Well, it's ruined. Suggestions?

H

Hutch

New member
Due to neglect (not by me), the finish on my excellent+ M28 4" is completely ruined. Rusted, pitted, ruined (for me). The lockwork seems fine.

The person who is responsible has agreed to make it right. To reblue will mean taking off lots of metal, just to get past most of the worst pitting. I generally don't like nickel-plated revos, altho' I have a couple. At this point, I'm tempted to simply go over it w/ light steel wool and CLP, knocking off the rust, and selling the responsible party a $150 gun for $300 and going shopping. Anybody got any other idears?
 
You might consider sending it to S&W for their opinion (and cost)
for rebluing. They should be able to determine the amount of metal thickness that would be lost and the advisability of that approach.
 
Hutch, the responsible party should be flogged....repeatedly. They should take you to the upcoming gun show at the BJCC (or whatever they call it now) and you pick out something you want that is comparable. Sell or trade the M28 and have them pay the difference on the new piece.

Or just beat them till you feel better:D
 
Concur with CR Sam

and the alternative is the difference in price between the gun when it was loaned and the depreciated value because of the damage (or cost of restoration work).
 
One other question I'd ask:

"Is this gun a GOOD shooter worth keeping around once restored"?

Even classic S&Ws varied in terms of QC. If this one has a sweet trigger, tight lockup, small cylinder gap and shoots small groups, it's something I'd want to fix up (at the jerk's cost) and keep.

Otherwise, one of the options where you don't keep that gun may be of more interest.
 
It was a fine shooter in my limited experience with it. It will clean up to a fully functional but very, very ugly gun, the kind you don't mind keeping under the seat of the truck w/ the jackhandle. This guy is not completely unfamiliar with guns, but left it in his car trunk in a zipper case, the same trunk in which his wife broke a beverage bottle, unbeknownst to him. He really has no resources available (except me) when it comes to scouting for a replacement. I believe the amount of polishing required to get past most of the freckling and pitting will really ruin my interest in it. At this point, I reckon I'll sell it to him. I appreciate all the feedback. If anybody gets a brainstorm in the next day or so, please lemme know. If anybody has a line on a decent 4" M28, please lemme know. The perp feels terrible about it, Scott, so I can't really hammer on him. No point.

BTW VictorLouis, I'm not at all ashamed to claim it as a $300 gun. You'd be amazed to discover what good Smiths bring these days.:eek:
 
Since the pore soul doesn't have good contacts in the gun world, I'll go with Victor Louis's idea and sell it to him for $300. And then patiently look for another in nice shape.

Would recommend that if you stumble onto a keeper in as good a shape as the one in question for less than the $300......refund the difference to the buyer of your old one. Keep some peace in the crew. Anybody worth loanin a gun to is worth treatin right.

Sam
 
It may be heresy, but there are times when it is not bad to have a gun that works well but which you don't care a darn about as far as use and abuse goes. Toss it in the toolbox, or on the truck floor. If it gets wet, so what? If it gets rusty, so what? If it gets scratched, the heck with it.

Jim
 
[Originally posted by C.R. Sam
Would recommend that if you stumble onto a keeper in as good a shape as the one in question for less than the $300......refund the difference to the buyer of your old one....Anybody worth loanin a gun to is worth treatin right.


You Sir, are my idol.
 
This probably isn't going to be the answer here, but maybe a pitted gun could be engraved to eradicate the bad areas, designing the engraving pattern to cover the problem areas. It would also need rebluing, of course. And the cost would probably be beyond your means. But this might help someone else with more money in a similar position...

There's a lot to be said for stainless handguns, and for wives who don't spill drinks in car trunks, where the gun probably shouldn't have been, anyway, certainly not for long. In this case, I'd ask the guy to buy the gun for the $300 mentioned, or fair value in your area, and buy an M686.

Lone Star
 
C. R. Sam, I'm ashamed I didn't think your strategy first. If ever our paths cross, I'd like to shake your hand and buy you a Shiner. I'll sell the trot-line weight to the poor chappie. It's possible, but not highly likely, that the next acquisition will be the 4" M28. If I find one, fine: if not, well, we can't let the money burn a hole in my pocket, can we? I feel very confident I will get a 4" M28 to go with my 6". When that happens, and if it sets me back less than the three yards, I'll refund the dif.

Regarding the suggestion for a 686, for some reason, L-frame Smifs have never really appealed to me. I will freely accept that they are a neat combination of power, durability and size, but I just don't lust after them as I do K and N frames.

Thanks for all the replies, 'cause I had no confidence in my gut reactions when I unzipped that gunrug and saw the mess. I think I'm thru this thicket, for now.
 
Patience is hard to come by but sometimes it pays.

I had a hole in my Smiths. 5" 27. Had given up finding an affordable one. Then recently one followed me home. 98 percenter and it was $250 out the door from a pawn shop.

Sometimes good things happen.

Sam
 
FWIW, about 20 years ago I lent a blue, 6-inch Model 10 to a kinsman, who returned it to me a couple of years later with rust covering most of the barrel and the greater part of the frame (of course, whether my gun was rusted as badly as the subject of this thread I don't know). Anyhow, the gun seemed ruined. But I went ahead and boxed it up and shipped it to the S&W Service Department. After inspecting it, the service people advised me that it could be refinished, although some pitting would remain. That sounded like an improvement to me, so I gave them the go-ahead.

When the gun came back from S&W it had been transformed beyond what I expected. Yes, there was some pitting here and there. Plus, some of the markings were lighter than they had been originally. But it was a handsome gun again and I still have it.
 
I've no comments on your relationship with the other person, but I have an thought about the revo itself.

I remember seeing a parkerized 28 once - it looked amazingly utilitarian, like what the Army might have used in the Korean War in an alternate universe. I didn't need it, but I sure wanted it just because it looked so warthog-practical. The 28 is a butt-ugly practical gun anyway, and this finish just seemed to underline that aspect in a way that made that revolver seem extremely appealing.

Parkerizing is cheap, it fills in most pits and you just might want to keep the revo when you see what it looks like. I'm sure I'd feel the same way I did before if I ever saw another parkerized 28, and I doubt I'd be the only one attracted to the concept.
 
Let the guy off easy (he IS a friend)

He doesn't have to buy you a new M28. Tell him you will be happy enough with just a M27.
 
BTW VictorLouis, I'm not at all ashamed to claim it as a $300 gun. You'd be amazed to discover what good Smiths bring these days
Click to expand...

I meant to express my shock at $300 for it in that shape. I should've made that more clear. My bad.:)
 
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