Colt Detective Special w/ Chrome Finish?

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Curious. I've seen several DS's That were Nickel plated, but never one that had been chromed. If it was indeed chromed I would bet it wasn't done like that by Colt. Although I suppose it could have been from a special order run.
 
You already got the answer on the firing line. Somebody got a heck of a deal on a 3rd gen DS with a nonfactory brushed hard chrome job. Rally perfect for a CCW fighting gun.
 
No harm in fishing in a different pond, right? Or are you the inter-forum police Gordon?

This unique DS combined with the difficulty I've encountered in my DS hunt has sent me on a whole new line of thinking. I'm starting to wonder then if it might not be something to consider buying a DS with some finish issues and get this hard chrome finish on it.

Any idea how these hard chrome finishes compare with nickel, or ss?
 
Definitely the way to go and hard chrome is 10x the finish of nickel ect. Metalife is gonna raise their price in a month or so. Right now you could get a brush finish like that for $135. I have Metal Lifed guns that look almost like new after 30 hard years use! This way you could get a worn finish Gen 3 DS like you want for less than a cherry one.
 
That's not a bad price, especially considering the prices I've been looking at for newish nickel DS's. I will certainly research it further, but is this Metalife a finish that many company's offer, or is this someone's unique term?

I know I shouldn't be overly concerned with the look when you're talking about 30 years, but I have really gotten used to that beautiful polished Colt Nickel look on the DS's I've been checking out.

Do you know of any post factory nickel finsihes, or at least something that looks like the Colt bright nickel finishes?
 
Metalife is their term for brushed hard chrome which they were one of the pioneers of in the early 1970s. It DOES look like brushed stainless. You do not have to worry what you clean it with like nickel. It does NOT peel and flake like nickel eventually will, especially on cylinder faces ect when it is fired alot. Lastly the finish 'slicks up' a well lubricated action as it is very hard on the Rockwell C scale and cuts down friction -alot!
 
So what was wrong with it to cause the price to be so low?
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That is easy. I know from experience. When ever you chrome something and try to sell it, it actually becomes worth less than if you left it as a beater rust bucket. I know because I have had several fine weapons hard chromed and if I try to sell them people are just not interested. The usual comment is 'what idiot would do that?'
 
FWIW - Metalife does offer a polished finish, but the gun has to be pretty pristine to start with.

I just had a model 10 snub done and they gave me the choice of brushed or polished Metalife.

I personally prefer a low glare brushed Hard Chrome job.

If you buy a basket case to have Metalife'd be careful not to get something heavily pitted. Metalife does not work well on pitted guns and they will steer you towards their other finishes. Peppered is okay, pitted is not.
 
Yup! Any deviation from original usually lowers the "collector" value.
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True. but a DS in any kind of decent condition for under 300 bucks is just about unheard of these days.
 
supmayn

The Metalife Hard Chrome finish is great, especially for guns that have cosmetic issues such as worn bluing, finish discoloration, or very light surface rust. As others have posted, it actually gives your gun a higher surface hardness, keeping the finish looking brand new for many years to come.
 
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