[Reloadron]

Years ago there was no shortage of bluing and parkerizing guys out there. I was dealing with a Joe Radocy of Radocy Metal Finishing for bluing and the guy did nothing short of excellent work including that S&W Royal Blue look. There was also an outfit in PA that did excellent parkerizing.

Apparently Joe got out of bluing and now sells books on firearms assembly and dissemble. Don't know why so many have left metal refinishing? EPA rules?

So who knows of some good bluing and parkerizing places? Places that do high quality work for those who do not mind paying for it. I have been away too long! :)

Thanks
Ron

[rcmodel]

Fords is famous.
http://www.fordsguns.com/

So is Robar.
http://www.robarguns.com/

rc

[Reloadron]

Thanks rc as I think Ford's will be hearing from me real soon. I figure for you to mention them they must be doing good quality work.

Thanks
Ron

[Rail Driver]

I've had good luck with Frank at T&F Firearms, out of Thomasville, GA.

[Reloadron]

Thank you Rail_Driver for the suggestion. Man, there was time when the bluing people were easy to find. Now it seems they are far and few between. The guy I mentioned in my first post would pick up and deliver from the shop and he was local.

Thanks
Ron

[Rail Driver]

Thank you Rail_Driver for the suggestion. Man, there was time when the bluing people were easy to find. Now it seems they are far and few between. The guy I mentioned in my first post would pick up and deliver from the shop and he was local.

Thanks
Ron
No problem. Frank does a better job than some factory finishes I've seen, and for the right price. I had a 1911 high polish blued by him for $275, and when I got it back you couldn't tell the difference between his work and Colt's. I'd post a picture, but unfortunately don't have any and no longer have the gun.

[dfariswheel]

Here's the top gun re-finishers who offer bluing.

Remember, good bluing has nothing to do with how shiny the gun is.
Good bluing is all about the hand polishing UNDER the bluing.
Nothing looks worse than a gun over-polished by a ham-handed polisher leaving ripples in the flats, dished out holes, and rounded off or uneven edges.

No gun bluing these days is cheap, but you can have good bluing or cheaper bluing. Choose ONE.

http://www.apwcogan.com/

http://www.fordsguns.com/

http://www.gunbluing.com/

http://www.elitecustomguns.com/index1.htm

http://www.turnbullmfg.com/

[Rail Driver]

Exactly right. Like dfariswheel said - if you pay less than what those big name companies charge, you're obviously going to get a substandard result because anyone not charging an arm and a leg is going to be a ham-fisted newbie.

Sorry, but that's just not the case - the good ones that don't charge top dollar are just few and far between. That's no reason to make blanket claims that couldn't possibly be true in every case, especially if you haven't dealt with a particular company. I'm lucky enough to have one local to me

Before deciding on someone to do the work, by all means research the company first and look at examples of their past work before discounting them out of hand.

[Reloadron]

Thanks to all of you for the suggestions and advice. I will do a little homework and make a few calls. I do realize that quality work carries a price tag and am fine with that, I also realize that quality work can also be had at reasonable cost in many cases. I now have a collection of links to work with, so many thanks for the pointers.

Thanks
Ron