New to me 5906 - with pics

[KevinW]

I picked up this poor condition 5906 police trade in a few days ago. I chose a "Poor" conditioned one just to see what sort of silk purse could be made from this sows ear without too much effort.

Here are a few BEFORE shots:

Full Size Photo

Full Size Photo

After completely stripping, I stuck it in a bowl of full strength Simple Green and let it sit for about 12 hours. Then I scrubbed every nook and cranny with an old tooth brush, some q-tips and pipe cleaners.

I replaced the springs and the worn out grips with new ones from Brownells. I then bead blasted the frame and slide. I touched up the sights with Oxpho-Blue and painted on new dots. The barrel looked to be in good shape, so I touched it up very slightly. It didn't need re-crowning or anything.

Finally I re-assembled to see what I had. There are still some dings in various spots, and a little bit of pitting on the slide. Again, the object of this project was not to restore this to NIB condition, just to see what could be done with a few hours of cleaning and very little additional outlay. I paid $235 for the pistol with one mag and around $30 for the new grips and springs.

A few AFTER shots:

Full Size Photo

Full Size Photo

Full Size Photo

 

[KevinW]

I picked up this poor condition 5906 police trade in a few days ago. I chose a "Poor" conditioned one just to see what sort of silk purse could be made from this sows ear without too much effort.

Here are a few BEFORE shots:

Full Size Photo

Full Size Photo

After completely stripping, I stuck it in a bowl of full strength Simple Green and let it sit for about 12 hours. Then I scrubbed every nook and cranny with an old tooth brush, some q-tips and pipe cleaners.

I replaced the springs and the worn out grips with new ones from Brownells. I then bead blasted the frame and slide. I touched up the sights with Oxpho-Blue and painted on new dots. The barrel looked to be in good shape, so I touched it up very slightly. It didn't need re-crowning or anything.

Finally I re-assembled to see what I had. There are still some dings in various spots, and a little bit of pitting on the slide. Again, the object of this project was not to restore this to NIB condition, just to see what could be done with a few hours of cleaning and very little additional outlay. I paid $235 for the pistol with one mag and around $30 for the new grips and springs.

A few AFTER shots:

Full Size Photo

Full Size Photo

Full Size Photo

 

[Murray]

wow great job on a good old smith

 

[prochi2k]

Nice job! Let us know how it shoots, if you don't mind.

 

[10mm Sonny]

Damn good job!

 

[Gunhacker]

Excellent job... In the AGI videos, Robert Dunlap, who appears in them advocated cleaning guns with Simple Green decades ago. People though he was nuts using water and a soap, but your results certainly validate Simple Green's usefulness.

And if you thought it did a good job with the pistol, you should see the job it does to super grungy trade in magazines.

 

[bwh]

Your experiences and results mirror mine. I bought a 'good' condition 5906 from CDNN earlier this year and it looked to be in about the same shape yours was in.

I stripped the frame and slide and sent them off to be bead blasted. All internals were inspected for excessive wear (and none was found). I then ordered all new springs from Brownells.

Once the frame and slide got back from the refinisher I put her back together and things were once again nice and tight. She shoots like a champ and will soon wear Trijicon night sights.

The S&W 3rd Generation pistols are simply indestructible!

 

[Matt Murphy]

Man I love 3rd Gen Smiths. M&Ps are a great new line-up of weapons but unnecessary as far as I'm concerned. Should've just kept tweaking the 3rd gen and made it perfect. Or was it already there...?

 

[Zebulon]

Beautiful Work! Beautiful Pistol! You should be very proud......Zebulon

 

[j38]

Congratulations on a fine S&W - and very nice work!

Jerry

 

[bigt5150]

Nice Smith and Wesson makeover. Congratulations on a job well done.

 

[runninmike]

Sweet Jimminy! Looks Great!

 

[toocool]

Originally posted by Matt Murphy:
Man I love 3rd Gen Smiths. M&Ps are a great new line-up of weapons but unnecessary as far as I'm concerned. Should've just kept tweaking the 3rd gen and made it perfect. Or was it already there...?

Not wanting to hijack anything here, but I agree with you. I've traded or sold all my M&Ps and now I'm working on rebuilding my collection of 3rd gens.

 

[smith500]

Looks good to me. Nice job done on this 5906. Congrats.

Great gun for little money.
Dave

 

[photocosmo]

I especially like that you chose to install the curved grips as they give the gun a super-sexy shape with the hooked trigger guard!!

 

[july1952]

Looks mighty good to me. Are you sure you don't work for S&W?

 

[MTS Cop]

Gotta love stainless steel. Just curious, do you know what WPPD stands for? I'm thinking White Plains PD, just curious if I'm right.

 

[kbm6893]

Very nice! I had the slide of my 3913 bead blasted to iron out a few wrinles, and it looks brand new now! But why the spurless hammer with a safety? Only seen those on the 5946 models. Guess the PD that issued them didn't want their officers to be able to cock the gun, but then why not go DAO?

And I actually prefer the straight grips over the curved, but yours look great! My 2 favorite guns are Berettas and S&W 3rd generation autos. I just got a NIB Beretta police special with night sights and three mags for $475, and now I'm lusting after a 5906 or 6906 to match my 3913. No other reason other then I want one, so I gotta take a break on the gun buys.

Very nice gun, man.