Kinda a Queer Duck Here...maybe...

[THE PILGRIM]

Not a big fan of the coated guns.
But this could be the one I would get coated.

 

[CajunBass]

Love the Rat Gun idea. If those are before photos, please post a couple of after ones. Inquiring minds want to know.

It looks better in real life than in the pictures really. These are after maybe an hour with Flitz, and a couple of spots with a Scotch Brite pad.





It doesn't look a lot different, but it FEELS different. The metal felt like sandpaper before. Now it's smooth. I pulled the sideplate and the internals look fine. The gunscrubber bath cleaned out the old gunk, and a drop or two of Break Free slicked it up.

I'm thinking I might try cold bluing it. I got nothing to lose and can always start over.

 

[USARMYSPEC4]

She may have been run hard and put away wet a few times, but it looks great to me. Shows some signs of the hard work it has been doing.

 

[3rdgeargrndrr]

The polished ruined the look IMHO. Had tons of toughness with the beater look.
And the grips are two different colors.
Find some beat up stocks on ebay, leave it out in the rain for 2 weeks. And repost results please

 

[Lou_the_welder]

Don't coat it!

Leave it " a la natural "!
Jk! Do what you want. Just post pics. We like pics.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk

 

[exdetsgt]

I'd just leave it be, and EDC it.

 

[Sprocket]

"Leave the gun, take the cannoli."

 

[5thcommjarhead]

That poor thang

I never thought I'd ever see a handgun that was even uglier than my neighbor's kid, but there it is. That poor child is so ugly that he cries every time he sees himself in a mirror - and then the tears run up over his head because they're ashamed to be seen on his face.

 

[Texasfisher]

Can you tell me what brand the grips are on this piece, I would like to have a set on my Mod. 13, 3".

 

[Draal]

Those are Altamont grips as I think someone up the thread mentioned. Fairly new series too.

 

[millerj7]

Just thought I would show off (?) my ugly duckling. Picked up at a gun show for $150. Had the bobbed hammer shown and I chased down the proper replacement ($30) 'cuz I like the single action option. It is a Chief's Spl. Airweight (became Mod. 37) with a s/n of 643xx (no prefix.) Story was it was a LEO's backup carried all its life in an ankle holster. I thought about refinishing because internals are perfect, tight lockup, shoots great...then decided against it, since the alloy frame will not rust and it no longer be the "Jeep Gun" I bought it to be. The wear is honest from use for over 60 years and would be like giving Nancy Pelosi a facelift (another one, that is!)
Jim

 

[Jdavis]

She may have been run hard and put away wet a few times, but it looks great to me. Shows some signs of the hard work it has been doing.

Perhaps but, it looks more like abuse than hard work to me. Most here seem to like the grunge look but, I just couldn't leave a fine old S&W looking like that if I could do anything about it.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

Handsome Chief that is! As far as the finish, if was mine I would buy some browning solution like used on muzzle loaders and have it. Leaves a nice smooth plum-brown color.

 

[Wally West]

It looks better in real life than in the pictures really. These are after maybe an hour with Flitz, and a couple of spots with a Scotch Brite pad.





It doesn't look a lot different, but it FEELS different. The metal felt like sandpaper before. Now it's smooth. I pulled the sideplate and the internals look fine. The gunscrubber bath cleaned out the old gunk, and a drop or two of Break Free slicked it up.

I'm thinking I might try cold bluing it. I got nothing to lose and can always start over.

I'd try it. Looks like the perfect gun to practice on.

 

[Cocked & Locked]

I'm thinking I might try cold bluing it. I got nothing to lose and can always start over.

All cold bluing I've tried, regardless of brand, leaves the gun smelling bad...as in it makes the gun really stink. Smell doesn't go away.

 

[photoman]

Can you tell me what brand the grips are on this piece, I would like to have a set on my Mod. 13, 3".

Altamont K frame round butt...

Smith & Wesson K/L Frame Round Butt Revolver Grips | Altamont Company

 

[g8rb8]

Don't change the finish.
Find a beater holster & put it in.

Tell everyone that sees it that you bought it new and carried it everyday.

" Yeah, I remember the day I was pinned down behind the bar. All I had was my ol' J frame. Shot all six of 'em - no reload. But I don't wanna talk about it."

GF

You need just a bit more embellishment with the above story. Considering it's a J-frame change it to, "Shot all six of 'em, two with one bullet - no reload."

It looks like you caught that revolver with a fishing rod? Probably in the vicinity of a boating accident.

 

[Doug M.]

This has the look of a gun carried for serious reasons for a long time, like a BUG for a cop working someplace rough when a J frame was the best choice going for that role. The bobbed hammer is a clue. The decent action on it means that someone shot it a lot, or dry fired a similar amount, and the well cared for bore and cylinder is consistent with it being a hard use gun for a hard place.

 

[amazingflapjack]

Yeah-they might have tried to "improve it" with some spray paint-then had second thoughts, followed by the sand paper you mentioned.

 

[jw mathews]

The hammer spur could have been removed at the factory. S&W would do this sort of thing on special order. Single action notch could have been removed also if customer wanted the revolver to be DAO.