Spots in the Blue on My Barrel

[Bullseye 2620]

I recently acquired a beautiful blue 29-2 with two barrels: the original 4-inch, which had been removed, and the 6-1/2-inch with which it had been replaced.

The gun is beautiful -- 99% on the frame, cylinder, and 4-inch barrel. The 6-1/2 inch barrel however has some pin head sized spots on it where the bluing is simply gone. I cannot see or feel any corrosion at those places, but what appears to be bare metal shines through there. There are five of these spots on the left side of the barrel, and fifteen or so on the right. I have attached three photos, which while pretty bad technically do accurately depict what these blemishes look like.

What's the best way to go to correct this?

1.) Find a replacement 6-1/2 inch barrel of comparable vintage
(Serial No. is N3239XX) on the theory that the bluing will match the frame and cylinder better than will a contemporary re-blue?
2.) Have only the barrel reblued by someone who says they can match the bluing on the frame and cylinder?
3.) Have the entire revolver reblued, so that while none of the resulting blue finish will be original, it will all match?

This gun is not destined to be a safe queen, but I want it to look correct, and spots are most definitely not correct.

I appreciate your suggestions. Cost is a secondary consideration for this project.

 

[dfariswheel]

That looks much like a minty S&W Registered Pre-War Magnum looked like I was once asked about, but I think it's just wear from being holstered or from rubbing on a box or gun cabinet.

The customer was a young guy who came in absolutely white in the face and showed me his dads minty Pre-War Registered Magnum.
The guy had taken it out to shoot without dads permission.
Not knowing anything about guns he looked in the barrel after shooting and saw leading.
He asked some boob at the range what to do and was told to use a mix of vinegar and hydrogen peroxide to "dissolve" the leading.

After cleaning it he noticed what looked like white freckles on the barrel and front frame area.
In a panic he brought it in hoping to get it fixed before dad saw it.

I had to explain that the vinegar and peroxide mixture also removes bluing and it sprayed off the bore brush he was using and splattered on the bluing, removing it in tiny spots.
When I told him there WAS no "fix" and that even an attempt at rebluing it wouldn't look like the original finish, he almost cried.
I wonder what happened when he had to show it to his dad.

A total reblue will have the whole gun matching, but that will ruin any value because it will almost always be obvious it was refinished.
You just don't reblue a 99% gun.

Having only the barrel blued will work, but you have to be extremely careful who you pick to do it, not some ham-handed butcher who'll over-buff it and round off edges and thin the stamps.
These top people aren't cheap. These days you can get GOOD bluing or CHEAP quality bluing.... Pick ONE.

Buying a new barrel will be a c**p shoot unless you can examine the barrel before buying AND it doesn't have problems you may not notice like a cracked forcing cone, small pits in the barrel under fouling you many not notice, or other damage.

For a quality reblue I'd talk to these people about the chances of a color match......

I'm not sure what S&W is doing on bluing these days, but I'd probably talk to them first.

Glenrock is a leader in the industry and is used by many custom gunsmiths wanting a high grade blue finish. They have a top reputation.

Glenrock Blue

Ford's "used" to have a great reputation for high quality bluing and could do a Colt Python Royal Blue finish.
However, several members of the Colt Forum in the last year sent them Pythons and got back absolutely butchered guns.
Apparently Ford's had hired a new person.
Whether this was an temporary problem or is now the usual for them is unknown, but I'd be careful if I used them.

403 Forbidden

Ron's is a top restoration service and offers a lot of the old bluing processes.

Ron's Gun Shop - New & Used Gun Sales & Service. Concealed Carry

I haven't seen any of Elite's work for several years, so I can't give a recommendation one way or another.

Elite Custom Plating --  Re-Finishing, Custom Work, Competition Guns

 

[bigggbbruce]

I have a beautiful gun ( just don't look at the bad spots)

The pictures remind of dating in the early years. Keep 'em in the dark and out of focus and they all look beautiful.

Kidding aside.. looks like typical holster wear.

 

[Pisgah]

You left off Option 4 -- enjoy the heck out of a darned nice revolver as-is. That'd be my choice, for sure.

 

[iPac]

You left off Option 4 -- enjoy the heck out of a darned nice revolver as-is. That'd be my choice, for sure.

That's what I'm saying!

That gun looks great from the limited pictures. I only see maybe 5 spots, but you don't show the other side that has "15". the side you do show doesn't look that bad at all, so I would just go with it.

Pack it in some leather and off for some fun. No extra money or investment needed.

 

[Bullseye 2620]

"But I gots to fix it."

I'm wicked crazy about taking care of firearms. I realize this is compulsive behavior, but I just won't let this go as is, although you guys are absolutely right that any sane person would just shoot this magnificent revolver as is and enjoy the heck out of it.

I called Turnbull's. They say they can match the blue and want me to send them the 6-1/2" that needs the work along with the 4" that was originally on the gun and which matches the existing frame and cylinder. They don't want to mess with removing and replacing barrels, which is understandable.

Tomorrow I am going to call Smith & Wesson and see what they have to recommend.

BTW, there is another recent post on here that I now cannot find that shows exactly the same kind of damage, which resulted from keeping the revolver wrapped up in a clean towel for a period of decades. Clearly some sort of chemical process going on that attacks the bluing. Anyway, I appreciate the continued thoughts and suggestions and will report back with what the folks at Smith & Wesson have to say.

 

[Bullseye 2620]

P.S.: Spotting on the other side of the barrel is much worse. Please see attached.

 

[chief38]

From what I can see from here your barrel does not appear to be all that bad. Maybe it's the way the pictures are, but I'd probably remove any remnants of rust (if there), touch up with some cold blue, keep oiled and enjoy.

The only REAL option is to have the gun refinished. Because there is such MINOR damage I can not see destroying an almost a perfect and original finish for this minor problem. S&W can no longer duplicate the original Bluing and if you send it out to an after market refinisher you risk other complications and sacrifice the original bluing.

Again....... at least from here (from your pic's) it does not look too bad and I am pretty obsessed. I'd do the best you can and keep it oiled after touching up.

 

[AlHunt]

It adds character. I wouldn't touch it. Anything you do to "fix" it risks other complications. But, it's your gun and money.

 

[jhnttrpp]

Am I missing something here. He has the original 4 inch barrel in perfect shape. Put it back on. Problem solved. Or sell the gun and buy what he wants.

 

[2152hq]

"...I called Turnbull's. They say they can match the blue and want me to send them the 6-1/2" that needs the work along with the 4" that was originally on the gun and which matches the existing frame and cylinder. They don't want to mess with removing and replacing barrels, which is understandable..."

Pull the 6.5 & re-install after a trip thru the hot blue tank is using up too much of their valuable time,,?
Sorry,,but 'not wanting to 'mess with it' is a bit much.
Who's paying the bill?


I agree with the above post,,put the orig 99% 4" bbl back on it.
Sell the gun and buy what you want if the configuration isn't to your liking.
Being picky and choosey isn't the problem when you know exactly what you want,,
Settleing for a substitute that almost makes the grade is.

JMO of course.

 

[Bullseye 2620]

Am I missing something here. He has the original 4 inch barrel in perfect shape. Put it back on. Problem solved. Or sell the gun and buy what he wants.

You know, I was thinking just that. If a 6-1/2 inch is a must-have, then I can save my pennies again and buy one; and what's not to like about having two 29-2s?

 

[BruceM]

You folks realized that removal and re-installation of a barrel is a job for a qualified gunsmith with the necessary special tools. Also, there is a high probability that the barrel will need to be taken around another turn even though it was originally installed on that frame. Just because the barrel is threaded and pinned doesn't mean that you have switch barrel gun like a Dan Wesson!

If it were me, I'd try cold bluing a single "spot" to see how it turns out. Obviously, the one I would try is the one which is normally least visible. If you should get a satisfactory result, try one more which is the 2nd least visible and so on. I would no longer recommend Smith & Wesson for a "factory" refinish as they now use a completely different process which will not match and is know to have durability issues. I'm assuming that these spots are bare steel but is it possible that they are something like lead fouling ON the blued steel?

As for Doug Turnbull, I'm surprised they'd do this at all as they no longer will work on a Smith & Wesson revolver.

Bruce

 

[gwpercle]

I would very carefully touch up just the spots with a good cold blue .
The trick is keeping the touch up area confined to the bare metal.
Clean the spot as per bluing directions , heat and apply bluing with a tooth pick...just a tiny drop, maybe 1/2 drop, to the bare spot, let it work. Keep doing this until the blue is nice and dark. It will not make the spots go away but they will look a lot better, less noticeable.
Order a little bottle of Brownell's Oxpho-Blue and touch up a few spots and see if you can live with it.
I know how the anal-OCD thing affects some people where nothing short of 100% perfection will do, but this may be a simple, easy , quick solution you could live with.
Advice from my Father given many years ago " Son, nothing in life is perfect...stop looking for it, that just interferes with the enjoyment of living! " Back then when I was 17 , I thought he was the dumbest person on earth....I was so wrong !

 

[Bullseye 2620]

This is not my revolver, but the spotting on this one is what the spotting on mine looks like.

 

[chief38]

This is not my revolver, but the spotting on this one is what the spotting on mine looks like.

If you can provide us with pictures close up and detailed like this one advise on your damage would be more accurate. It's REALLY HARD to see in the pic's from your original post.

 

[Bullseye 2620]

If you can provide us with pictures close up and detailed like this one advise on your damage would be more accurate. It's REALLY HARD to see in the pic's from your original post.

Yes, I know. I'm trying to do something about that.

 

[bigggbbruce]

Yes, I know. I'm trying to do something about that.

Better lighting and support the camera so it doesn't move.

 

[Targets Guy]

I think you should send the thread title to the Oak Ridge Boys as an idea for a song.

 

[Bullseye 2620]

See If This Isn't Adequate. . .

See how this photo works. This is about a good as I can do without a lightbox and some other sophisticated equipment I do not have.