They may surprise you and freshen the mechanicals at no cost, they did that to a 29-2 I once sent it.
However, that was some years back.
However, that was some years back.
S&W CS: 3rd Gen Alloy Frame Refinish?
- Thread starter TTSH
- Start date
TTSH - Good info sir - Thanks for the continued updates. I have sent three (all revolvers) to the mothership in the last two years. None have come back with any damage. In fact, when I sent my M64 back for a barrel swap, I'm reasonably sure they re-blasted the frame top and barrel rib. My problem is just the opposite of yours - both of my TSW frames are excellent, but the slides show scratches and handling marks ... 
Yep. I thought about that possibility too...
... not to mention the possibility that I could screw something up or lose parts or who-knows-what if I take it completely apart myself. I ain't the gunsmith I used to be ya know... 
... not by a long shot! 
And I haven't even taken this gun apart yet, but I can tell you that it arrived filthy dirty. God only knows what surprises are in there that I still haven't found yet. I'm almost afraid to look.
... and the problem with those TSW slides is the laser markings that seem to wear off even faster than they wear off the frames.TTSH - Good info sir - Thanks for the continued updates. I have sent three (all revolvers) to the mothership in the last two years. None have come back with any damage. In fact, when I sent my M64 back for a barrel swap, I'm reasonably sure they re-blasted the frame top and barrel rib. My problem is just the opposite of yours - both of my TSW frames are excellent, but the slides show scratches and handling marks ...
I looked into that one time, and as I recall, it wasn't cheap to have the mothership re-blast those slides and then re-apply the TSW laser markings. I feel your pain! 
One last bump sir - I didn't realize that S&W would (or, at least, did in the past) re-blast and re-mark the TSW slides? That would be the school solution for me since my frames are in such good shape, and I wouldn't have to pay the exorbitant fees for shipping a frame. Do you recall how much they were asking? If it was around $100-ish then I'm anal enough to get one sent off right away ... understanding that it'd be gone for months...
Here is my thread on the topic from a couple years back. S&W's price is in the very last post!
Again, I want to point out that the latest info I got out of S&W CS says that S&W will pay shipping both ways on a refinishing job. Don't know why I got different answers from different S&W CS folks, so take that part with a grain of salt.
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Edit 5/9/2018: Based on other recent posts, it's starting to sound like the free shipping both ways thang only applies to recall and warranty work, which makes sense. I'm going to assume for now that the $15.00 shipping charge that I was originally told about will apply to my proposed frame refinishing job.
-ttsh
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Update...
Looks like I'm going to go forward with this anodized aluminum allow frame refinishing work by the mothership as soon as next week. I might even have some additional work done on the gun while it is there. If I don't see it back for 4 to 6 months, so be it. That's life. If I kick the bucket in the meantime, at least the good wife, my kids and her nephews will get to enjoy it. 
Being as anal retentive as I am about the cosmetic condition of my guns, my reservations and the cost be damned... this work has got to be done.
I've also decided to ask them to change the frame color to black, so that the gun returns in a "two-tone" motif. It will help me think that I'm getting something special and unique back for the invested money. 
So wish me luck... and look for a full report with pix if/when I ever get it back.
Looks like I'm going to go forward with this anodized aluminum allow frame refinishing work by the mothership as soon as next week. I might even have some additional work done on the gun while it is there. If I don't see it back for 4 to 6 months, so be it.
That's life. If I kick the bucket in the meantime, at least the good wife, my kids and her nephews will get to enjoy it. Being as anal retentive as I am about the cosmetic condition of my guns, my reservations and the cost be damned... this work has got to be done.
I've also decided to ask them to change the frame color to black, so that the gun returns in a "two-tone" motif.
It will help me think that I'm getting something special and unique back for the invested money. So wish me luck... and look for a full report with pix if/when I ever get it back.
It all depends on who you get in S&W CS...
Well, a new revelation today in this dubious adventure. I called S&W CS to finalize the frame refinish (re-anodizing) and color change from silver to black and get my label... and now the new guy I spoke with says that a frame color change is not possible after all.
I told him how the last CS guy checked it out for me and said that a color change on a re-anodizing job was doable and for the same basic fee ($150). The new guy says that wasn't an error, but it was a "misstatement."
No, I didn't bother asking "What's the difference"?
So now I am back on hold again wondering what to do. Do I wait a week and call S&W CS again and hope for a different guy? Or do I punt and go to the third party refinisher? Or do I just sell the damn gun and move on?
I suspect this latest S&W CS guy is misunderstanding what I am requesting as he kept talking about doing a "rebluing job" on the frame. But maybe not. I know that it is technically possible to re-anodize in a different color, so if I am getting the straight story now from the latest S&W CS guy, it would be a matter of company policy not to change the frame color, not a technical impossibility.
Dang.
Well, a new revelation today in this dubious adventure.
I called S&W CS to finalize the frame refinish (re-anodizing) and color change from silver to black and get my label... and now the new guy I spoke with says that a frame color change is not possible after all. I told him how the last CS guy checked it out for me and said that a color change on a re-anodizing job was doable and for the same basic fee ($150). The new guy says that wasn't an error, but it was a "misstatement."
No, I didn't bother asking "What's the difference"? So now I am back on hold again wondering what to do.
Do I wait a week and call S&W CS again and hope for a different guy? Or do I punt and go to the third party refinisher? Or do I just sell the damn gun and move on? I suspect this latest S&W CS guy is misunderstanding what I am requesting as he kept talking about doing a "rebluing job" on the frame.
But maybe not. I know that it is technically possible to re-anodize in a different color, so if I am getting the straight story now from the latest S&W CS guy, it would be a matter of company policy not to change the frame color, not a technical impossibility. Dang.
Yeah, surprise, surprise, huh?
Guess I expected too much.
The real shocker would have been if I had gotten the same information from both reps. After additional contact with S&W CS and much thought, I decided to sell the gun in question, take my lumps and move on.So now I am back on hold again wondering what to do.
And that's what I did. End of this attempted experiment in trying to rectify and make good a nasty mistake.
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