[RavenVT100]

When shooting my wife's Ruger MkII, a serious scratch was sustained along the outside of the barrel, laterally. I'm not even sure how this happened, but I'm guessing it was from being brushed against something. The scratch was deep.

I tolerated it for awhile, but being an idiot and not really having the requisite knowledge of rebluing, I went ahead and bought some cold bluing compound and proceeded to buff out the scratch and reblue. The scratch is now gone, but the area that is reblued is a lot more pale than the surrounding factory blue, and to be honest, it looks like crap. I want to get it professionally reblued by Ruger.

Do I have to go through a FFL to ship a pistol back to Ruger for service? I need to know the correct procedure to get this done, because I just want to get it fixed and over with. The receivers separate on the pistol, but unfortunately the serial is stamped along the upper receiver where the barrel attaches, so I am assuming that (legally) it is the actual "firearm."

[capbuster]

I would give Ruger a call at 928-778-6555, if you have a question. Much of this information is in your owners instruction manual.

[No4Mk1]

You should be able to ship directly to Ruger with no trouble. Same goes for other gunsmiths. Of course, you should confirm your state and local laws. I agree a call to Ruger should answer all your questions specifically.

[R.H. Lee]

How about getting it hard chromed, or just strip off all the blue and paint it camo?

[wally]

Before giving up, use some fine steel wool to polish your cold blued area. This will remove most of the "color". Use a degreaser, followed by dishwashing soap and water to clean the area. Then heat the metal with a heat gun, hair dryer, or oven at its lowest temperture, and appy the cold blue while the part is still hot.

If its almost dark enough, repeat the steel wool & cold blue a few times before giving up, reheating if necessary (depending on how fast you work).

--wally.

[RavenVT100]

I'm going to go ahead and try Blue Wonder's bluing product. Some people told me that it won't wear out over time and that it appears very close to factory blue. I just want this pistol to look nice for my wife; there's nothing phyiscally wrong with it aside from the splotch on the side of the barrel. I got rid of the deep scratch obviously, now I just want the bluing to match within like 90% of what it looked like before.

If none of this works (including what you suggested, wally) I'll send it to a smith for a real rebluing job. But as long as I can get a finish that looks reasonably good and won't corrode, I'm okay.

This is funny because I did a cold blue on the entire receiver cover for my SKS, and the thing came out black as pitch. But different metals blue differently.

How about getting it hard chromed, or just strip off all the blue and paint it camo?

She'd kill me.

[DougCxx]

Do I have to go through a FFL to ship a pistol back to Ruger for service? I need to know the correct procedure to get this done, because I just want to get it fixed and over with.
-Short answer: different states have different laws. Some let you ship it to the manufacturer, some only let a FFL ship it. Most will not return it to your door, only to an FFL. Some specify the shipping method (overnight only for handguns in IL). Ask your local gun dealer.
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