peeling finish on model 332-1

[HeyJoe]

I bought this gun used from the other side of the country. It is a scandium airlite 32 H&R magnum J frame. It came with a lasermax on it. Im not a laser kind of guy in general, and it added some weight onto a gun that i bought because it is so light. I have three other J frames , 640,638 and 940. When I got around to taking the laser off I saw that the finish had peeled underneath the grip with the laser on it. The grip takes up the whole area behind the cylinder on that side so its a large area. Im not complaining because it was a reasonable price and i dont think the place that sold it knew it. I called smith and wesson top ask about refinishing it and they said they wont do that model because the barrel is too hard to get off. So I put some nail polish on it, but not being familiar with the properties of nail polish there are lines in it. I guess i will have to either put the laser back on or wear down the nail polish until its smooth.

 

[HeyJoe]

I bought this gun used from the other side of the country. It is a scandium airlite 32 H&R magnum J frame. It came with a lasermax on it. Im not a laser kind of guy in general, and it added some weight onto a gun that i bought because it is so light. I have three other J frames , 640,638 and 940. When I got around to taking the laser off I saw that the finish had peeled underneath the grip with the laser on it. The grip takes up the whole area behind the cylinder on that side so its a large area. Im not complaining because it was a reasonable price and i dont think the place that sold it knew it. I called smith and wesson top ask about refinishing it and they said they wont do that model because the barrel is too hard to get off. So I put some nail polish on it, but not being familiar with the properties of nail polish there are lines in it. I guess i will have to either put the laser back on or wear down the nail polish until its smooth.

 

[HEADKNOCKER]

Hey Joe!! Were You Going With That Gun In Your Hand?

I would call S&W again!!
They do refinish Aluminum Airlites, There's been several threads about it in the last couple of months..
Barrel is too hard to get off??
I too would have tried the clear nail polish.
Good Luck!!
Gary/Hk Another 940 Owner

 

[HeyJoe]

Thanks for the commiseration Gary....ha....the barrel shroud is keyed into the frame by a metal tab. It can be removed but its too much trouble for them apparantly. If they were going to put such a difficult to remove barrel on these airlite revolvers they should have also used an endurable finish.

I bought my 940 in 1993 as a backup to a 9mm glock. I thought for sure it would sell well since you could use same ammo for primary and backup. Im not sure why it didnt. I wouldnt want to shoot 9mm out of an airlite, the 23 oz. steel 940 has enough kick for me.

 

[peyton]

Thanks for this post, I just bought a 332 but I have not picked it up yet. The first thing I had planned to do was put a crimson trace laser grip on it. Now I will consider leaving it stock.

 

[HeyJoe]

just a word of advice you can use a brass bore brush on the bore but do not use it on the cylinder. Use a nylon brush for that. Use only cotton patches on the outside of the gun. The finish is very fragile.