Quote for a re-blue and tune-up from S&W,,,

This is just my personal opinion:
I would never have a gun reblued, unless it was a true restoration of a valuable classic that was in "relic" condition.
If I was going to refinish a gun, it would be to customize or upgrade the finish. Refinishing devalues guns, so why not upgrade the finish to something more durable than bluing? Bluing offers darned little in the way of rust protection. Other than for aesthetics, bluing is a terrible finish-surpassed by several other applications mentioned earlier.
 
Libby

Hey Aarond, I would just think of "Libby's" finish as what would have been natural as she aged. A little rough around the edges, but still has the "Moxie".
 
I agree with vostracker that a little wear is just a natural part of the aging process. I am reminded of this each time I shave in the morning! As far as spending the money for a factory tuneup and re-blue, whether or not it is justified by re-sale value really would not matter to me. It is a fine old revolver that when refinished by S&W (if you choose to) will be like new. If having the old girl in good-as-new condition makes you happy then $545 seems reasonable to me. Spending your money is kind of fun...:D
 
a little wear is just a natural part of the aging process. I am reminded of this each time I shave in the morning!
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Yeah, but if i could spend $240 to make myself look like I did 20 some odd years ago, I'd spend it in a heartbeat!
 
Thanks for the info Aarond and for your seconding Kraig....I've been considering refinishing my long-time carry piece...a 3" M36 with that old flat black finish, S&W used 25 yrs ago. I scratched the hell out of mine when weed-wacking one afternoon...and I've been remorseful ever since. Mind you, I'm not a fan of pristine guns, mine are all carry qualified, and honest wear from holster or pocket is OK, but those scratches scream neglect...and bear witness to one of the few times I've been guilty of that personality disorder with my guns.

As to the devaluation issue after a factory refinish...those scratches would negate that, I'd think...and too, that gun's a carry piece and will be for my sons and grand-daughters. As Bob Wright opined in another thread, "life's too short to tote an ugly gun to a SD gunfight!"

Rod
 
Like he said ^^^^^
"life's too short
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I personally have one carry pistol which is hard chromed and have been very impressed with the durability.

I also have some in stainless, and others in blued. I have had a Colt re-blued (GASP!!!) just because I wanted it to look better like it did when it was new. It looks great, and is slowly getting more character once again.

If it were just about the money we could all just have one Hi-Point each and pat ourselves on the back for our mad/sound fiscal planning skills/decisions,
BUT (Behold the Underlying Truth)... see above quote.
 
For everyone who said "why care about the investment cost of a refinish" or "life is too short to worry about the money" etc etc: if you make smart financial decisions with guns over time, you end up owning more guns with the same amount of money. Who doesn't want to do that?

Obviously, I think its better to have that extra money (that was saved through from wise purchases) for more new or new-to-me guns. Often times people wonder how one can have X number of guns in their collection, when the person wondering may have a smaller collection. Being judicious with one's money allows one to have a great collection for the same total investment. Rebluing/refinish is often this type of math: spending $200 to make a $500 gun worth $300. I'm not wealthy enough to look at that equation and say "well, who cares about that" and so I do care about that.

You (whomever) may not, and you (whomever) may still say "who cares, you live once". If you multiplied the situation, with say 3 guns to S&W like this, that would be nearly $750, which could be another great S&W revolver instead of 3 refinishes where the money might be lost for good.

In some instances a reblue is an ok idea, but I think in this thread's instance, there are better moves to be made.
 
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Winchester_73 you make a well reasoned case for spending wisely, and that in this specific case re-bluing may not be the wisest from a dollars and cents point of view.

I have made many purchases over the years that probably made little sense from that perspective. Owning more guns for the same amount of money and making my all my choices based on market value, is less important (to me) than buying what I want, within reason. Is it reasonable to spend the money to make this old revolver like new? The only one who can answer that is Aarond, and whatever he decides after closely examining the pros and cons will be a wise choice IMO. Life is too short to let money have too high a priority in it.
 
I understand the value of not re-blueing some guns. But if someone wants if for a specific purpose, it may be worth it to do an "upgrade" to hard chrome or some other finish (or even a re-blue in some instances). In the 1911 world, it's very common for folks to get options, mods, add-ons, etc. that add very little to the resale value of a gun (or may even lessen the value) but it's well worth it for that particular person. If it is going to be used a lot, then do what suits you. If you're going to shoot it once a year, that's a different story.
 
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