Polishing

You may not care, but it IS a Colt.

If it was shipped "brushed stainless" and you polish it to "bright stainless" (even if you do a flawless job) you can knock at least $500 off the value of it. If you have no box or papers then it may not matter that much. That said, even DS, Cobras, and NAs keep going up in value, and probably will forever. I have quite a few collector grade Colts in models that aren't very collectible at the moment. Someday that may change...

I bought a Colt 357 for $200 about three years ago, because someone had parkerized it. The guy who bought it thought it was a rare model he was stealing till he received it, and realized it was an aftermarket finish. Everything on it is excellent, and it functions perfectly, but the fact that it's been seriously messed with means it's hardly worth anything.
 
OceanJaeger, I also agree with you, but once again we have a failure to communicate. The original discussion involved pistols with some appearance issues. None were listed as collectibles or pristine. I believe my responses involved stainless steel pistols.

I think the Colt revolvers you are referring to did not come from the factory in SS.
 
O J
What I wanted to do , is polish the outside of the Stainless Steel Barrel , has a natural shine a few light rub marks . Not looking to change anything . The gun is all blued except for the barrel & guide rod. It is my carry gun , I shoot it once a week 50 rounds , clean it every time. Will add polishing the barrel with Mother's Billet Polish every time I clean .

lamarw
Instead of wax on the barrel I'm using Ballistol an Wilson Super lube grease on the locking lugs . What do you think ? that OK.

Chris
 
If you are planning to use Mother's polish every week there is no need for you to add protection of any kind on that stainless steel slide.

How about some pics ??

I once ruined the collector value of a PEZ Dispenser by removing it from it's plastic wrap.
 
arquebus357
It's not the slide , only the outside of the SS Barrel . I don't know how to post pictures , The gun is nothing fancy , It's a Colt New Agent came with CT Laser Grips in black . The only thing I changed was the dual spring recoil assembly to a single spring stronger guide rod assembly by EGW. It's a good carry firearm .
 
cw308, I agree and apply smidges of gun grease to my pistol barrels and to the slide channels. You and I have been discussing apples and others are correct but are discussing oranges.

I am devastated about arquebus357 destroying his collectible PEZ Dispenser. :)
 
Ah, sorry. I figure you just want to see a shiney barrel inside the slide's ejection port. I understand and have done the same thing to several semi-autos except I cheated and just polished the portion you could actually see. Again though, if you plan to polish every week, after shooting, no Renaissance Wax or anything else is needed.

Thanks lamarw. I will never live down that Pez Dispenser thing. Oh the humanities !!!
 
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Whatever polishing you do, try to run the "grain" lengthwise; I've shoe-shine polished the exterior of some barrels, and when the gun cycles, the inevitable rubbing of the slide and barrel will show more scuffing if the polishing was done perpendicular to the direction of the slide's travel.
 
RickB
Makes sense Rick , the Mothers Billet Polish is so mild , there is no swirl marks . Leaving a mirror finish . Thank You , Chris
 
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