Combat commander. Refinish? New grips?

[silicosys4]

Hello,
I have had this combat commander for a while, purchased as a shooter, and recently had a chance to put more than a few mags through it.
I like it. A lot. Its the perfect length for a 1911 for me, it balances better than my 1991a1 full size, but shoots just as well.
Now I am pondering a restoration including a new finish and am at a crossroad, looking for opinions.

Would you refinish this gun or just leave it as is? I realize I would be losing money in refinishing it but gaining aesthetic value.
If so, what finish? Would you leave it satin nickel, or go with a royal blue, or polished nickel? I think the satin nickel was done on the least polished guns since the finish covers up a lot and I'm worried about losing the rollmarks if I refinish and they have to buff the gun to take a higher polish finish. I would honestly almost have a beat up finish with sharp rollmarks than a refinish with dished screw holes and faded rollmarks, no matter how nice the finish.

I don't like the grips, but I THINK they are original to the gun, as they are marked with the colt logo and I read somewhere that some combat commanders left the factory with pachmayrs on them. Would you change them or leave them on?

Thanks for your replies.

 

[silicosys4]

And here is another picture of the only thing I would be concerned about in a refinish, a few small gouges that go maybe 0.5mm deep in one spot. Are these a concern? Would they be present in some form in a refinish?

 

[horsemen61]

If it were my gun id change it to whatever i wanted because its mine but to answer the question yes I would refinish it

 

[silicosys4]

And a picture of the worst of the finish damage. The frame under the grips isn't bad, a few small rust spots but overall pretty clean....main reason I don't like the pachmayrs, particularly the wraparounds....they trap moisture and let it fester.

Sorry about the multiple posts, I can't post more than one picture per post, for some reason.

 

[bannockburn]

If it were mine I would have it hard chrome plated and put on a pair of Ahrend's skip checkered grips. I might also have a set of high visibility sights installed along with an extended thumb safety.

 

[GBExpat]

I had one of those in the late '70s ... it is my Gun That Got Away ... had to sell it, something that I have always regretted.

I cannot now specifically recall if those rubber grips came as standard. I have always thought that I bought (my first ever set of) Pachmayrs for that pistol, but I see the Prancing Pony logo, so ...

If I still owned that piece and it now looked like yours and I decided to refinish it ... I would choose either hard chrome or blue, depending upon how I planned to use it.

Definitely not nickel or other finish that is relatively soft ... unless I was planning on selling it and then I might consider trying to recreate the original look.

BTW, I really liked those grips ... which is why I have purchased quite a few more grips like that for quite a few handguns over the years.

Only issue that I had with those grips was getting a quick, proper grip when wearing it under a suit/sport coat ... interference with the shirt. A custom leather panel added to my pancake holster solved that.

 

[JTQ]

I'd go with NP3 or NP3 Plus from Robar. I have no first hand experience with the product, but there are a couple of guys on the forum that have shown pictures of their NP3'd guns and they look great.

http://robarguns.com/custom-firearm-finishes/

My Colt came with similar grips. I still have them, in a box. My pistol wears Hogue ebony double diamond grips. Hogue Ebony http://www.hoguestore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=734_50_184&products_id=935

Though I think Herrett's black lacquer (skip checkered) grips would look good on that gun too. http://www.herrett-stocks.com/d45.htm

 

[5-SHOTS]

You can have refinish it by Colt to the original finish I guess (or another finish you like). Put a set of wooden grips with the Colt logo on it and you are done. Put the original rubber ones in the safe.

 

[JDR]

Those are the same original Pachmayr grips I have on my BHP and I like them much better than any of wood grips you could put on. You could try getting that frame & slide polished & hard chromed, tothat won't be cheap.

 

[shootstraight57]

I bought a Colt Commander some time ago and they came with the Colt wooden grips. Changed them out later for Pachmayer wrap around. It has been my mainstay for carry.

 

[RussB]

Being as it's nickle now, a refinish will cost in the neighborhood of $400+. The original finish will have to be stripped

 

[Dframe]

I don't think Colt will do satin nickel anymore. Any refinish would have to be something else. I've never been a big fan of refinishing unless there is no choice. I rather like my guns original and tend to keep them that way. But it's your gun so do as you like.

 

[bannockburn]

Check out mahovskysmetalife.com for pricing on hard chrome plating. They have that finish available at $155 plus $30 for stripping off the old satin nickel and $30/hr. for any other work to be done to the surface of the gun. I have used their services a number of times over the years and have always been extremely pleased with their work.

 

[David E]

If the Combat Commander is the "perfect gun" for you, then make it the "Ultimate Perfect Gun" by changing out essential parts.

1) high visibility sights (Novak or Heinie)

2) Ed Brown beavertail

3) as a minimum, bevel magwell, probably add S&A or Chen, depending on available cash.

THEN refinish.

But I would also do:

4) extended thumb safety

5) trigger with over travel stop in length desired

6) skateboard tape on front strap (stippling is better, but costs more. Do it before refinishing)

 

[silicosys4]

Hey, thanks, everyone for your replies, I hadn't really considered going with a non factory finish, but it looks like the satin nickel finish is no longer available from colt, so whatever I do if I refinish it, the gun won't match the serial number anymore. I like that np3 ultra finish, and David E's suggestions, maybe this will become a full custom carry gun. Unfortunately, the finish is too trashed for the gun to have any collectors value IMO, and the old satin nickel finish isn't going to get better over time.

How badly will the rollmarks suffer with a refinish? I had read somewhere colt will reapply the rollmarks before refinishing, which is kind of a big deal to me and is my main reason at this point in going with a colt refinish, since I have the feeling getting that original finish off and polishing will do a number on those marks.

 

[Dframe]

Colt can refresh the marks if you request it, and will do a great job on the refinish if thats what you want. Satin Nickel wasn't their most durable finish in the first place. Colt's website has additional information about their finishing services. Although a refinish would diminish any collector value, a Colt refinish would probably "take away" less. Often I've seen people with their beautifully refinished guns, NOW afraid to take them out and shoot them. Generally I'm of the old school and think you should just keep shooting the guns in your collection (or accumulation) untill they simply don't work anymore. Then get the minimal repairs done and start shooting again.

 

[smalls]

As a shooter or carry gun, as long as the finish isn't letting rust through I'd leave it alone. I find beauty in workhorses with a couple of bruises.

The grips would be saved, but changed. I hate Pachmayrs.

 

[MICHAEL T]

I hate Pachmayrs.

+1 worst thing I ever put on my Commander . Removed them and tossed away.

 

[tarosean]

New sights would be the only thing I'd be concerned about with your gun.

 

[jfrey]

Like JTQ said, I would go with the Robar NP3 plus finish. I had a frame done in it and my FIL had his whole Commander done. Looks nice and has a lifetime warranty if it ever wears through. Get some nice wood grips from Esmerelda or something similar and replace the thumb safety with a newer one. Seems like a lot of folks are using Alchemy Custom for just such work these days. I'm not associated with them but their Facebook page shows a lot of good stuff. Many others can do very good work as well.