Were poor finishes common on S&W 80's production revolvers?

J

JRiggs

New member
Hi,

just a quick question: On my '84 production m-19, the finish leaves a little to be desired. I just bought this new in the box, and it doesnt appear to ever been fired. Serial numbers match on box label and gun, tools still sealed, manuals included. Basically everything checks out as this gun being unfired and unused as it was advertised.
The finish on the other hand is just somewhat poor. It has a few small milky spots here and there, especially on the cylinder, and some spots have a brownish tint. These areas only show up on close examination. Has anyone else experienced this? Thanks
 
JRiggs, good to hear from you this morning. I have a model from that time in the N frame. It has a very good finish on it. May you got one that was made on a Friday near closing time?;)
 
Sounds like someone handled it, then put it away w/out any preservative measures for a 17 odd year nap. 3 of my Smiths are from the same time period, and all 3 have finishes to die for in this day of bead blasted(frosted stainless, I believe is how Smith and * refers to it) and "painted" bluing. Stuff like this can happen.

On a related note, the Rossi SxS coach gun I bought has a couple of "blooms" on the finish from improper storage. I use a product called Clenzoil to help minimize the appearance.

On a somewhat related note, if I can get a picture of my wooden S&W N-frame presentation case up, you can see the effects of 15 years of being exposed to the fumes from a tin of #11 percussion caps :( Thank the Almighty the Model 29 wasn't in the case. It's amazing what a small amount of expose to a reactant can have over an extended period of time.
 
seems to me most of the smith revolvers i see that are SS have a dull milky finish to them.i saw a used 686 i think ,on consinment for under 3 hundred but the dull finish turned me off.i have seen several ss smiths with this look.whats up with that????
 
I dunno...

My 8 3/8" 586 is nice, but no trophy winner in the cosmetics department, my roomie's 6" 686-dash-nought is well put together, and my tail-end-of-the-eighties 625 is one of the sweetest sixguns I've ever owned.

None of them have the level of fit and finish or gorgeous deep bluing of my roomie's late-60's/early-70's Model 25, but then neither do most Pythons... ;)
 
What you're describing isn't poor finish from the factory; it's the fact that its not been stored in the most optimal conditions.
 
Oh well, Im thinking of getting something else done to it anyway. Ive always kind of wanted a non-reflective matte finish. I may search for a good smith who can do that.
 
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