Les Baer blued slide refinishing—any recent real life experiences?

i sent back a heavyweight monolith as it had some occassional extraction issues. while there i had them refinish it with hard chrome and had them smooth out the ding at the end of the dustcover( reassembling the monoliths without a FLGR is difficult leading to the ding mishap). as part of the refinishing process they have to replace the plunger tube as they said it can't be refinished. turnaround i think was about 3 weeks but that included fixing the extraction issues. the ding was nicely smoothed out , the finish was well done and so far is holding up. i chose hard chrome as it was their most durable finish. i like the blued color better but they wear too easily.
i would choose a more durable finish than the original if i were you. hard chrome and original finish.

Out of all of my handguns that I holster, my hard chrome 1911 shows no wear at all from a ton of use. My handguns with other finishes show wear with a fraction of the use.

Of all the local stories I’ve heard about Les Baer, seems the only thing he will short you on is your dinner if you set your plate too close. Thin as a rail but eats like a horse.

I’ve only ever heard excellent things concerning their customer service and their pistols, you’ll get your money’s worth.

Skylerbone said:

Of all the local stories I’ve heard about Les Baer, seems the only thing he will short you on is your dinner if you set your plate too close. Thin as a rail but eats like a horse.

I’ve only ever heard excellent things concerning their customer service and their pistols, you’ll get your money’s worth.

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I watched Les eat two big mac's and two large fries and still want dessert. This was years ago on the way to a Shot Show.

To the OP. I would strongly suggest Chroming your gun if you want maximum wear resistance. If you can afford it, that is... The chrome plating process involves a lot of toxic heavy metal waste and the EPA is very strict about how you can dispose of it. Chroming has become an expensive proposition for this reason. If you call the shop, often Les himself will answer the phone. If this happens, immediately heap lavish praise on both Les and the fantastic gun he built for you. This will help assure you get prompt service and a timely return of your gun. Flattery will get you everywhere!

Tark, just the thought of that two Big Mac meal makes me queasy.

Unless you holster regularly I think any finish will hold up fine. Hard Chrome doesn't get shiny from kydex, or faded and smudged off from leather. It just doesn't quit.

Blued looks pretty and in most cases fun and looking good is really all a lot of my guns are for. I like my blued 1911 and I've never holstered it, and the finish is holding up great.

Btw, in case anybody is wondering, Yes, Les does own a vintage Boss 429 Mustang. Actually, he owns several, one in each color they were made in.

I own a blued PII that is (about) 10 years old that I was told was checkered by Tark before his retirement. I carried it for about 4 years and all I see that has changed in the steel finish is that the slide has turned a bit plumb color over the years. However, any bluing wear (with the exception of the slightest color change on some of the edges) is negligent - the bluing has held up (at least for me) extremely well.

tark said:

Btw, in case anybody is wondering, Yes, Les does own a vintage Boss 429 Mustang. Actually, he owns several, one in each color they were made in.

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Just finished watching John Wick for the first time and his supposed Boss 429 Mustang. Had a chance to buy one in 1994 for the same price that I paid for my new Jeep. If I only knew how much they'd appreciate back then!

To keep it gun related I want a LB Boss 429.