[bill larry]

I walked into the local dealer where a buddy of mine works and walked out with this from an estate collection, a Model 17-3. The lock work is perfect and the bore is too, and it does shoot, which is all I can say about it.

This gun was NIB. It got wet, and the box fell apart. So did most of the gun!

Not sure what to do with it other than shoot it. Maybe parkerize it to try and hide the bad pitting?

[weisse52]

Well, you do say it shoots....

I guess this is one gun you can really use and not worry about abuse.

Not sure anything is really going to hide that finish.

[Voland]

Wow, thats bad... How long was it sitting in water?

I say shoot it if the barrel is clean and you feel that its safe to fire. If not, have a smith check it out...

V.

[swampboy]

Not sure anything is really going to hide that finish.

Ah, Bondo maybe? :D

[bill larry]

Wow, thats bad... How long was it sitting in water?

Years and years I guess.

The same guy whose estate this came from had hundreds of guns, and more than one looked like this. In fact, some were so bad they were discarded. However, there were some very nice and rare pieces.

[SharpsDressedMan]

Keep it the way it is. If it shoots good, it should only be annoying to those around you, kind of like an ugly wife that YOU love, but other people find hard to look at.........

[madcratebuilder]

That can be fixed with a plating process that fills the pits, spendy. Cheap way is to bead blast it and then park it.

[mustang_steve]

Yeah, that gun has character. So long as the hammer works as intended, you can get rounds into and out of it, and bullets through the barrel with decent accuracy....then go shoot it.

Honestly, in clothing the aged look is in, so why not extend it to firearms?

[Iggy]

You can have lots of fun at the range.. Shoot little bitty groups with what looks like a dog and make the space gun crowd cringe with every shot..

[justashooter in pa]

sand or garnet blasting will play hell with a finely fitted revolver. glass bead as well. parkerising requires blast preparation to work well. if you do have it parked, strip it completely before blasting and tape it up good with aluminum tape in ALL areas that are not exterior, and in areas such as the cylinder face and rear of barrel to preserve the cylinder gap (blasting will increase the gap by 3 thousandths or so). plug the bore on both ends and protect the cylinder crane mating and all threads. after it's blasted clean thoroughly with braakleen brake cleaner, proceed with parkerising, and be prepared for some hand fitting in getting it back together.

[rogertc1]

I'd just paint it. Not worth the money to parkerize it...poor gun.

[jerkface11]

Go to an autoparts store and buy a can of wheel paint. You can figure out the rest.

[Maj Dad]

They will do the bead blast refinish for $145. There are some example of the different finishes on their website, but I think in this case the bead path may be appropriate (or you may want to talk to them about it for other options) - check it out:

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CustomContentDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=11601&content=18302&sectionId=11522

[Jim K]

Leave it. I agree with weisse52; you can shoot that gun, toss it in the truck, carry it in the woods, without worrying about hurting it.

Jim

[Confederate]

I'm going to depart from the majority and urge you to send it to S&W and have them rework the gun. Or you can have a third party refinisher reblue the gun to a rich deep blue. I would not leave a fine gun like this when it most likely could be restored.

It's such a waste. Smith & Wesson doesn't reblue their guns to the old way because of environmental reasons; however, they may be able to do some restoration work.

[Confederate]

I've had very good work done by Mahovsky's Metalife (http://www.mahovskysmetalife.com/index.htm) hard chrome plating and rebluing, and decent prices, too. I'd contact them. They hard chromed a nice little Beretta 70S for me and did a fine job.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/hh198/jriler/Beretta70S_2.jpg

Hard chroming isn't as gorgeous as blue, but it's forever. It doesn't suffer from holster wear and it protects your gun from the elements. Because your gun is pitted, it will require some pre-treatment polishing, which is why S&W may be the way you want to check first. (Ask them if they can restore the gun and if so, to what extent and how much.) Then call Mahovsky's and see what they can do.

Whatever you do, please post your "after" photos here as I'd love to see how it turns out. I don't like bead blast bluing and think it looks cheap. But if they can do a decent restoration of the gun, the factory would be my first choice. If they say they can't do much about the pitting, but that they'll refinish it for you, I'd definitely consider the hard chroming process.

You might also try the Hot Flash Refinishers (http://www.hotflashrefinishing.com/howwe.htm). They have different grades of bluing.

Good luck!

[444]

If it was me, I would just leave it alone.
If it functions as it is supposed to, is safe, and if it shoots accurately I wouldn't care at all about how it looks.

Of course that is just me.

[ArchAngelCD]

I agree with the above suggestion to send it back to S&W and see what they can do with it. It's their gun so I'm sure they will know the best way to fix it up. They do really nice work, I've seen several revolver done by S&W, they look new... (actually better than new)

[anewconvert]

I kind of like the abused factor to it. It's that particular guns character. Like a ratrod. It's cool because of how ugly it is. If it's safe to shoot you should let it be and use it the way it is.

BC

[messerist]

I agree on sending it back to S&W. On the other hand if you go to the blackpowder thread a lot of guys there think the "aged look" is the cat's meow!

[dagger dog]

Is it a collectors item? If not buy a cheap siphon type abrasive gun set up < 30 bucks,a pound of glass bead abrasive,( both can be had at Harbor Freight Tools), couple rolls of Dymo labler plastic tape ( for masking areas like the roll markings, this stands up to blasting where regular masking tapes won't), and a Laurer Dura-Coat coating kit in your favorite flavor, and turn your find into a carry peice. The Dura coat on top of a bead blast base looks great and will protect from farther rusting.

Some guys have all the luck, NICE FIND.

[Eightball]

Another vote for the "send it back to S&W for some reworking."

That's too cool of a gun to have, and getting it restored and refinished would only protect your investment for longer.