Blue it, leave it alone, or......

[NIGHTLORD40K]

So, I put this nice P38 Radom on layaway and it will be coming home soon. Tight action, nice bore, no rust- but also no finish to speak of. Its pretty much in the white

Although some very late war guns may have left the factory unfinished, this one is from fairly early in the occupation and should have either matte blue or phosphate finish.

Im seriously tempted to blue the pistol just to pretty it up a bit. As is, I dont think hard-core collectors would be terribly interested in it anyway and I doubt it will hurt the value that much if at all.

Opinions? Suggestions on alternate finishes?

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I guess another option might be a dark blue (or black) cerakote with white paint in the markings....hmmm....oooh......ahhhh......

 

[GBExpat]

Put down the paint and step away from that nice pistol!



===

FWIW, if I were going to apply a finish it would probably be blue.

To finish or not? That would depend on how I would be using the pistol.

 

[Drail]

If you want it to be a safe queen - blue it. If you want a durable finish for a gun that will be USED - Parkerize it. Cerakote is not a durable finish.

 

[Jimbo80]

I'm on the leave it alone side but if I had to refinish I would parkerize.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Mostly safe queen with occasional gentle plinking.
Certainly not going to carry it- well, unless the zombies/commies/reavers come anyway.

 

[BigBlue 94]

Oil it and leave it be, or parkerize it. No blue, no paint.

 

[doubleh]

It doesn't bad at all the way it is. If it were mine I would leave it alone, shoot it, and enjoy it. An occasional application of Johnson's wax will keep it looking like it is from now on.

 

[Seedy Character]

Do what YOU want.

I would cerakote or parkerize.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

It doesn't bad at all the way it is. If it were mine I would leave it alone, shoot it, and enjoy it. An occasional application of Johnson's wax will keep it looking like it is from now on.

Ya, the picture is flattering....its kinda, I dunno, depressing up close in person, with a few splotches here and there of whatever original finish it had.

A light buffing and waxing would probably spruce it up quite a bit, though.

 

[bannockburn]

I would send it to Turnbull to have it rust blued.

 

[Bazoo]

Nickel would be a consideration for me. Or hard chrome. Maybe, two tone.

 

[wcwhitey]

Parkerize would look correct. More durable than a spray on finish. Not all that expensive either. Nice grab!

 

[Riomouse911]

I’d find a good local shop that does rebluing and have it redone. Turnbull is by far one of the premiere gun restoration shops, but they aren’t inexpensive in the least. If it were mine and the gun is one that has cache’ or a famous provenance, that’s where I’d send it to. If it’s just a shooter I’d check out some place a bit less pricy.

I’ve had a couple of guns restoration reblued by my FFL, H&H Engineering. (They also did the cerakote on my Glock 19.)

This is a 3” Model 36 that someone stripped of most bluing and tried to polish a CAI imprint on the right side. First ones are after pics, next are before.



This Model 57 was bought with an area of deep pits and rust on the left side. The area was buffed as much as possible, the rust was stopped and the area was reblued. It’s still noticeable, but nowhere near the extent it was when I brought it home.




This Model 15 had a lot of holster wear on both sides and the grip backstrap had no bluing and a sheen of rust. I can only guess that an armored car guard or bank security officer held his sweaty hand on the holstered gun a lot.

It looks a ton better than it did (Plus it shoots like a laser beam .)



And this was my Great Uncles duty gun from 1945-1965 at Las Vegas PD. It had lots of missing blue from holster wear and sweat along with a few deep scratches on the right side right through the S&W logo. It’s now returned to dhow much of its original glory.



Your Radom can also be returned to glory, it just depends on how much additional want to put into it.

Show us the results when you’ve made your decision .

Stay safe.

 

[gunlaw]

I’d leave it. Just wipe it down with an oily rag after handling or shooting. Really neat pistol. Love to have one.

 

[gunlaw]

On second look I don’t think this ever had a finish on it.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

On second look I don’t think this ever had a finish on it.

Its not a great picture, sorry. In person you can see blotches of some sort of finish, but I cant tell what exactly it was.

 

[JohnKSa]

I'd leave it as is. Maybe put a coating of Rennaissance Wax on it just to make sure it doesn't rust.

 

[Stumper]

Paint it pink! Or not. I think that any finish you like is fair on that pistol.

 

[Rockrivr1]

Another vote for leaving it alone. It’s earned the look it has now. No need to change its history.

 

[starling]

Nope.... thats a Nice Radom and they are collectables. Preserve with Eezox or Renaissance Wax. Rust wont be an issue.

If it was trashed and you had to file/sand out pitting along with repair I would say park it but its too cherry for that. Even the Grips look perfect. If you get the urge buy a beat up one to play with and restore.

 

[Pat Riot]

Cerakote’s not durable? That’s actually funny!

If you decide to leave it as is I have found that Renaissance Wax is pretty resilient to handling and a little goes a long way. You could just reapply it after firing and cleaning it. I have only used it on blued guns, though.

 

[WisBorn]

My gut said shoot it and enjoy it!!!
Having it cerakoted to improve its rust resistance may be a good idea.

 

[jrmiddleton425]

It appears that this pistol has little or none of its original finish left.

If this is going to be a safe queen, I'd leave it as is. If it's going to be a shooter, I'd put black Cerakote on it.

 

[WrongHanded]

If you want a durable finish for a gun that will be USED - Parkerize it.

That sounds like a good idea. I'm a fan of a well greased parkerized finish.