My model 10 has too much "character"

[stonebuster]

View attachment 807851 I've been wrestling with whether to touch up a Dept of Corrections model 10. I've read a ton of threads on cold blue and hot blue and heard the opinions pro and con. The gun is a good but inexpensive shooter with no collector value and not worth the cost of a hot blue job. I'd like to improve the looks of the cylinder (which looks like it was used for a puck) and the top of the strap that is bare steel from holster wear. The glare off the strap is very distracting when aiming in bright light. The Oxpho Blue creme from Brownells looks like what I need. I plan on using enough to improve the looks of the cylinder and reduce glare from the strap. Any reason not to remove a little "character" from this cylinder? After Oxpho Blue it's definitely improved the appearance.

 

[Drail]

I have learned over the years how to do cold bluing and make it look very good. The problem is it is very thin and soft and will not last very long on a gun that is handled and fired very much. It also makes your gun smell like rotten eggs (sulphur). Oxpho blue is one of the best cold blues out there. Cold blue will hide most of those shiny marks. You need to thoroughly degrease the metal (use acetone or lacquer thinner). Once you get it degreased you must not touch it with your bare hands or the bluing will not react with the steel. Apply some cold blue and then "card off" the surface by lightly scrubbing it with a fine soft wire brush. Repeat until you get the color you want. The last two or three applications you should do with just a drop or two of cold blue on a rag and scrub it in vigorously. Apply oil. You appear to have some peening on the edge of that cylinder locking notch (probably all of the notches). That can be "fixed" by carefully moving the metal back towards the notch with a pin punch and an 8 oz. hammer. Lay the punch on the raised metal and tap it straight down until the raised metal goes back where it came from. Go slowly and check to make sure you haven't peened it back so much that the bolt won't drop into the notch easily. That peening is the result of someone doing a lot of fast DA shooting or dry firing. That gun has lived a hard life it would seem.

 

[edwardware]

In a similar situation with a 19-3, I rebuilt and retimed it, and rust blued (Laurel Mountain Brown). It came out pretty well, and I've used rust blue on a couple small parts since.

Rust bluing has the added benefit of providing some corrosion resistance.

 

[stonebuster]

In a similar situation with a 19-3, I rebuilt and retimed it, and rust blued (Laurel Mountain Brown). It came out pretty well, and I've used rust blue on a couple small parts since.



Rust bluing has the added benefit of providing some corrosion resistance.

I'm not confident in my ability to break the gun down and reassemble it yet so I'm better off using the Oxpho Blue. It doesn't require me to take the gun apart or rinse it under water even if the finish wouldn't be as durable. I did use Birchwood Casey Super blue on an Ithaca featherweight barrel that had been left in a soft case for way too long and surface rusted. That was two over years ago and it looks great and hasn't further rusted. I give it an oil rubdown every few months. I just started shooting handguns 2 yrs ago and this is my first used one that needed any work. I'm trying to limit my experiments to things that won't effect the functioning of the gun if I foul up. Like dirty Harry said, "a man's got to know his limitations."

 

[mcb]

Watch some YouTube video before you start and taking a model 10 apart is not all that hard except that trigger rebound spring. That SOB is hard on the thumbs.

 

[Jenrick]

For the rebound slide spring, just grind half of a flat head screw driver off. The tool Brownells sells is basically that with a bit of a kink in the shaft to help clear the frame. Took me 2 minutes on the bench grinder, and makes life so much more pleasant.

 

[mcb]

I just put it in first. Used a piece of leather over my thumb while I pushed it compressed and a loop of soft stainless steel wire to retain it while I put the trigger back in.

 

[BBBBill]

I'm not confident in my ability to break the gun down and reassemble it yet

Purchase this book, Kuhnhausen's S&W Revolvers, even if you do not plan to do major maintenance yourself. http://www.gunbooks.com/sw.html
You will learn a lot about your gun.

 

[bk42261]

If you just want a durable finish, check out Duracoat. I've done a couple of my guns with this, and if you follow the instructions, it comes out real well. And you have many different color choices to boot. Not a finish I'd use on a "classic" or "heirloom" for sure, but for a gun that's already banged up, and will be used "for it's intended purpose" I find it quite acceptable.

 

[stonebuster]

If you just want a durable finish, check out Duracoat. I've done a couple of my guns with this, and if you follow the instructions, it comes out real well. And you have many different color choices to boot. Not a finish I'd use on a "classic" or "heirloom" for sure, but for a gun that's already banged up, and will be used "for it's intended purpose" I find it quite acceptable.

Most of the blue on the frame is in decent shape with some scratches and doesn't look like the cylinder picture. That macro photo of the cylinder makes it look worse than it does in person. I'm going to try the Oxpho Blue creme on the cylinder, top strap which is bare steel and the muzzle and oil it and buff it out and see what I get. I want to keep the original look of the model 10. A good gun to experiment with and I'm learning a lot along the way. Update on the Oxpho Blue experiment. I'm pleased with the improved appearance.

 

[Eddietruett]

For the rebound slide spring, just grind half of a flat head screw driver off. The tool Brownells sells is basically that with a bit of a kink in the shaft to help clear the frame. Took me 2 minutes on the bench grinder, and makes life so much more pleasant.

The rebound spring tool from Wheeler works great. One came with my Gunsmith screwdriver set but am pretty sure you can buy them individually. Would work with any screwdriver that takes interchangeable tips

 

[boom boom]

+1 to what Eddietruett said. Also, Brownells, the last I checked, sold a Magnatip bit set just for takedown of S&W revolvers with the rebound bit plus screw bits for all its the screws at around $20.

 

[4v50 Gary]

That Wheeler tool is pretty neat. I was taught to use a philip screwdriver but most of the time use a ground down screwdriver.

 

[Sistema1927]

I wouldn't refinish it if it was mine. That looks like good honest wear.

 

[stonebuster]

I wouldn't refinish it if it was mine. That looks like good honest wear.

Post #10 pics were the 10-10 after cold bluing cylinder, top strap and end of muzzle. Post #1 was what the cylinder looked like before. Everything else was left alone. The top strap had been down to bare steel and the glare off the strap made it hard to aim under range lighting. As the cold blue wears I think a lot of the "honest wear" will reveal itself again especially the end of muzzle and leading edge of cylinder minus some of the deep scratches seen on the cylinder in post #1 picture. I also bought a NYDC 10-14 a couple days later that has holster wear that looks fine the way it is. I agree the honest wear from service does give it character but the way the cylinder looked bordered on abused rather than used IMO. This 10-14 has wear I can appreciate and I'll leave the finish like it is.

 

[boom boom]

That Wheeler tool is pretty neat. I was taught to use a philip screwdriver but most of the time use a ground down screwdriver.

My hands don't work like they used to after an inflammatory arthritis bout plus I have lost some feeling in the fingers. I need all the help I can get and special tools make it easier to do routine things.