S&W Factory Reblue

[JoeBear44]

Has anyone had a gun factory reblued by Smith in the recent past? I saw they had refinishing options listed in their website still, but I wasn’t sure if it was an option worth pursuing. If anyone has any input on it, or better yet pictures, I’d appreciate hearing (or seeing) it!

 

[WCCPHD]

I had this Model 27-2 reblued by S&W about 10 years ago. This was an old police gun, carried a lot and shot very little. It only had holster wear. No rust or other blemishes. S&W only removed the original bluing and reblued the gun. They did not polish this gun at all (they called me and talked about what they did). The new bluing is more of a black. Its much darker than the old blue.

That said, the gun turned out beautifully. It is much too pretty to shoot and I have not fired it since it got back.

 

[JoeBear44]

Thanks for the reply! The gun I have would be a similar situation to that, worn finish, and only the slightest of pits in one spot.

 

[just plain joe]

I'm sorry that I have no pictures.

Within the last eight years I've had a Model 58, a Model 13-2, and a Model 10-5 all re-blued at the the Smith & Wesson factory. They advised me prior to work being done that the bluing process currently being utilized was not of the type done in the past, i.e. it was not of the deep blue but was more "black". I really cannot discern a big difference.

I have no problems with Smith & Wesson bluing my firearms in the future should the need arise.

Jm2c

JPJ

 

[murphydog]

As noted above, I think the final result of a current factory reblue has a lot to do with the how much it the original factory metal polishing is still present. I’ve had a couple of 1980s era revolvers redone and they came out looking very nice.

 

[Rpg]

The “bluing” Smith does now will not produce anything like the blue we’re accustomed to in Smiths produced before about 1990. The new version produces a finish that’s much more black than blue.

That’s not to say that the newer “blue” isn’t attractive, because it can be quite attractive.

The only drawback is that it seems more fragile than the original version. It’s also susceptible to damage from ammonia cleaning products while the older blue is not.

 

[Fishinfool]

Let me start by saying I have never sent a handgun back to S&W for refinishing, but judging from the quality of the blueing I have seen on a couple new guns, (Two model 29 -10's and a recent model 48 with only fair polish, and a splotchy, cloudy finish) I don't know S&W would be my 1st choice for a re-finish, unless maybe they are putting more effort on re-finishes than the standard factory blue.

Larry

 

[stansdds]

S&W switched to a more EPA friendly bluing process around year 2000. It produces more of a black finish, which might be just a bit blacker than the 1980-2000 black oxide bluing. Up to about mid-1980, the blueing had a very blue look to it, it was the old Carbonia oil blue. If your firearm was made after 1980, then the current refinish may be acceptable, but if yours had the Carbonia oil blue finish, you might not like the refinish. Also, the current black oxide is reported to be sensitive to ammonia, S&W advises against the use of solvents that contain ammonia with this newer finish.