New Look for an Old Smith

[Michael Tinker Pearce]

As a result of Linda discovering why you don't bid on two of the same gun at once on GunBroker we wound up with two S&W .38 Safety Hammerless (4th Model) revolvers a few years back. One got converted into my 'Steampunk Snubby,' and the other was set up for Linda. Linda's gun had somewhat tatty nickel plate, ancient Mother of Pearl stocks, and I added a grip adapter. I also bobbed the barrel to 1-5/8" to match my gun. She loved it right up until she shot it- since then it has been mostly sitting around except for the odd range trip.

I'm cool with nickel- if it looks good, and the nickel on this gun looked OK... from ten feet away. After that the closer you got the worse it looked. I finally decided to strip and refinish it, and finished the other night. People keep asking how I stripped the nickel so I'll tell you- fine-grit sandpaper, needle files, sanding blocks and rods wrapped in sandpaper. Yep, it took hours and hours-- especially after I discovered that the nickel had been masking rather a lot of fine pitting. I finally blued it with Van's Instant blue; despite being a cold-blue this provides a decent and surprisingly durable finish.

I wasn't going for a 'factory-new' finish; there is still a bit of pitting here and there if you look closely, but overall I am very happy with how it came out.

 

[bannockburn]

Tinker

Nice refinishing job! Has a certain aged look to it, befitting it's turn-of-the last-few-centuries build date! The pearl stocks and pre-T-Grip adapter go perfectly with the rest of the gun!

I found that soaking parts in Hoppe's No.9 Copper Solvent did a great job of removing most nickel and chrome plating.

 

[Tallball]

It looks great. Nice job! I'll buy Van's next time, for sure.

 

[Waveski]

"...overall I am very happy with how it came out."

I'd be happy too. You did a really , really nice job of cosmetic improvement while taking nothing away from that old revolver. I am impressed.

 

[Drail]

Cold blue is a surprisingly durable finish? Bwahahahaha........

 

[chicharrones]

MTP, I sure wish I was one of your heirs. Not that I want you gone or anything. Lol.

 

[Michael Tinker Pearce]

Cold blue is a surprisingly durable finish? Bwahahahaha........

Not all cold blues provide a surprisingly durable finish- the specific product I referenced does if used correctly with good surface prep. This is a statement based on actual experience with that product over several years using it on a number of different guns. Now if someone said the same about BC Superblue I'd be laughing right along with you...

 

[entropy]

You can strip nickel by leaving the gun in Hoppe's. Takes some time, but a lot less work. Guess I should have read bannockburn's post first.....

 

[bannockburn]

entropy

Found out about Hoppes removing plating from reading a Q and A column in Guns and Ammo magazine many years ago. Seems like a gentleman cleaned two of his guns, one blued, the other chrome or nickel plated. When he was finished he placed both guns on a felt lined drawer in a wooden gun cabinet. When he check on the guns sometime later, he discovered that the plating had come off the side of the gun that was laying on the felt. He wanted to know how this could have happened since the finish on the blued gun was fine.

So the answer to his question was that the plated gun had been laying in Hoppes which had drained off the gun into the felt. Hoppe's being a copper solvent did what it was supposed to do; it went after the layer of copper plating underneath the chrome or nickel plate, causing it to peel off the gun and taking the other plating with it.

I used Hoppes to deplate an old Krag Jorgensen that had been chrome plated and used as a drill/parade rifle for many years. Worked great on nearly 95+% of the gun and parts; just had one hard to remove spot on the receiver. Had to have it done by a gun refinishing shop.

 

[RMc]

S&W .38 Safety Hammerless (4th Model) revolver.

Looks like the perfect candidate for a Lee micro-groove wadcutter, crimped to the same seating depth as a factory RN - with a modest powder charge.

 

[Michael Tinker Pearce]

S&W .38 Safety Hammerless (4th Model) revolver.

Looks like the perfect candidate for a Lee micro-groove wadcutter, crimped to the same seating depth as a factory RN - with a modest powder charge.

I used to use Hornady HBWC over 2.7gr. of unique. Good performer, decent penetration. I've since found that .361 150gr. LSWCs over 2.5gr of Unique also work nicely, and recently found that .358 caliber 158gr. LSWCs work well in my S&Ws too.

 

[Speedo66]

+1 for Van's instant Blue. I removed the finish from a Uberti Hombre Cattleman and polished it, then followed the instructions from Van's to the letter. Very happy with the results and so far no holster wear.