Colt 1903 Mirror finish

[32 acp fan]

Colt 1903 High Polish Mirror finishes were a Colt factory original however very rare in quantity. I have 3 now, and I look for them constantly. Two of the pistols in very good condition, one rough. When I bought my first Colt it was to study the polished mirror finishes. Just recently, the re issued Colt 1903 just came out with a High Polish Blue that has the mirrored finish, again the quantity seems to be a lot less than Polished Blue new Colt 1903s.

Most people do not understand the Colt 1903 finishes as well as other carbon finishes done on revolvers as well. There was the original method of putting the final sanded and polished pistols in a trough with grates of charcoal, bone ash and an oil, possibly whale oil as no one to my knowledge knows for certain. Once polished and sanded, the pistols were set in a trough and covered by the charcoal ash ingredients and monitored for the finish. Once taken out the finish is done except for possibly cleaning and maybe a final polishing (is uncertain).

Later, a rotating furnace was made by American Gas Furnace (later I believe became Carrier) that eliminated the trough and put the pistols inside a rotating drum furnace that tumbled the charcoal and bone ash around the pistols. I am still researching to find an example of the rotating drum furnace and what is looked like. American Furnace may have supplied some of the ingredients calling in "Carbonia" which may be the name origin of this type finish.

Colt's method and S&W which and using the furnace is a tempered blue finish which technical information can be read at Metallurgy Tempering Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tempering_(metallurgy) . This page has examples of the variation in temperature for just straight steel and heat. The process / recipe of adding the charcoal, bone ash, oil and the level of the sanded and polished finish created the very unique finishes of each model whether from Colt or S&W, etc. My high polished mirrored finish Savage 1907 probably done in a similar fashion.

All the Colt's changed from the finish look around 1916 when the trough was eliminated and the furnaces used. Also, I have yet to find a high polish example after the rotating furnaces were put in use but there could be some out there.

The look of the pistols from the "trough" finish to "rotating furnace" is easy to spot as the rotating furnace pistols have the buff luster finish that is has a combination effect between a light grey blue to black and reflective as seen by the eye as the pistol is moved about. The early trough pistols look glossy reflective black which the finish never held up as good as the later furnace method. The more the early version finish were handled the more the reflective polish finish rubbed off and you get the duller finished look. With both the early and later finishes, you can see the directional sanding grain as that technique seems to be the same. However, with the High Polish Mirror the sanding grain is eliminated and a more silver look mirror look . Between a regular polish finish and high mirror polish finish, nothing changed other than how the end result of the Carbonia finish varies depending on the level of fineness the finish is taken to in sanding and polishing. Polishing a tempered finish afterwards rubs off the finish very quickly and easily.

You can look at Colt revolvers that have the same polish look but more black mirror finish and this is a "recipe" variation of the tempering and ingredients the pistol is exposed to. You can do this process using stripped steel heating it then submerging it in clean motor oil you will get a more light blue chrome finish verse dirty motor oil will give more dull black finish. Also the more fine sanding and polished the more mirrored look verse the matte semi polished look from the furnaces. Mirrored Colts you can barely see the sanding grain which creates the mirrored look. The roll mark lettering is also a bit smoother and finer because of the greater amount of sanding and polishing which always followed the roll marking. The back edge of the frame and slide is the number one spot to look for a refinish because just lightly rotating the frame when sanding will roll the crisp edge of the back strap and slide rear. Buffed or rounded serrated edges on the slide, and the denting of pins from removal.

There is no one that I know can refinish a Colt like a Colt factory finish because the charcoal ingredients, technique, sanding and polishing were proprietary. I have a refinished Colt 1908 I believe was done at the factory as Colt used to provide refinishing. I have also seen one example of a perfect exterior Colt 1903 but the internal slide and frame had a lot of wear I suspect Colt just did the outsides and not the entire gun as you would have to chemically strip it to get the insides cleaned off. Recently, the New re issued Colt's just came out with a High Polish Blue that has same mirrored finish. So, the Colt 1903 Mirror finish is a legitimate factory finish.

By the way, Colt's tempering finish is the worst type of finish to hold up over time. Rust blue finish of the FN Browning pistols can still looks brand new after 100 years and being handled. Colts carbon finish were fast factory process and the more you handle the pistol, the more the finish rubs off the surface.

Hope this helps, as I am still trying to learn more about the Carbonia finish as there is very little out there about it.

Ed

 

[sequins]

Fascinating tale! You sure seem to know your stuff and I enjoyed learning the history of finishing techniques from you.

 

[tark]

Fascinating tale! You sure seem to know your stuff and I enjoyed learning the history of finishing techniques from you.

Couldn't have said it better myself! Beautiful guns!

 

[JONWILL]

I love those Colts. I have had several and let them go.

What I find the best about them is that they are still and excellent CCW piece today. They are elegant, smooth and slim.

Easy to conceal.

 

[32 acp fan]

I bought a Buy Now Colt 1903 that finish was totally gone. Its a 455,384 serial number and neat thing is wood grips have Colt Rampant horse medallion facing barrel which soon after Colt went to only one medallion part. I have yet to find a 2nd set and try to confirm close serial numbers when looking on the internet at listings and forums,

The pistol is one of the most accurate pistols I have. Its going to be at rust blue finish with polished tempered blue triggers, screws, etc. Still working on rest blue recipe to begin testing final look. I look constantly for forward facing Colt rampant horse on the wood grips where pistols have close serial number range and cannot find a 2nd set yet. Also, I had an engraver deepen the logo before sanding down the rust and pitting to preserve the imprinting. There are still a few very tiny pits left but the rust blue should fill in with multiple coats. Working on this pistol is where I got to learn about rounding the rear edges and serrations. There was no way around the rounding of the rear of slide as that was the worst pitting.

Evaporust which happens to be made in the area I live is awesome for stripping a gun of all rust and finish plus its very mild simply submerge the parts and reuse the liquid as needed. With Evaporust you can fully strip metal with no sanding so a Colts sanding grain could be preserved, but I doubt the finish could be matched but a person could finish one and create their own tempering method. The pics are from earlier sanding but the finish is almost done now with most done by hand to avoid the lettering getting too sanded and dulled.

I am adding pic of Armstrong floor cleaner I have used to get built up grim off grips. Works great and should not remove finish. I have good results returning grips back to the natural wood look.

 

[bannockburn]

32 acp fan

Good stuff! Thanks for sharing!

 

[reddog81]

How do you tell a high polish mirror finish from another finish on a well used pistol? Is every pre-1916 1903 a high polish mirror finish or were there multiple blue finishes?

 

[32 acp fan]

Very difficult because sine I started collecting a few years ago, its hard to find very good to near perfect colts that were finished in the "trough" before the American Furnace company finishes. I went to the Tulsa Gun Show in Nov 2016 covered all booths quickly, and found zero. I did see several 1903s with triggers 38s, that were original and in good condition but I was not focusing on those.

IMO, and I am only going by Colt's I own, and what I have researched, the Colt 1903 that are regular finished are very reflective but through the polished reflection they appear bleak but there tends to be brown dark tones come through where light reflects and you either move the gun or light. I am posting pics of the my first purchase Colt 1903 Type 1. IMO opinion, a regular finish, as the parallel sanding grains are visible. This pistol was bought so I could study it, and even in the 60% to max 70% condition, I had a hard time selling it. It had been handled a lot more than it was ever shot as the rubber grips had a lot of smooth wear spots. Also, the internals were very "unused" as the hammer, rails, and slide disconnect housing the firing pin are the best area to check.

A mirrored or more mirrored finish is simply a direct result of finer sanding paper, and polishing, Sand paper grit is easy to match, but the polishing wheels Colt used were very proprietary and a photograph I have seen shows a huge wall of them. So, if you consider that each were done by hand, its easy to see all n employee had to do was a finer sanding job and deeper polish. The finer sanded and deeper polish will always take on less finish regardless of material just like car paint has to be scuffed to repaint it.

So is a finer sanded and polished pistol were put in the tempering trough which I believe the blue tones come from the 540 to 650 degree Fahrenheit range ( see Wiki link at initial post) , the black comes the charcoal ash / oil fumes that are laid on the surface in the tempering process. The less coating that can adhere to a more polished surface creates the mirrored tone less black.

The first two pics showing serial number show the high reflection but also the sanding grain direction running parallel to frame and I believe to be a regular finish although very reflective, Note, over two years on GB and shows I have only seen about 10 including ones I bought this quality or better. So, I think the early collectors still have a lot of these off the market





The Colt 2982 was acquired for its low serial number and I later felt guilty for selling the above pistol 65973. This below pistol has higher polishing and sanding less visible grain and also not the blue "niter" effects of safety in light.







I am going to follow up and do some pictures showing sanding grain directions which the best place to check is frame below rails, and top of slide.

Also, please keep in mind I do not absolutely know that the High Polished Mirror Colt's were a factory ordered item, a special sale, or employee taking a pistols sanding and deeper on their own or just simply fixing a quality control pistol that perhaps had flaws or was needed to be sanded and polished more to get rid of flaws.

These high polished blue (mirror) pistols exist, they are different, and they are being re introduced by the new Colt 1903s selling them as High Polished Blue on the boxes so to me the licensing of this type finish confirms the High Polish Blue as its called "Mirror" finish.

 

[Speedo66]

Obscure, but interesting, piece of Colt history, thanks!

Wonder if they ever did that finish on SAA's?

 

[reddog81]

Interesting. Having worked in a factory type environment before I wouldn't be surprised if they aren't just part of the subtle variations between different employees techniques or small adjustments to a certain process that might happen over time. As demand ebbs as flows resources can be added or taken away from a process as deemed necessary. The quality of a product can vary depending on the amount of time given to do a task. One week there might be an order for 100 1903's and the next week could see an order for 500 1903's. Guess which batch of pistols is going to see more time spent on the details such polishing and blueing? All speculation on my part of course...

I have a handful of Colts from the early 1900's to the 1920's and the blueing on them is so much better than anything produced today. Even my lowly 1909 Police Positive has a wonderful finish on the left side even though the right side has a nice patina undoubtedly due to years spent in a holster. I recently picked up a 1912 Officer Model and you can see your reflection in the side plate. Another recent purchase is a a couple year old Gold Cup National Match. While it is a very nice gun you can see the metal grain and the finish just isn't as vibrant even though this should be the Cadilac model of Colt's products.

 

[32 acp fan]

Thanks reddog81 for the post.

Here is a Colt Forum link talking about the new High Polish Blue just released. http://www.coltforum.com/forums/lounge/263545-new-high-polished-blue-colt-1903-a-2-print.html

I find a back link on Gunbroker and scrolled through a seller that appears to have sold 5 in about 30 days at $1499. I would buy one but I cannot trust company profitability that they will limit production because a company's profitability comes before future collector value of a pistol. I believe these will flood the market and values will go below the retail value sold new. There are already a lot of the reproductions for sale. And this piece being stamped US PROPERTY is discussed in the Colt 44 forum link because of marking variance with the ATF etc. It reads as though the company wants to produce all kinds of New Colt 1903 variations as a variety of finishes and grips is discussed.

I will go after the real old ones I know are out there and continue to research the why and how these Mirror finishes came to be. Its hard to photograph them, I am now working on a photo light box to properly represent them. Problem is though that when you photograph for reflection you do not the see the black. The mirror polish finishes are very difficult for the black to show in a photograph but when hand held you can see it.

FYI, I started this post because in my research, there was a High Road post that the member had one of these Mirror Colts and several members told him it was a refinish.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.php?threads/colt-1903-and-1908-value-and-marking-question.667994/

 

[32 acp fan]

Obscure, but interesting, piece of Colt history, thanks!

Wonder if they ever did that finish on SAA's?

I have not gotten into revolvers yet, but this technique and method would have gone across production in my opinion. What we need to learn is the how and why. I have a Salvage 1907 that is as Royal Blue and perfect as the day it was new. Same thing, a mirror type high polish finish, both Colt and Savage in serious competition. Savage blinked in my opinion and changed up the finish of the 1907 later in semi luster black finish. Colt seems to have fancied and dressed there up as needed. I am seeking some of the Colt revolver around the 1900s that had the high luster niter blue accents. But I think on some the Colt revolver I recently have seen those were regularly finished at a higher polish level.

People were seriously sleeping when I got this original Savage 11907 on Gunbroker. -The seller had a high start value which does not seem to work well on Gunbroker but I dug in and bought it. These pistols can and have been refinished to near exact as I have seen a couple. However, the biggest thing to watch for is rubbing wear on the Savage Trademark stamping on the grips. If you see a perfect finish and rubbed down or smoothed Trademark on the grips its a refinish. This one is the real deal and just awesome. A little quirky to shoot. I believe this is the same pistol in Road To Predition the Jude Law character shoots Tom Hanks with and that pistol will show you how easy it is to rub off the finish.

 

[32 acp fan]

How do you tell a high polish mirror finish from another finish on a well used pistol? Is every pre-1916 1903 a high polish mirror finish or were there multiple blue finishes?

I think the best way to tell a High Polish from the regular finish is that to a much higher degree of reflective silver, and much more difficult to see the black of the finish. Also the sanding grain lines are almost non existent in high polish and in the regular finish you see them with the naked eye. The Colt 2982 is a high polish but not to as great of degree. As the polish and finish goes smoother the sanding grain disappear and the pistol will be much more reflective. Also, the more polished the less hold the finish has on the metal and much easier to rub it off handling it.

 

[Speedo66]

Refinished or not, that Savage is a beauty!

 

[32 acp fan]

OK, the below pics display the Colt 1903 High Polish Finish "mirror" verse regular finish. Regular finish sanding grain polishing seems to be very consistent through all years of production regardless of "trough" tempering or "furnace" tempering. Colt 1903 65873 is a trough finish and Colt 1908 51736 is a furnace finish - the sanding grain is the same, but I believe there may have been less oil used in the furnace than was in the trough. I believe the shiny clear layer is from oil as I have replicated this look dipping a cut off shotgun barrel end that was sanded and heated just under red hot into clean motor oil it leaves a glossy shinny coat.

Both Colt 1903 2982 and Colt 1903 14491 are high polished finish, No matter how I held the lighting, I could never get sanding grain visibility with the naked eye. Although there is some faint amount. I think these finishes were sanded using paper below 400 grit. 400 grit or very close to it seems to be the regular finish because the pistol I am working on the grain matches exactly to regular finish Colt grain. I am also trying to stay consistent with the grain direction on other areas too. Some pistol sections like the trigger guard to frame attachment point had to have been sanded by hand to preserve grain direction on the large flat parts of the slide and frame.

Also, the quickest and easiest way to spot a refinish on the serrated cuts of the slide which are very very easily rounded if sanded over even accidentally as I did to the one I am working on. Also, I bought a used previously sanded down slide with rounded serrated edges and attempted recut the serrated edges clean from rounding and its impossible by hand. You can lightly sand paper then serrations but you wont get rust pitting out. The serrated triangular edges have to be done in a milling machine. Once you start flat sanding the slide and you hit the triangular tipped edge you are going to flatten it some as well. The serrated edges are a tell all for heavy sanding to remove rust pitting.

Now, I have seen Colt refinishes that the tempered finish blue is identical to their original finish and I believe these to be factory refinishes. I also believe on the factory refinish Colt may not have stripped everything to bare metal as I have seen internals that have definitely much more wear then a perfect exterior finish. You don't have to strip a gun to temper blue or even rust blue outside parts. You just have to make sure oil doesn't drip off or run of the finish work. One article said gasoline use to clean off after coming out of the furnace. Colt factory refinish may have been to sand down the outside and simply put it back in the oven probably minus the recoil spring. All other parts on the pistol are the same finish so they were tempered steel to the same temperature. That's why Colt barrel are black on the inside because plus 500 to 600 degree Fahrenheit burns off most stuff.

 

[32 acp fan]

Refinished or not, that Savage is a beauty!

Its original, got lucky real lucky to get it. Market was soft and Seller had a high start price. I talked to another major gun seller as I am just a collector and he said was putting one up for sale same condition as mine but had factory box for $1500.

 

[blue32]

For comparison, this is a modern refinish done by Colt around 2011 or so. It's difficult to photograph correctly but it is nothing like the original finishes.

 

[32 acp fan]

For comparison, this is a modern refinish done by Colt around 2011 or so. It's difficult to photograph correctly but it is nothing like the original finishes.
View attachment 766533

Thanks for the photo pistol looks great. It's a very good finish. I believe that to be a hot salt blue job. I like the grips. I believe that when the furnaces were shut down Colt went to hot salt bluing of all pistols. FN did the same in 1960s and I think FN was one the last company to stop the rust blue method. I don't know the year Colt switched but other members will. Its my understanding Colt is not refinishing any longer which is too bad.

 

[32 acp fan]

After further research, I want to correct the word use of "Carbonia" which was a S&W finish which the American Furnace company furnished the ingredients which were further mixed by S&W for the Carbonia black finish. I believe this information to be accurate and will not use it to denote Colt's finish. I will call Colts finish a carbon finish because heaven for bid I screw up a historical word use. Anyway, I am certain American sold the furnaces to Colt as well but the finish whether Colt of S&W or Savage was a tempered blue process which the metals surface changes color throughout temperature ranges, and that all these companies had some form of "carbon" in the process that laid onto the surface as well. Interestingly, mill scale which is the oxidized metal surface as hot rolled steel cools down in the open air is almost identical to early FN 1900s that were rust blued. I suspect FN used a simple rust formula which is identical to mill scale color and then later added more iron content and copper sulfate to their formula to darken the iron oxide. Rust blue will convert to iron oxide when boiled or steamed. FN steamed their pistol to convert the rust to iron oxide. With rust blue, if the surface is too fine sanded it will not adhere or rust enough to convert to black blue so you mostly get the satin luster sheen. However, I believe the sanding grit level to be the same as Colts around 400 for regular finishes.

To my knowledge, tempered steel forms a carburized layer which is "iron oxide" the same as rust blue and hot salt bluing. Anybody that has ever sweated copper pipe or used a torch to heat a seized bolt knows of the color change of the steel or metal. Niter blue can be done with a propane torch but it is easier the control the final color by dipping it in liquid potassium nitrate which the melting point is 633 degree Fahrenheit. So niter blue comes from using a melted nitrate to submerge the part with control. But the real truth is niter blue is tempering because you are just raising the steel temperature to a certain temperature over a given time. I bought Spectracide Stump remover, dissolved it in distilled water, coffee filtered it pouring it off and recrystallizing it allowing it to dry and its pretty darn pure so don't go though the trouble. Put it in a throw away stainless steel pan and get it up to 633 and you are ready to start Niter bluing. Some say a pinch of manganese dioxide was added and I have no idea why, but manganese dioxide is also an ingredient in hot blue salt formulas - so there is a purpose for it.

But everyone knows, that hot salt blue finishes and rust blue finishes hold up the best, not the tempered carbonization method done by Colt and S&W, But tempering does give you the best chance to mess with lighting effects as light passes through then bounces off the thin surface layer. Alter a carbon fume with bone ash, motor oil, fish oil, whale oil, it all has a common theme - carbon.

So I correct myself about the use and word "Carbonia" before others do. In the meantime look at this giant Colt 1903 that is called the FN 1903 and is rust blued, - just awesome, and awesome to shoot. And yes, I shoot them.

 

[32 acp fan]

The below is taken from an earlier High Road post It seems the coloring is all temperature based, but I am not convinced the smoke does not lay down a carbonized film as well to the surface.

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...olt-finsh-on-an-italian-reporodcution.773754/

From Haven and Belden "A History of the Colt Revolver" reprints "A Century of Achievement"

"Frames, cylinders, barrels, slides, receivers and parts come to the bluing room direct from the polishing department. Side plates and cranes are removed. Everything is first given a bath in hot gasoline… gasoline heated to 150 deg F. This removes all dirt particles, dust, or grease that may have gathered on the way down from the polishing room. Hot air is then forced over them to eliminate all presence of moisture – the arch enemy.

After washing and drying is completed, the side plates (revolvers) are put back on. But they are put on with work screws that hide beneath the surface so that the entire surface can be completely exposed for cleaning and bluing. When finished, blued screws will replace the work screws.

All surfaces to be blued are then wiped with a solution of alcohol and whiting – a polishing compound of very fine texture. Wiped with a clean dry cloth, they are now chemically clean. From this point on until the bluing process is complete, not a human hand touches a surface to be blued.

“These are bluing racks,” interrupted Mr. Carmody. “They are built to hold a maximum number of pieces, yet allow ample room for air circulation with no chance for parts touching each other. This one is for barrels. We have racks for frames, cylinders, hammers, triggers, extractors, latches, grip safety, etc. All our screws and pins, however, are blued in bulk in those small part furnaces that you see over there.” Matched parts, such as a slide and receiver, are alternately fastened in place in the bluing rack. Racks are stored under uniform heat in closed compartments to keep them sterile and dry.

All this is preparatory to the actual bluing process itself.

Let’s take a look at the bluing room. What do we see? Twin rows of revolving drums – thirty large furnaces and eight small part furnaces.

A bluing run starts the first thing in the morning. A secret mixture of charred bone and primer is put into the furnace. Furnaces are heated up to 500 deg or more to evaporate all moisture. The racks are loaded into the bluing furnaces, the doors bolted. The furnaces slowly revolve. Pyrometers control the heat in all furnaces. Readings are taken every 15 minutes during the five hours it takes to complete the bluing process. Top heat is 650 deg.

The furnace itself is gas fired. Four burners supply the heat and it is interesting to note that the forward burner is larger to compensate for any heat loss through the doors.

The charge used in the bluing process is ground animal bone charred to chemical purity in a bone pot placed into a white hot furnace at 1400 deg hot. Two hundred pounds of bone are charred at a time, burning away all foreign matter.

The primer is bone, soaked in pure petroleum oil. Even the oil is boiled to remove moisture and foreign matter. It must be chemically pure. The primer is what gives off the smoke that keeps free oxygen away from the pieces being blued in the revolving drums. The primer and charred bone are mixed and put into the furnace before the work goes in.

What is the chemistry of bluing, anyway? How does this bluing process impart this handsome and lasting blued steel finish so famous on Colt firearms? Bluing is a combination of carbonizing and oxidizing that by heat, brings the inherent carbon of the steel through the opened pores to the surface. All the coloring is done by heat, no particle of bone ever touches the parts being blued. The smoke given off by the primer expels free oxygen from the drum leaving only sufficient to allow combustion. The primer and the charge control the composition of gas in the furnace, the heavy carbon dioxide shielding the parts from contact with oxygen. All this calls for expert knowledge and experience in mixing the proper proportions of the primer and charge not only to obtain the proper color but to create a smoke that shall be free from moisture. Otherwise, though blued, the pieces would be spotted.”

 

[cowboy77845]

Collectors Firearms in Houston just put one on their site. It is beautiful. Looks new but is not.

 

[DPris]

I don't have one of the new high-polish Officers Models, mine is a standard blue.
Photos I've seen look very nice, but of course that finish is not done using older traditional methods.

If you happen to be interested in the new version, they are not made by Colt, won't be made by Colt, and as of right now are a relatively limited edition with an overall cap on production numbers under the licensing agreement with Colt.
Denis

 

[32 acp fan]

I don't have one of the new high-polish Officers Models, mine is a standard blue.
Photos I've seen look very nice, but of course that finish is not done using older traditional methods.

If you happen to be interested in the new version, they are not made by Colt, won't be made by Colt, and as of right now are a relatively limited edition with an overall cap on production numbers under the licensing agreement with Colt.
Denis

I am a little worried the production numbers will not be held at what I read of 3500. So, for me its a wait and see, because current values are not selling in my opinion other than the High Polish Blue New Colts which I have seen 5 sold at the $1499 price. Also, I read the deal is US Armament must turn over tooling to Colt when done. If these new guns sell, then I believe they will increase the production numbers because the collector market value is of little concern verse selling what is produced.

 

[32 acp fan]

Collectors Firearms in Houston just put one on their site. It is beautiful. Looks new but is not.

The 122271 serial number with box for $2275? I am not so certain that is a full high polish because I can see the grain lines on the frame and it photographs black, not mirrored silver. Also, same photo set up so variations should be controlled by photographer at their store. Although, I am watching and trying to decide. It seems people are selling these collectible pistols off to get their investment back as more are showing up on the market.

 

[DPris]

No, the tooling will not be turned over to Colt.

The original plan by the CEO of US Armament was to have Colt take up production after the licensing numbers were met.
But- Colt isn't interested.
They can't handle what they're already doing & will not be producing a 1903 or 1908 in-house.

This comes from US Armament.
Colt really has almost nothing to do with this pistol.
You don't order through their channels, they don't service them or provide parts.

They DID provide the gold grip medallions.

It's very doubtful that US Arm will extend beyond that 3500.
Denis