Years ago I got a Victory model from the National Guard armory for 75$.(1980s) It was solid but the finish was worn. I wanted to reparkerize it but the shop all but insisted I should get it blued. So I ended up with a matte blue which was inauthentic. Years(90's) later I got a well worn British Victory model for 60$ from a wholesaler. It was stuck due to the extractor rod loosening and had a well worn black paint finish over a worn parkerized. Cylinder and sideplate were swapped at some point based on numbers. Probably from India or Pakistan. It sat in a safe for 15 years as-is. Finally I decided to make it work and by then I was into DIY stove-top parkerizing. The only parts I replaced were a cylinder stop and the beat wood grips. I disassembled it and snuck the parts into work to bead blast them, not sandblast. I used Manganese phosphate and the cylinder came out almost black for some reason but the rest looked normal. Now it is a perfectly good shooter, with shiny bore and cylinder play is not bad. If you have a way to bead blast gun steel or other ways to remove all old finish and rust, you can do it yourself on the cheap. It is really a pretty easy process if you read the instructions. I have done various guns and gun parts myself. For the cost of the chemical kits.