Triathloncoach
Member
How do you have your Smith's 're-blued? Is carryoke (?) a decent alternative? I'm not familiar with the process. Who does it? What do they charge? How long does it take?
Thanks
Thanks
Re-bluing? How to?
- Thread starter Triathloncoach
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Double-O-Dave
US Veteran
Hi Triathloncoach:
To me, it boils down to how much money and time you are willing to devote to the project, and what is your intent after it's refinished. For example, if it's a "beater", and you just want to improve the current look/finish, and you don't want to invest a lot of time and money, then a do-it-yourself bluing kit is pretty cheap, as is a can of BBQ grill paint. If you're willing to invest the time, and buy some simple supplies (various grits of wet/dry sandpaper, 0000 steel wool, and some Mother's Mag Polish), you can get some really nice results with one of the do-it-yourself bluing kits. Cerakote can be done at home, but I think it's ugly, even though it provides a very good rust resistant finish that is supposed to be vastly superior to bluing or parkerizing.
Places like Fords are renowned for their work, but they aren't cheap. To give you a better answer, let us know what do you have, what do you want to do with it, and (roughly) what kinds of funds are you willing to devote to the project?
Regards,
Dave
To me, it boils down to how much money and time you are willing to devote to the project, and what is your intent after it's refinished. For example, if it's a "beater", and you just want to improve the current look/finish, and you don't want to invest a lot of time and money, then a do-it-yourself bluing kit is pretty cheap, as is a can of BBQ grill paint. If you're willing to invest the time, and buy some simple supplies (various grits of wet/dry sandpaper, 0000 steel wool, and some Mother's Mag Polish), you can get some really nice results with one of the do-it-yourself bluing kits. Cerakote can be done at home, but I think it's ugly, even though it provides a very good rust resistant finish that is supposed to be vastly superior to bluing or parkerizing.
Places like Fords are renowned for their work, but they aren't cheap. To give you a better answer, let us know what do you have, what do you want to do with it, and (roughly) what kinds of funds are you willing to devote to the project?
Regards,
Dave
Art Doc
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
S&W and Ford's do nice work but it ain't cheap. Did somebody just say that? Anyway, this topic has been discussed about a million times but once again here's my opinion.
Refinishing lowers value. So you spend money to make the gun worth less money than before you started. It's a financial loser. If you want a new looking gun it's almost always cheaper to buy one.
If the gun is totally devoid of finish you need do to something to prevent corrosion. But is gun valuable enough to justify spending the cash to refinish?
If the gun is a keepsake and you want it to look new then it's up to you as to whether it's worth the cost.
In my opinion all aftermarket finishes like hard chrome, Cerakote, etc look like hell and I wouldn't take one as a gift let alone spend money to have one.
Refinishing lowers value. So you spend money to make the gun worth less money than before you started. It's a financial loser. If you want a new looking gun it's almost always cheaper to buy one.
If the gun is totally devoid of finish you need do to something to prevent corrosion. But is gun valuable enough to justify spending the cash to refinish?
If the gun is a keepsake and you want it to look new then it's up to you as to whether it's worth the cost.
In my opinion all aftermarket finishes like hard chrome, Cerakote, etc look like hell and I wouldn't take one as a gift let alone spend money to have one.
OP
Triathloncoach
Member
I have a 17-2 that is fairly worn. No rust or pitting surprisingly. I posted up a thread yesterday. Just seeing what options are available. Including nothing. The gun works perfectly, but it's value as a collectible is long gone.
Thank you
Frank.
Ps. The self bluing idea sounds appealling. Providing of course it's not too tricky for a dunderhead such as myself.
Thank you
Frank.
Ps. The self bluing idea sounds appealling. Providing of course it's not too tricky for a dunderhead such as myself.
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If you send it to Fords you are probably looking at $250-$350 depending on the condition and whether you go with bluing or hard chrome. So, as SP rightly pointed out, from a financial standpoint, it just doesn't make sense.
However, if other factors come into play or it's something that you just want to do, then that's a decision you have to make for yourself.
Personally, I've had one revolver redone in my lifetime. It is a Model 19-1 that I got under special circumstances in 1975 that I had hard chromed for a number of personal reasons. For me, it was well worth it, I still have it and never intend to sell/trade it, so intrinsic value is unimportant to me.
IMHO, If yours is just an average shooter with no emotional attachment, I'd oil it up, shoot the heck out of it and enjoy it as it is.
Bob
However, if other factors come into play or it's something that you just want to do, then that's a decision you have to make for yourself.
Personally, I've had one revolver redone in my lifetime. It is a Model 19-1 that I got under special circumstances in 1975 that I had hard chromed for a number of personal reasons. For me, it was well worth it, I still have it and never intend to sell/trade it, so intrinsic value is unimportant to me.
IMHO, If yours is just an average shooter with no emotional attachment, I'd oil it up, shoot the heck out of it and enjoy it as it is.
Bob
Double-O-Dave
US Veteran
Triathloncoach:
Sounds like a do-it-yourself (hereafter known as "DIY") bluing kit is in order. Birchwood Casey makes one that I've used before with good results. As in painting, prep work is everything. The smoother and cleaner you can get the metal, the better your finished blue job will be. Before reblueing one revolver, I had polished the untreated metal so much that it actually looked like brightly polished stainless steel. I then degreased the entire piece with acetone, and when dried, I placed it in the oven at the "Warm" setting (approx. 150 degrees) for about 30 minutes. Handling the gun with clean, white cotton gloves, I applied the bluing solution and got fantastic results. There are a lot of "You Tube" videos out there that will show you how to do your own bluing. No cold bluing will ever beat a hot bluing job, but you can get some really good results if you're willing to invest the work.
Best of luck.
Dave
Sounds like a do-it-yourself (hereafter known as "DIY") bluing kit is in order. Birchwood Casey makes one that I've used before with good results. As in painting, prep work is everything. The smoother and cleaner you can get the metal, the better your finished blue job will be. Before reblueing one revolver, I had polished the untreated metal so much that it actually looked like brightly polished stainless steel. I then degreased the entire piece with acetone, and when dried, I placed it in the oven at the "Warm" setting (approx. 150 degrees) for about 30 minutes. Handling the gun with clean, white cotton gloves, I applied the bluing solution and got fantastic results. There are a lot of "You Tube" videos out there that will show you how to do your own bluing. No cold bluing will ever beat a hot bluing job, but you can get some really good results if you're willing to invest the work.
Best of luck.
Dave
It is possible to "rust blue" a gun at home and get a real bluing job. It's easy to find instructions on the web for this process. The final project will result in a satin type finish but I would practice on some junk steel before attempting it a firearm.
bananaman
Member
If touch up can get you by, I have done a few revolvers, cylinders, wear spots, muzzle etc. I did a 1962 Trooper, in this fashion, it looked so good that a Colt collector bought it. You follow the directions on Perma Blue, except you never rinse with water. (use oil) There are articles on this via internet. I have seen this a couple of times. One was Bullshooter, Touch up bluing at home. March 2006. Follow this or 1 like it. Does not cure all evils, but sure makes them better. Bob
OP
Triathloncoach
Member
I just ordered a Birchwood Casey Kit from Amazon. It received great customer feed back. It will arrive on Thursday. Maybe I will try it out on my 15-4 first. It doesn't really need it, but it's not perfect either, and it's not a collectible. It was only $20 shipped with Prime.
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DWalt
Member
The thing to remember is about 90% of the labor that goes into a good bluing job involves hand polishing. The bluing operation itself is very simple. It is possible to avoid polishing if you can find someone locally to hot blue the gun without any significant metal prep, or with DIY polishing. That should be much cheaper, but it won't look like a bluing job from Ford's. If you have access to bead blasting equipment, that will work also. I have bead-blasted and hot-blued many guns, and they look pretty good, just not shiny. S&W at one time used a wire brush metal prep instead of polishing or bead blasting, but I have not tried that. Rust bluing looks very good, but it is time consuming, with multiple applications of rusting chemicals required. For utilitarian purposes, phosphate coating is simple to do at home to get that "military" look. One of the spray and bake teflon coatings over a phosphate coating looks pretty good, and is very wear-resistant and corrosion-proof (or nearly so). Another option is to clean it up with very fine grit sandpaper and apply some cold bluing. Not too durable, but at least it will look better. And you can always leave it as-is. As stated, YouTube has many videos on the use of various methods.
DAinTX
Member
Example:
Ford's...Matte/Deluxe blue.....$165
Master blue..............$275
There are of course other gunsmiths who do bluing and, of course, quality varies and does pricing. Very few amateurs are able to execute a re-blue that even approaches a true professional job. A few have those skills, but not many.
Ford's...Matte/Deluxe blue.....$165
Master blue..............$275
There are of course other gunsmiths who do bluing and, of course, quality varies and does pricing. Very few amateurs are able to execute a re-blue that even approaches a true professional job. A few have those skills, but not many.
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