. got the same effect.. when ever I take it range I get a what model is that..

 

[mcoe74]

@Hillbilly77, Great refinish job! It looks very good.

 

[BigCityChief]

I love it!

 

[Mal Cap]

Nice job. Did you disassemble and reassemble yourself? Why the recall on the grips? Just this model or all 59 series?

 

[Hillbilly77]

Nice job.

Thanks. All I did was polish the slide. I had the frame done.

Did you disassemble and reassemble yourself?

Yes, I stripped the frame & reassembled it myself.

Why the recall on the grips? Just this model or all 59 series?

Something about the original factory grips could potentially break or crack if the gun was dropped just right, rendering the gun inoperable. The updated grips were made with a different material.
I don't know if it was all 3rd Gens or select models. I'm still learning, myself.

 

[jfd]

Nice looking shooter!

 

[NWPROJECTS]

I toyed around with one of my 910 models. Blue finish was pretty rough when I bought it, so decided what the hell why not, stripped all the finish off the slide and left the frame black. After 2yrs now still not sure if I like the reverse tone of stainless upper and black lower. Also switched slides off my 915 and 5906. I really like the black on top of stainless look better!

 

[Mal Cap]

Thanks. Nice job all around on that handgun.

 

[loeman]

Whoooo Eeeee, Something I would never consider doing but I like it! Congrats to you.

 

[Mal Cap]

Jury is out. Hard to decide they both look fine to me. It's like wearing a sport jacket and attempting to match your socks to your shoes. Are they carry guns or house guns? Even such, color combo doesn't matter.

 

[Sevens]

I like it a lot, I think it's quite attractive. I wouldn't polish the slide myself but I've always loved a two-tone look and I don't discriminate either. Top or bottom, all of 'em look pretty good.

I've always loved stainless handguns but it's funny with 3rd Gens because so many of them (by far!) are stainless or at least stainless over a silver aluminum frame and the black/blued 3rd Gens make up such a small percentage. Probably why I find the 915 to be attractive when honestly-- it just wasn't ever meant to be attractive. It was simply meant to be low-cost.

 

[10xatten]

The original two-tone had a distinct purpose other than cosmetic. The way I remember it, the two-tone was created during the early days of IPSC, using the dark slide because they came that way (there were'nt many stainless guns), and it cut down on glare from the sun during outdoor matches. The frame was plated either electroless nickel or hardchrome to prevent rust from sweaty hands.

I forgot to say that I really like what you've done, Hills!

 

[Sevens]

I didn't realize that but it certainly sounds reasonable. My 745's are both two-toned in that way and one of them is an IPSC Anniversary model. I very much like the way they look also.

 

[686wheelgun]

Hi. I just purchased a used 3rd gen 5906 as well and replaced my worn and scuffed up grips with new factory S&W grips (ordered from Brownells). When I look at your pics closely focusing on your before & after versions it looks to me as though the safety may not rotate all the way down with the new grips in place. Just curious, but what am I missing? It looks like there may be a subtle difference in your old vs new grips. Has the plastic been thinned out at the top of your replacement grips so the safety has room to rotate? The grips I received were identical to the ones I removed (they match your old ones). Maybe my replacement grips weren't the most recent model??? I like the look of your replacement grips better.

 

[Hillbilly77]

Hi. I just purchased a used 3rd gen 5906 as well and replaced my worn and scuffed up grips with new factory S&W grips (ordered from Brownells). When I look at your pics closely focusing on your before & after versions it looks to me as though the safety may not rotate all the way down with the new grips in place. Just curious, but what am I missing? It looks like there may be a subtle difference in your old vs new grips. Has the plastic been thinned out at the top of your replacement grips so the safety has room to rotate? The grips I received were identical to the ones I removed (they match your old ones). Maybe my replacement grips weren't the most recent model??? I like the look of your replacement grips better.

The safety works as designed. The top of the new grip has the same contour as the old one. The picture just doesn't show it very well because of the black grip on the dark frame.

Here's a zoom-in.

The difference between my grips is that the old one was curved on the back and the new one is straight.

 

[686wheelgun]

The safety works as designed. The top of the new grip has the same contour as the old one. The picture just doesn't show it very well because of the black grip on the dark frame.

The difference between my grips is that the old one was curved on the back and the new one is straight.

Now I see it (had to look very, very carefully)! Thank you.