Has refinishing a gun ever been worth the money to you?

Anyone have a story of when a professional refinishing was worthwhile?

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I did a LOT of rebluing for the public in the late 1970s and early 1980s and had very good feedback from my customers. I don't remember hearing from anyone who regreted having it done. Now I only blue my own guns. My work pleases my and that is enough. If you are speaking from a monetary standpoint,contrary to popular belief,a quality reblue will INCREASE the resale value of a common firearm. A collectible will lose value and collectability if refinished. A poor quality refinish is of no value to anyone.

bushmaster1313

If you're strictly talking wood refinishing, then I would have to say I'm a do-it-yourselfer where that is concerned. I love working with wood and have restored or refinished probably 10 to 12 rifle and shotgun stocks, as well as countless handgun grips.

If however you mean gun refinishing in general, as in metal treatment, that would be a different story. In terms of rebluing, I have been disappointed in regards to two rifles I had refinished. On one rifle I requested a semi-gloss blue finish; what I got back was a totally matte finish that resembled flat black appliance enamel. Another rifle I had reblued by a local company that specialized in refinishing. Not long after I got it back it quickly developed rust in several places around the barrel, receiver, trigger guard, and buttplate. It had to be refinished again but this time by another company.

The best results that I have had with refinishers is with the hard chrome plating that I had done by Ron Mahovsky at Mahovskys Metalife. I have been completely satisfied with every gun that I had refinished there and I am still amazed at how great my guns look after all these years.

I just recently sent my Garand in to have a big ugly scratch removed and get all the wood refinished. I'm going to have a new stain put on and we'll see how it looks afterward.

Just about anybody with half a brain and some proficiency with hand tools can refinish a wood stock. Metalwork is another matter. I've had four custom guns built and my only regret is that I don't have more. Very difficult for the home gunsmith to do work like this:

That, there, is one beautiful pistol!

I came into a rare Browning hi Power with an alloy frame with some irregular holster wear, otherwise near mint. It was worth it to me to get NP3 applied, as it's characteristics on alloy (aluminum) parts were as good as it probably gets, and unified the finish for upper and lower parts as well as possible, and has self lubricating and extreme durability qualities. Some finishes just fit the purpose or requirements of the gun. [/IMG]

I had a rusty Marlin 39m re-blued recently. I should have just sold it and cut my losses, but...
The smith in town did it, and it's as good or probably better than factory. But I'll never get my money back on it. Not that I care.

i picked up a worn nylon 66 for cheep and re blued it with cold blue , was able to trade it in to a dealer for $75 more then i had in it , didn't figured that was too bad seeing how dealers wont give you squat for anything

I do them myself. It is just gives me a warm feeling to hold one after I spent hours working on it.

APW Cogan just refinished my HE finished p2000sk

100% worth the price ($110).

turned out amazing....got it done in brushed hard chrome

nice

do they have a site--- found it

http://www.apwcogan.com/

I am a revolver fan, and Craig, yours is a beauty. I especially like the scallops in the grips. I've never had any refinishing done, but would consider it if I came across a really nice but worn S&W Mod 19 or the like. I have an old Gen 1 Glock 17 that I have considered having Duracoated, but haven't taken the plunge.

A couple of years ago, I got a good price on a Walther PPK/S that had been "poorly stored" and was, frankly, a mess. I shipped it off to Mac's Restorations, and it came back a couple of weeks later in superb working order, with no more rust or pitting issues to be concerned about. It's a good backup pistol now; I often carrry it with full confidence. I have no reservations whatsoever about sending some firearms off for similar treatment; the alternative is to put them to sleep.

A buddy took his Rem 700BDL to a so called gunsmith.
That guy mad a total mess out of it.
Buddy sold it to me for $150.
I took it to a real smith and for another $80 it was better than new.
This was in 1978 or about just for reference.
I still have it and it still looks great.

I own several Dan Wesson revolvers, a couple years ago I had one refinished in bright nickel.


Absolutely no regrets, it came out beautiful

The finish on this CZ 75B .40 S&W was worn, and the pistol just was sad. I had it redone by Mac's Shootin' Irons in Tucson. I couldn't be happier:

I think that duracoat other than the flat blk "almost factory" colors, look like earl schibe paint jobs. I would never use it. I would send my gun to a quality plating shop and have a custom coating like Trip,or some or the better known gun refinishing shopes do. Not a spray paint job.
That NP3 , coogan, and smith, and metalwork are beautiful, how can you compare it to these duracoat jobs. The only time I see Duracoat useful is if you restore guns for resale. You can bead blast them get off the pitting and rust and cover it up with a new coat of paint.

While not as aesthetic as nice plating, dura coat does provide an even and protective finish that works for the purpose of protecting the gun. I have also seen some pitting filled in before the duracoat, like bondo-ing a car. If you didn't know beforehand, and were never removing the duracoat, you'd never know the gun had been pitted.

30 or more years ago Smith and Wesson would do re blue and re nickle for like fifteen dollars or so. If you picked up a used gun in good mechanical condition it was well worth the money spent on the refinish. The gun came back in a new box also. As I remember they put a mark under the crane by the model # to denote a refinish. Frank

I usually appreciate tthe "character" of a well-worn finish, but there are two specific instances where I am willing to consider a refinish.

1. A badly worn finish on a Colt 1903 - such a beautiful gun should have a deep and lustrous blued finish.
2. A FEG AP-66 type pistol in a brushed chrome - I just like the look of it and I'm sure it won't negatively affect the value.

Every firearm I use on a regular basis is matte finished, non reflective, and well worn on the outside(Glocks, ARs, Remington 700 PSS, Remington 870P) and to me when someone is shooting a firearm with a well worn finish it means they shoot and handle it alot. I also appreciate the "Character" of a well worn finish.

Unless I were living/working in a high humidity salt water environment where hard chrome would make a difference, I would rather spend money on training and more ammo than to refinish a gun.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

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