m38 Airweight Bodyguard - age, and tune-up/refinish questions

[cemeteryman]

Got an Airweight Bodyguard, model 38 no-dash, that is getting a bit worn after many years in a holster. Nickel is frosted, there are a few spots of rust on the cylinder where the nickel is long ago worn off, and it isn't locking up quite as tight as it did before. I'm thinking that a timing/lock-up tune-up might be worth considering, along with a refinish. Any suggestions on who will work on these, since (as I understand from other posts) S&W won't touch them anymore?

S/N is 1J21xxx. Any guess on age?

 

[Richard Simmons]

The 1J serial # range started with 1J18601 in 1983. That's as close as I can get it. A gun made after 1983 seems pretty new for S&W not to service.

 

[cemeteryman]

Interesting, if that age is right, then S&W as a service option sounds good. I had been under the impression that that the pre-dash models were too old to interest S&W. Might be worth giving them a buzz, I suppose!