Who to refinish my Colt 38 Army Special

S

slick slidestop

New member
I have a Colt 38 Army special that was my grandfathers. It was totally submerged in saltwater during Hurricane Ike. It was totally rusted by the time I was able to retrieve it. Basically I had to rub all the bluing off with fine steel wool. It seems to work and cycle perfectly.

I am wanting to go ahead and show it some love, and have it reblued/restored. I was looking at Colt's website and it says it could be an 18 month turn-around. Is it worth the wait to let Colt do the job, or are there better alternatives out there? I will never sell this gun due to sentimental reasons, I just want it to look like it did when I inherited it.

Thanks for any suggestions.
 
There are a lot of good pistolsmiths, but I'd ask to see their work, first, before making any commitments. Most of the time, you'll hear of a local gunsmith who has a good reputation, and or see some of their work. Smitth's of today, take good photos of their work, so I would look for those. I've finally retired, and only help on here.
 
Thinking about this from a "personal feelings" viewpoint, I think I would be inclined to go ahead and let Colt do it. No, it probably won't come back that fantastic deep Colt blue (black) that you can almost crawl into- but, it is a sentimental object and you probably won't always have the little voice in the back of your mind asking, "Did I do the right thing for Grandpa's pistol?"

Or, did you know your Grandpa well enough to do what he would have done? Get enough input from those who knew him best and do what he would likely have done- that would be nice tribute. That's the only thing keeping me from sending my S&W .38-.44 Outdoorsman with a Call front sight to anyone for a re-finish. Grandpa probably wouldn't have done it.
 
Well, my grandfather was a very gifted man who could do a little bit of everything. I imagine he would re-blue it himself. He was raised in a time of hardships and very little luxury. He died in 1976. He would never spend $400.00 to fancy up a pistol that probably only cost $10-$20 dollars.


I on the otherhand would like to see it looking brand new regardless of cost.
 
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