[Rugerlvr]

I'm thinking about sending my 28-2 in to S&W for a polish & a reblue. Has anybody used their service? The gun has a lot of holster wear, and has begun to pit. It still shoots perfectly though. A guy locally wants $200 for it, and I have no idea what kind of quality work he'll do. S&W charges $180, and I'd pay shipping to them.

I would expect that it would come back looking like new basically. Does anyone have an opinion on this?

[rcmodel]

I think if it's an older gun, which it is, it won't come back looking like new.

S&W no longer has the people, polishing equipment, or chemicals to do the old blue those guns were noted for exactly the same. I think the new finish is much "Blacker" then the old blue finish.

They Bead Blast and Blue the entire pistol for $140, which would be as close as they do on a Model 28 Highway Patrolman orginial finish.

I haven't had them do one, so I'm just guessing, but I would expect less then what it was originally, and probably get it.

Might be worth a call to S&W Performance Center and talk to them personally as to if, or how close too, they can restore the Model 28 to it's orginial finish.

There are pictures here under the re-finishing section.
http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CustomContentDisplay?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&content=18302&sectionId=11522

rcmodel

[Shear_stress]

I've had them do a couple of older wheelguns. Their work is generally top-notch.

[13.45]

i've seen examples of their work and found it to be first-rate. S&W also stands behind their factory work

[bamacisa]

I had S&W refinish my Dad's old model 10. They did a great job,,,looked like a brand new revolver. I don't remember how much they charged, but it was very reasonable,

[mec]

I had the $180 job done several years ago. It came out very nice. I don't know if the current owners are doing a good job or not.

[Jim K]

The original finish on the older guns was a carbonia blue, done in a gas furnace and done as part of the heat treatment. It could not be duplicated without affecting the heat treatment, so any refinish was standard hot tank blue.

Today, they use tank blue for both new blued guns and for refinish.

FWIW, some years back, I sent a K-22 to S&W (though a dealer) for replacement of the firing pin as I was getting misfires. They contacted the dealer and asked if I wanted it reblued for $17(!), which even then was a real bargain, so I sent a check.

When I got the gun back, it had my original frame and grips. Period. Everything else, barrel, cylinder, all internal parts were brand new, and of course the entire gun had a perfect finish. I am pretty sure they wouldn't do that today, but at that time it was standard S&W service. The invoice was for $17, marked paid in full.

Jim

[Jeff F]

In days long gone S&W's factory refinish & re-blue was some of the best in the business. Polishing and bluing is an art that was lost, as was said in previous posts the old timers that did the work have retired. Too bad this art was not passed on to new generations.

[jaholder1971]

There's an outfit they've mentioned over on the Smith and Wesson forum that many of the guys swear by. I simply can't remember the name of the business but they do have a website.

[Oro]

I have seen examples of their current work and it's excellent. Also, you might call them ahead and have them issue you the packing label - I hear it's much cheaper and simpler that way than overnighting via FedEx or UPS.

[madcratebuilder]

S&W does nice work, but FORDS (http://www.fordsguns.com/) can restamp the logo and in many cases make it look original. They also "match blue" if you just need a part done. I have picked up some K and N frames that have minor blems on the cylinders or lock plates, very, very cheap. I'm going to have Fords match these parts, hopefully I come out with a nice piece.

[Jeff F]

I've herd good things about Fords and have seen a couple examples of their work, it was first rate.

[Phil DeGraves]

I had a Model 28 that I got from a Pawn Shop in Tulsa, Okla. It was an ex-Lubbock Texas PD gun (#250) that broke the trigger pivot pin. It was probably 35 years old when I got it. Sent it back to S&W. Fixed it and refinished it FOR FREE! Did a great job too, but they covered over the Lubbock PD markings. I eventually traded it for a boxed 3&1/2" M27.

[Bailey Guns]

I had them refinish a nickel Mod 29 about 2 years ago. They stripped the nickel, did a fantastic polishing job, installed a new barrel, and blued the gun for $238. The guy who did this was an artist...the work was amazing. A friend saw it and sent his kit gun and received it back with same results. I even called the guy who did it and tried to get him to do a reblue on an old Colt New Service. Unfortunately, he couldn't.

Can't recommend their work highly enough.

[SaxonPig]

I have not had an entire gun refinished (I generally don't favor refinishing except in extreme cases) but I just had S&W refinish a damaged M27 cylinder. they warned me that in 1990 the EPA mandated a change in bluing chemicals and the metals comes out a tad darker than the earlier guns looked but I find the difference to be very slight and hardly noticeable.

The cylinder came back looking very nice. Polished absolutely smooth the bluing looks wet and feels like silk. It is a tiny bit darker than the rest of the gun but I think unless you were looking for it you would not spot it.

If you don't want parts replaced you must ask them to not do it. They tend to rebuild guns that come in for work. If that's OK with you then no problem but some folks don't want new parts put in.

[Rugerlvr]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm leaning towards letting S&W do the work. I love this gun, and I really would like it to look "as new."