After several people on the Colt forum got VERY substandard refinish work back from Ford's, we no longer recommend them until further feedback from customers.
Apparently they hired a new person and several Pythons were ruined.
Until we find out if this was an anomaly or the way things are going to be we on the forum will not recommend Ford's.
Here's some of the top refinishers. Each offers different options and pricing so you need to do some reading on their sites:
APW-Cogan is probably the best all around gun refinisher. They're best known for top of the line hard chrome work.
Home - Accurate Plating & Weaponry | Cogan Custom
Glenrock is very well known and respected in the industry. A good number of top custom shops use them for high grade bluing:
Glenrock Blue
I haven't seen Elite's work lately but they have a good rep:
Elite Custom Plating -- Re-Finishing, Custom Work, Competition Guns
TechPlate is very big in the aero-space industry and offer just about all types of finishes including hard chrome:
Welcome to TechPlate, Inc. Firearms retail plating price list
Metaloy is excellent and does hard chrome work for top custom shops:
Metaloy, Industries - Professional Gun Finishing - hard chrome, blue and polymer finish
Armoloy has a number of shops, but the Fort Worth center was the first to offer hard chrome to the public.
They're one of the few who offer plating inside of barrels and chambers.
I used them extensively for some years in the 80's but after some substandard work and a "supposedly" stolen gun I stopped using them.
When they did it right it was excellent.
http://armoloyfw.com/
Robar has a great rep and offers a variety of plated and coated type finishes:
https://robarguns.com/
Reliable Plating offer specialty finishes like gold, silver, etc.
http://www.reliableelectroplating.com/index.html
The famous Turnbull company offer actual firearms restoration services and refinish jobs using the older types like the various heat blues and color case hardening:
http://www.turnbullmfg.com/
Ron's also offer old school finishes:
http://www.ronsgunshop.com/
Mahovsky has been around for many years and has had a top reputation.
Recent reports indicate they may be slipping a little. The major complaint with them has always been a near total lack of communication:
http://www.mahovskysmetalife.com/
Of the finishes available today, hard chrome is still the best all around type, and one of the very few that's considered to be a real lifetime finish.
Hard chrome is available in a variety of final looks ranging from the original satin pearl-gray, to a brush stainless steel look, to a full mirror bright look.
The final appearance depends on the metal finish since once plated it can't be changed.
Benefits are that it's harder then a Swiss file, improves the trigger pull, requires less lubrication, and cleans easier since fouling is easy to see and won't adhere to the "slick" plating.
It's very corrosion resistant, and is proof against almost all common solvents and many acids.
Standard bluing has to have care taken in picking a processor because about 95% of the job is hand polishing and that's where a ham-handed polisher can easily ruin a gun.
Due to the heavy need of hand labor costs are high and trustworthy providers are rare.
Parkerizing of the two types is a good rough duty finish, but looks best on a military type weapon.
Bright nickel is a traditional finish, but lacks durability and protection.
The newer nitride finishes are tough and hard, but the jury is still out on how good it is long term.
The newer "paint" type epoxy coatings are available in about any color you want and are usually more durable then bluing or even parkerizing, but not as good as a hard chrome or nitride finish.
Of these finishes, the best is Cerakote, which is an epoxy-ceramic mix that's being used by some gun makers and custom shops as a standard finish.
With Cerakote correct application process is absolutely critical to insure a durable finish. Unless applied strictly to the company procedure the finish won't adhere well.
Electroless Nickel is said to be very rust resisting, but it's not all that durable.
