Most gunsmiths have flat bluing rates for rifle, pistol, etc. Some will charge extra for guns that are especially difficult to take down or to get a good polish. They will also charge extra for extra work, like bead blasting. Other finishes like black chrome or rust bluing will be considerably higher than standard tank bluing.
If you are patronizing your local gunsmith, you may get a break in price if you disassemble the gun, as that involves a fair amount of time, but ask first.
One problem - if you disassemble yourself, don't complain about any "lost" parts. The smith has no way of knowing what parts you sent and will not (should not be expected to) accept responsibility for any pieces that are missing. If you deliver a complete gun, then there is no question about who misplaced a part. And if the gun is a "toughie" you may be told, "You took it apart, you put it together."
On some guns, I will insist not only on disassembling the gun but also doing the polishing, as I want a specific type of finish.
I don't want to quote prices, as I have been out of the business too long, but I did check the shop surveys in Brownell's catalog. It looks like a low of roughly $60 to a high of around $125, depending on the shop, the area, the degree of polish, etc. Prices for pistols are lower than for rifles by about $5.00 to $10.00.
Jim
[This message has been edited by Jim Keenan (edited April 01, 2000).]
