Sistema Air Force Bluing

J

jwmtx

Inactive
I recently wrote to Colt asking how much they would charge me to Royal Blue the above hand gun. They answered that they would not do it because of the age and rarity of the firearm. I was surprised that they would not do it. What am I missing about this? This is a service they normally do and I would pay for.
Thanks for any replies. James
 
If the gun we're talking about here is an Argentine Sistema 1911 Colt may be reluctant to blue it simply because of the steel these were machined from. There have been many rumors and stories about the origins of the steel used in some of the Argentine guns. I am not an expert in hot bluing but I have worked on some of these guns and they are indeed made from some very hard steel. I have seen a couple of 1927 Argentine frames and slides that a file will just glide over like it was hard chromed and actually dulled the file. Colt may be unsure about how well this stuff will take their bluing or how it will look.
 
Is this a real Hartford Colt sent to Argentina on contract or is it one of the licensed copies?

If it is a real Colt, it is probably worth more in worn condition than reblued.

The speculators have not jacked up the price of the Systema Colt copies to the point that you would be hurt by refinishing one of them. I cannot recommend a bluer from personal experience, but there are a number out there who could probably handle it. Ford's gets an Internet Plug every once in a while. http://www.fordsguns.com/
 
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