Polished my model 44, did I ruin the finish...

I think it looks good.

Its collector value is nil, so altering the finish isn't going to really matter much.

I'm glad you enjoy it more now. Shoot it in good health.

Paul R Zartman said:

... DID I RUIN IT...

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FWIW, I think that it looks good.

Think the LGS May be full of condensed cow manure. I have two ROA one satin finish SS the other polished SS. I like the looks of the polish. I just like shiny I guess.
IMO the bottom photo of yours is more appealing to the eye and neither look out of focus. My eye glasses must of compensated

If you did that to make money you chose foolishly grasshopper. If you did it because you wanted to make it personal and special to yourself you chose wisely. It’s just a Taurus for crying out loud. It looks good. Some buyer who wants a Taurus that doesn’t look like everyone else’s will like it. No dollars lost immunity opinion.

I polished a 500 magnum years ago which came from the factory with a "satin finish" and looked terrible. I mean it was truly awful. So I did the same thing you did (polished by hand though) and brought it to a mirror finish. I ended up selling it for $270 MORE than what I paid new. And the polish job is WHY he bought it. So granted it does depend on who the buyer is and what the item is but if anyone tells you you absolutely destroyed the value they are full of horse.......

Don't do it to a Python or anything rare/highly valuable. But no one is buying Taurus revolvers hoping they'll be worth something some day. They are tools. Do what you like with it, and enjoy it.

whughett said:

Think the LGS May be full of condensed cow manure. I have two ROA one satin finish SS the other polished SS. I like the looks of the polish. I just like shiny I guess.
IMO the bottom photo of yours is more appealing to the eye and neither look out of focus. My eye glasses must of compensated

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You missed the first pics that were posted.

You want bad gun photos, I used to post "photos" made with a scanner.

GunnyUSMC said:

You missed the first pics that were posted.

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Ya kinda thought that might be the case. I did read the other posts.

I took a gun to a dealer once. When he offered me what I considered a lowball price, I commented that I thought it was worth more than that. He replied, "Well, yea, but I don't really want to buy it. I got a store full of guns now."

I think about that every time I go to sell a gun now. To me it's one of a kind. To him, it's just another gun.

Looks good to me.

I miss the older black shiney finish Taurus had in the past ...

i polished my uberti stainless steel cattleman to a high luster with no machine marks or scratches. i even turned the cylinder at high speed and 2000 grit pater to polish it. could not get it to the polish degree that i wanted. so sent it away and nickel plated it after i polished it. now the gun is where i want it. took of the varnish on the walnut grips and polished oil finished them. redone the forcing cone to a smooth shiny one. shoots good and looks better than any real colt. also put wolf springs in it.. that gun looks beautiful and talks the talk when shooting it.

whughett said:

Think the LGS May be full of condensed cow manure.

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I don't think it's so much that as the fact that they're in it to make money. Getting 70% of retail is actually pretty good from a dealer. Personally, I'd never sell a gun to a dealer unless it was a last act of desperation . I'd rather have their cut for myself. A dealer that's good at his job (making money) is going to use whatever he can to make a used gun that's he/she is buying seem less valuable and one that he/she is selling seem more valuable. Annoying to the seller, but perfectly normal.

A polished finish lowers the chances that I'll buy the gun, regardless of who did it, but that's entirely personal preference though.

I like what you did. If I had a choice between that and a bead blasted one, I'd go with the polished. Sort of tired of all these cheap finishes. Except for top straps. Need that blasted to cut down on glare. Had that done to my Speed Six.

Looks great to me.

Not ruined at all.

But from a personal view I would probably pass on any firearm that had been modified by owner. Which doesn't matter at all because for the ones you keep value is in the eye of the beholder.

They were once offered in high polished stainless. I had one. It was an incredible shooter. I should have kept it, but I had a shot at a delta elite and took the bait. I wish I hadn’t, I gave up 2 good enough guns for a grail gun that ended up just making me furious and making me despise all guns displaying the jumping jackass. 200gr jhp Hornady over a healthy dose of AA7 I believe was what I shot. If your a reloader, you might want to try it. If you also shoot .357 Or 10mm you need some AA7 in your life.

Any time you "customize" or improve a gun and take it outside the realm of "original factory" condition, you run the risk of some people saying "No, I don't like that." or "No I don't trust what the previous owner may have done." I have hand polished my revolvers a bit, and I have no doubt some folks would look at them and say they are uneven and look bad. It doesn't bother me. I have no intentions of selling those guns any time soon, or at all really. So resale value means little to me.

I think what you did looks fine. Just enjoy your gun. If you like it enough to modify and personalize it, then just continue to enjoy it.

If you are that worried about the monetary value, because you might need to sell it, then stop buying guns and save more money in your bank account.

I don’t think it looks bad. Gun still functions. You seem to like it better and got some practical ‘gun-smithing’ experience. Believe me when I say I’ve REALLY had some bad days with a gun in my shop vice.

From a purely realistic standpoint, guns are rated with “original finish remaining”. That gun has zero original finish.

I personally think it decreases the value. And, I generally don’t like polished SS guns.

That said, you may not like the fact that I use grey Scotchbrite pads to restore the satin finish on Smith revolvers and you cant understand why in the world I wouldn’t polish it.

It’s good that we don’t all think alike.

i could give a crap about original factory finish. if i can finish them better than factory i will. never lost money on any gun i sold.

looks good to me. besides collectors, other not into guns type shooters (the bulk of them out there) who dont study specs and play on forums etc......wouldnt even know what happened. all they're gonna notice is its shiny.

Oooohhhh, shiney!

Seriously, I polish my Speed Six. It's still satin so far. But that finish is slowly getting to polished. I'm just too busy to commit a lot of time in a long session for a high polish. Will be achieved over time. It's my gun. Opinions be darned. Same for the OP. Like I said in an earlier post, as long as the top strap doesn't reflect. Enjoy your gun. I think it looks great!