1913 made Colt MODEL OF 1911 U.S. ARMY

[Classic12]

I bought this finishless 1913 Colt 1911 last month (and already posted about it). Despite being in the white, the metal was in very good condition, the markings still deep and crisp, no soft edges were apparent and the grips were in good condition for 100 years old wood.

https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=608129

I had decided to have it professionally re-blued. Not an easy decision for such an old gun, but I felt that the originality and serious collectibility was gone once some previous owner had totally removed the finish; I guess there was some corrosion, although there is no apparent deep pitting, and someone decided to refinish it rather than just treat the areas affected, but did not finish the job (pun intended).

(Minimal) prepping was $ 90 and blueing was $ 220

Anyway it came back for the shop and here it is

Before

After

 

[Classic12]

With its 1943 descendant

I am happy with the result. Whilst not an original 1913, it’s still a pretty and eye pleasing gun to me and a testimonial to a glorious design that lasted and stayed relevant for so long.

I won’t shoot it, as I also stopped shooting the A1 after abt 50 rounds, couldn’t resist.

 

[Forte S+W]

Very nice.

Personally, I would have had it Parkerized or Cerakoted in such a way as to look like the old G.I. Parkerizing with a greenish tint to it, but it looks good regardless.

 

[Classic12]

Thanks. The 1943 is original and parkerized with the green tint, whereas the 1913 was originally blued, so a more correct finish imo.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Very nice. IMHO the stop did a stellar job -- they gave it a nice, uniform finish without going crazy and trying to polish out every last pit.

Well done.

 

[Drm50]

I think that is just about the best look you could have given it. Wouldn’t have looked right with total polish.

 

[Old Stony]

Very good job of polishing...I think you made the right decision.

 

[P-990]

Both of your pistols look fantastic! The refinish on the 1913 certainly looks good, I think you made the right decision with having the work done. And dare I say, it looks pretty close to correct for a 1911 of that vintage.

Sent from my SM-A102U using Tapatalk

 

[Classic12]

Thanks guys. I did try to find as many pictures of this particular year and model to have a good idea of how it should look

Here are two pictures I found of a very well preserved original

And here is a Turnbull restoration

 

[Jim Watson]

Looks good on the used gun scale. Not every refinish has to be a restoration.

Turnbull's habit of photographing a blued gun on a black background makes it hard to see what you are really getting.

 

[RickB]

Plenty of "restorations" don't look as good.

 

[Martowski]

Normally I'm a big fan of not doing anything to try to "restore" a classic firearm. But, in this case, I'll say the bluing job was very well done and looks period correct. Nice job.

Mind sharing who did this?

 

[jackstrawIII]

Fantastic, that's a great piece.

 

[Classic12]

Normally I'm a big fan of not doing anything to try to "restore" a classic firearm. But, in this case, I'll say the bluing job was very well done and looks period correct. Nice job.

Mind sharing who did this?

I gave it to a local gunsmith here in Switzerland, he did the prepping and outsourced the blueing to a shop in France.

 

[rc]

I think given the gun had zero original finish you've not hurt the value at all. I much prefer the reblued gun! It should be more well protected from further rust than one left in the white.

 

[Armybrat]

What rc said.
I like it.